First, you’ll need to choose a topic for your final essay, which will be at least 1,000 words in length. This is the topic you will use to create your outline in Week 2 and final essay in Week 3. Choose ONE of the topics below.

Option 1:

The American Dream lecture in Week 1 points out that Poor Richards Almanac was an annual publication that included calendar lists, home recipes, weather forecasts etc. What made Franklins almanac unlike other almanacs was the inclusion of Franklins witty parables and humorous writings.  Franklin proposes in The Way to Wealth that anyone who works hard, avoids debt, and works toward attaining a virtuous character can be successful and ultimately wealthythat the American Dream is accessible to all.

Watch either The Color Purple or The Great Gatsby (locate the films using Netflix, Amazon, or your local library) and argue why or why not Franklins assertions are correct. Provide examples from the film and your own explanations to support your assertions.

Your will have two choices for your thesis statement:

As is evident in the film The Color Purple (or The Great Gatsby), Franklins assertion that the American Dream is available to all people is incorrect because _________, ___________, and _________ (you will determine three points in support of your thesis, and those will become the topics of your three body paragraphs).

As is evident in the film The Color Purple (or The Great Gatsby), Franklins assertion that the American Dream is available to all people is correct because _________, ___________, and _________ (you will determine three points in support of your thesis, and those will become the topics of your three body paragraphs).