Happiness in Difficult Times Research Paper

 The final assignment for this semester is a Research Paper that centers around Finding Happiness in Difficult Times. For this paper, which should be a minimum of five pages, you will research five outside sources and five course documents (remember, films and film notes don’t count as course documents) provided for this Unit. Make sure you list ALL sources at the end of the paper(both outside and inside sources) in MLA format. Your goal for this paper is to determine how to find happiness within unhappiness. This, of course, is the ultimate test. And to most people it’s an almost impossible task. But YOU are not most people, you now have an awareness of happiness that few have. You have three films, song lyrics, and literary works you can include in your analysis of finding happiness within unhappiness. You also have first hand experience, since life is composed of ups and downs, good days and bad days, happy times and sad times, in addition to interviews with individuals you have questioned in your journal. So for the Unit 5 Developed Response/Research paper, here are the avenues for you to pursue. How did the characters in these three films (Modern Times, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Pursuit of Happyness) achieve happiness amidst misery? What happens in these films that symbolizes man’s ability to (a) deal with misery, (b) experience peace and joy even in difficult times, (c) transform unhappiness into happiness? From the songs, literary works, and course documents of this unit, what gets people through difficult times? How did gender issues impact the happiness levels of men and women? What about Shirley Temple provided happiness to the people of the Depression? Is there anyone in our era who has had similar effects? If yes, who and why? If not, why not? How has man’s ability to achieve happiness in the midst of difficulties changed over the years, as shown in these films which span seventy years (Modern Times-1936, It’s a Wonderful Life-1946, The Pursuit of Happyness-2006)? As usual, focus on being as specific as possible in your references to the films, integrating sources into your text (refer to them specifically–it helps me know that they are there), as well as listing them at the end of the paper, good organization, good grammar, and original ideas.