本文意欲透過萊拉‧哈勒比《昔日的應許之地》所描繪的一對阿拉伯裔美籍夫妻於後九一一時期在美國的生活經歷及心理掙扎，呈現另一解讀美國夢的角度及其與恐怖主義的連結。本文主張，為表現美國夢概念的晦暗不明，哈勒比不僅敘述九一一過後破碎的美國夢，更進一步追溯九一一前美國夢破滅的軌跡。美國夢思想奠定美國建國基礎且塑造獨樹一幟的美國性格。由此而激勵出今日的個人主義、自由資本主義及民主政體。由美國夢衍生出的價值觀透過主流媒體增加其吸引力並為多數人奉為準則。哈勒比的小說挑戰如此理想化的準則，描述美國社會的種種病態，譬如自私的利己主義、社會貧富不均及人際疏離。本文主張在哈勒比的小說中，美國夢遠在九一一恐怖攻擊事件之前已是一本身具有瑕疵的思想，並非因此外在事件而破滅。本文的第一、二部分探討追求美國夢的主角在奢糜的美國物質生活中空虛貧乏的感受及對家國的鄉愁，第三部分討論美國夢與恐怖主義的連結。

The thesis aims to provide an alternative understanding of the American Dream and its relation to terrorism through examining Laila Halaby’s depiction of an Arab American couple’s life and struggle in her post-9/11 novel Once in a Promised Land. The thesis argues that, in representing the American Dream’s ambiguity, Halaby does not merely describe the broken Dream after 9/11 but returns to the pre-9/11 era to trace its origin and problems. As an ideal, the American Dream has sustained the establishment of the States and formed the American character. It has inspired American individualism, liberal capitalism, and democracy, the ideas of which are nowadays enhanced by mainstream media and are still believed by many people as universal. However, in the novel, Halaby challenges these “universal” ideas by depicting the illness of American society, such as egocentricity, class inequality, and a sense of alienation. The thesis maintains that Halaby represents the American Dream as an inherently problematic belief rather than a problem caused externally by 9/11. While the first two parts of the thesis investigate the protagonists’ inner struggles, their emptiness in luxurious American life and nostalgia for home country when they pursue the American Dream, the third part explores the connection between the Dream and terrorism.

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