Carnival Post

     In the last section of American Literature, the theme of societal expectations kept coming up.  Ralph Ellison refers to it in "Invisible Man."  With an image of a naked woman wearing an American flag painted on her stomach, Ellison symbolizes the "American Dream."  The woman is desirable, yet frustrating to the narrator.  It's as if an opportunity is being dangled in front of his face with no promise of the future.  This notion of an "American Dream" is questioned by this image in Ellison's work.  American society has standards set in place for its citizens to meet--people tend to think that the "American Dream" is attainable if they just work a little harder, yet their work always seems to fall short.
     "Howl" by Ginsberg gives us another image of an unattainable American dream.  The speaker talks about the U.S. as a child would talk about a parent tucking them into bed: "where we hug and kiss the United States under our bedsheets."  This image of a child showing love and affection to its parent is immediately countered by the next line, the "United States that coughs all night and won't let us sleep."  This line gives us the image of a parent that won't let their child sleep, or possibly has such high expectations of their child that the child can't sleep at night for fear of disappointing the parent.  The unrealistic expectations society puts on its members are laid out with the personification of the United States.
     Their Eyes Were Watching God by Hurston has several examples of the theme dealing with societal expectations.  Janie's life is constantly examined by the eyes of those around her.  Every decision Janie makes is met with scrutiny by people in her society that think they know best.  These people have expectations, shaped by societal norms, for how Janie is supposed to behave, and when she goes against those expectations, people become extremely judgmental.  Janie herself has expectations for how life and her role in society is supposed to be.  She thinks that getting married will solve her problems, but it turns out that doing so causes even more problems.  When her expectations are not met, Janie realizes that her ideas on what is the norm in society don't work in practice, so she tells people to live life for themselves and figure out what works.
   The "American Dream" and other societal expectations are questioned in the post-modernist literature we read for American Lit II.  These themes, even in small ways, come up in several of the works covered.  Authors express what many have questioned but kept quiet about for so long.  The opportunity to see that others feel the same way about the unrealistic expectations placed on them allows readers to think differently and look for other options.