, they slowly destroyed the past happiness of his American dream and created alarm and a sure foreshadowing of their future fate: poverty and loss. The resulting tone and state of mind was that of despair and hopelessness; the world James envisioned had initially proven true and had given him a false hope for a perfect world. As Crevecoeur changes the tones and depicts unpleasant and often appalling images, the concept of a new and perfect world, free from the problems other nations encounter, is evidently nonexistent. Crevecoeur and his Letters from an American Farmer successfully depict the notion that no matter where a man escapes to, even if it is his ideal, problems and conflict will continue to be prevalent. Be it poverty, slavery or even war, problems such as these are inevitable when man attempts to pursue his own self-interests and independence in a society that already has divisions within. Although America appeared to offer freedom from monarchial rule, it did not promise a society free from conflict and differing ideas. And it is this that makes for an effective work: the promise of freedom appeals to the masses that so desperately seek it in combination with the variations in imagery and tone on account of an altering society that prove extremely effective both literarily and rhetorically. Thus, the formation of the American was more than just the creation of a specific type of person. It was the development of a consciousnessan understanding and acceptance of the changes that are bound to face a society that allows for freedom of thought and the formation of new and diverse opinions. And this is what Crevecoeur is attempting to prove through the delight and tribulations in Letters from an American Farmer. No matter where James escaped to, there would be evils to plague his happiness. America offered the freedom to choose, and to be an American would mean to retain personal independence and pursue self-interests. However, e...
