Writing Project 4 (Due Date: 05/24/24) Reflective Synthesis Your final paper wil

Writing Project 4 (Due Date: 05/24/24)
Reflective Synthesis
Your final paper will be a reflective synthesis essay. For this essay, you are asked to write on the
concepts of the “American Dream” and “consumerism” as we have discussed over the past few
weeks. During these discussions, you were asked to read David Foster Wallace’s essay “A
Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again,” as well as some articles about the “American
Dream,” and watch the film Into The Wild. During previous class sessions, we have also spent
time identifying some suitable quotes upon which to build an argument. Using these texts, you
will be writing a reflective synthesis, which means you will reflect on your experience with the
intention of synthesizing or making connections to formulate a theory.
Specifically, your goal is to synthesize the experience of living in America, using Wallace and
the aforementioned works as sources for support, along with your experience of living in the US,
to formulate an argument about consumerism and the “American Dream.” In this paper, you
should be considering the ways that the “American Dream” is connected to the ideal America,
our overarching national narrative/history, and shared identity. More specifically, your paper
should take as an argument whether this concept is helpful and harmful to our society (i.e. is it
possible to attain the American Dream), and how the concept is linked to consumerism,
capitalism, and individualism in our society.
Audience: The audience for this paper will primarily be your academic community, or your
instructor, and the college community, but for our purpose, you should not limit yourself to this
explicit audience. Instead, as you write also consider other audiences that you wish appeal to.
Although your writing should be primarily formal and academic, there is a benefit to considering
how your writing technique will change throughout your essay as you address or appeal to your
audience.
An effective paper will meet or exceed the criteria listed below:
• Advance and sustain a focused thesis;
• Develop and present a focused, unified argument;
• Elaborate or support all assertions with appropriate details, examples, or critical sources we have
engaged;
• Incorporate artifacts (such as images, or other texts and media, as needed) and relate them to
their analyses;
• Present a compelling or logical conclusion;
• Be four to five pages in length (1,000-1,250 words, not including images, artifacts, or works cited
pages) and formatted according to MLA or APA guidelines (double-spaced, 12pt times new
roman).
will need to talk about into the wild fun things / and merge it with the american dream —-
Here is my thesis – its fine if you want to change it but it has to clear
In the movie “Into the Wild,” Alexander Supertramp’s path of change is a powerful
commentary on how hard it is to achieve the American Dream. The American Dream, which is
made up of hopes for financial success and acceptance by society, is deeply reevaluated in
Supertramp’s journey. Supertramp rejects the trappings of consumerism and societal expectations
in search of the “Fun thing we’ll never do again,” which is a metaphor for real experience and
personal satisfaction. As Supertramp disappears into the wilderness and sheds the last traces of
his old self, he questions common ideas of success and happiness. His journey shows how
limited wealth and the search for approval from others are. It suggests that the only way to find
true happiness is to embrace life’s raw and unpredictable moments. The movie shows the
beautiful and free parts of Supertramp’s journey, but it also shows the harsh realities of his
decisions. In the end, it asks if it’s possible to fully live out the American Dream in a world
driven by consumerism and social pressures. ‘Into the Wild’ makes you question what the Dream
is all about and how to find real happiness in a world full of false goals and short-lived joys
through Supertramp’s search for authenticity and self-discovery.
and add my personal experience into it as a international student coming from Italy and the American dream promise of wealth …