In a 2011 essay in The Atlantic, author and journalists Lori Gottlieb writes:
"Nowadays, it's not enough to be happy---if you can be even happier. The American
Dream and the pursuit of happiness have morphed from a quest for general
contentment to the idea that you must be happy at all times and in every way."
Gottlieb then cites Barry Schwartz, a professor of social theory: "Happiness as a
byproduct of living your life is a great thing... [b]ut happiness as a goal is a recipe for
disaster."
In a constructed response, take a position on the claim that pursuing happiness as a
goal has detrimental (negative) effects. Support your argument with evidence from
The Great Gatsby and at least one other text from this course.

Read this excerpt from "the all-american slurp." i pulled the strings out of my stalk. z-z-zip, z-z-zip. my brother followed suit. z-z-zip, z-z-zip. to my left, my parents were taking care of their own stalks. z-z-zip, z-z-zip, z-z-zip. suddenly i realized that there was dead silence except for our zipping. looking up, i saw that the eyes of everyone in the room were on our family. mr. and mrs. gleason, their daughter meg, who was my friend, and their neighbors the badels—they were all staring at us as we busily pulled the strings of our celery. what story element does the author develop in this excerpt? a) lot details about the party b) characterization of the lins c) characterization of the gleasons d) setting details about the gleasons’ house