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"ABSTRACTWilla Cather wrote 12 novels, more than 60 short stories, several poems, and a good number of critical essays. Her writings showed characters from all walks of life, and her settings were in quite different backgrounds and of quite different periods. Her works have never been noisy or self-assertive and yet Willa Cather, as Mildred Bennet said, has not needed a revival in the sense that there has been a Fitzgerald revival, a Sherwood Anderson revival, and a Nathanael West revival. (See Bennet, 1961: vii) In The World of Willa Cather, Mildred Bennet writes that when Charles Poore reviewed her book in 1951, he wrote that there was no need for a Willa Cather revival "the world has never lost its taste for her excellent writing." She believes that the same assertion can be made quite as confidently today: from the response of a new generation of readers it is evident that the taste has been inherited; the flow of critical writing which began shortly after Miss Cather's death shows no sign of slacking off; and in colleges and universities interest in her life and work is decidedly on the increase . . ." (Bennet, 1961: vii). Elizabeth Shepley Sergeant, on her first encounter with the works of Willa Cather said that she had "discovered a genuine, first-class work of American fiction, in which a young woman of prairie background had conceived her world with new eyes and had made of it a work of art . . . ." (Sergeant, 1953: 11) Willa Cather's other biographers have written with much admiration for her works and most of her critics have been generous with their reviews. Even critics who have not seen eye to eye with her have treated her with respect. These critics who have written for and against her have such formidable names like H. L. Mencken, Carl Van Doren, Edmund Wilson, Sinclair Lewis, T. K. Whipple, Joseph Wood Krutch, Rebecca West, E. K. Brown, David Daiches, Elizabeth Moorhead, Louise Bogan, Granville Hicks, Lionel Trilling, Alfred Kazin, Maxwell Geismar, George Schloss, Henry Steele Commager, Morton D. Zabel, Howard Mumford H. Jones, Leon Edel, James Schroeter, and many others. (See Schroeter, 1968). What is it that pulls so many to Willa Cather? Why has "the world never lost its taste for her excellent writing"? What did Willa Cather "conceive" about her world so much so that she "made of it a work of art"? Upon reading and examining Willa Cather's works, I strongly suggest that the element which attracts most readers to her writing is the "American Dream." This is the topic I aim to write about in this thesis--Willa Cather and the American Dream. I will show that the works of Willa Cather reflect the American dream, especially the dreams of freedom, success, and the pastoral vision. "

"Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis dan mengevaluasi representasi American Dream dalam film Amerika yang berjudul The Greatest Showman (2017) (TGS). Terinspirasi dari kisah hidup tokoh self-made man di abad ke-19 yang bernama P.T. Barnum, film TGS menceritakan perjalanan karakter Barnum menjadi pebisnis sirkus dengan menggunakan struktur naratif rags to riches pada abad ke-19. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode deskriptif-analitis dengan pendekatan kualitatif, yang berfokus pada karakter Barnum dan karakter pemain sirkus Barnum yang merepresentasikan kaum minoritas beraneka ragam ras, warna kulit, dan keunikan fisik. Penelitan ini berargumen bahwa film TGS merekonstruksi American Dream di abad ke-19. TGS memahami bahwa American Dream bukan lagi mengenai kesuksesan finansial semata, melainkan keseimbangan antara pemenuhan pribadi dan kepentingan keluarga, tanpa harus mengagungkan pencapaian duniawi seperti reputasi dan kekayaan. Penelitian ini juga berargumen bahwa film TGS menggambarkan sirkus Barnum sebagai versi utopis American Dream dengan menciptakan komunitas yang memberi kesempatan yang setara bagi semua kelas dan ras untuk tampil dan mendapatkan apresiasi atas kemampuannya. Akan tetapi, penelitian ini juga menemukan bahwa representasi American Dream dalam film TGS masih tetap melanggengkan hak istimewa laki-laki berkulit putih.

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This study aims to analyze and evaluate the representation of the American Dream in the American film entitled The Greatest Showman (2017) (TGS). Inspired by the life story of a self-made man in the 19th century, P.T. Barnum, TGS tells the journey of Barnum's character to become a circus businessman in 19th-century through rags to riches narrative structure. This study uses a descriptive-analytical method with a qualitative approach, which focuses on the character of Barnum and the character of the Barnum circus performers who represent minorities of various races, skin colors, and physical uniqueness. This research argues that TGS reconstructs the concept of the American Dream of the 19th century. TGS understands that the American Dream is no longer about financial achievement, but a balance between personal fulfilment and family integrity, without glorifying secular accomplishments such as reputation and wealth. This study also argues that TGS portrays Barnum's circus as a utopian version of the American Dream by creating a community that provides equal opportunities for all classes and races to perform and gain an appreciation for their abilities. However, this study finds the representation of the American Dream in the TGS film still perpetuates the privilege of white men."