Going West: nas fronteiras entre a América real e a América imaginada
A. João Seabra do Amaral 
1
1 ISCET – High Institute of Business and Tourism Sciences, Porto, Portugal
To cite this text:
Amaral, A. J. S. (2019), Going West: nas fronteiras entre a América real e a América imaginada, Percursos & Ideias, Vol. 9, pp. 33-43.
Abstract
Since the arrival of Columbus to the New World, the human imagination has built endless possibilities of accomplishment in the extensive American landscape. From the Puritan myth of the Promised Land, which would lead to the westward movement, the myth of the American dream of success and prosperity, to the solid faith in the capitalist world, many barriers were overthrown and frontiers conquered by people in demand of their share. However, the mythical configuration of the country does not always picture the real, experienced one: in the thresholds of its spaces, other realities erupt where success and failure undermine and empty the initial promise. Based on some works of American authors, this article intends to approach this theme, exemplifying the contradictions between planned projects and complex realities that eventually destroy them.
Keywords
America, West, Frontiers, Expectations, Reality.
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