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White male american stereotypes
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What is the American identity? The American identity is a universal idea of what the ideal American should be like, and is a constantly changing idea. Since the American dream is constantly changing, it is safe to say that it changes with time. There are also reasons that make the American identity change, like a war, a new president, or a new idea. The American identity will never stay the same for a long time because of today's ever changing society. Over time, the definition of the American identity has changed greatly. For example, in 1793, Hector Crevecoeur wrote, “He is either an European, or a descendent of a European… The american is therefore to love his country much better than that wherein his forefathers were born… the american is a new man who acts upon new principles.” This quotation is saying that an American is either an European or the descendent of one, …show more content…
One example of a definition of American identity is found in the Langston Hughes reading. Hughes says, “I am the man who never got ahead, the poorest worker bartered through the years… who dreamt a dream so brave, so strong, so true.” Hughes proffers that he believes that the American identity is an immigrant who works hard and and gets paid nothing, and believes in the American dream more than anyone, while the rich white men sit back and collects the money. Another definition of the American identity can be found in the Group Presentations. A quote from the Group Presentations is, “If you want opportunity, and are willing to work for it, America is the place to be.” This quotation is from the Hudgins Reading Questions, and shows that Hudgins thinks that the American identity is a hard working person, of any race or gender, is someone who gets opportunities. Both of these readings provide a different definition of the American identity, proving that it is not possible to have a singular definition of the American
Immigrants have morphed American culture and cultural identity by bringing diversity and teaching us what it means to be American. In Richard Rodriguez’s essay titled “Blaxicans’ and Other Reinvented Americans” the author converses about American culture and cultural identity. Rodriguez proclaims that using race as a basis for identification is completely fallacious. The author also conversates about the recognition of assimilation similar to “Op-Ed: American identity crisis? What’s an ‘American’ identity” by Paul Wallis. Wallis discourses about assimilation, his definition of an ‘American’, by giving examples of races mixing to create a culture.
“America the melting pot.” An expression used by many and often said in a prideful manner. We Americans like to think of ourselves as all accepting and welcoming to everyone, and while that may be true in general, discrimination still exist throughout the country. Fortunately, racism has significantly lowered thanks to the Civil rights movement. Each American can now express who they are without a major fear of contempt or prejudice. Prior to the Civil rights movement, racism ran rampant, particularly in the south. The Harlem renaissance, which took place throughout the 1920’s, helped spur the Civil Rights movement. It was around this time African Americans really started to push themselves forward in society. One successful poet of that time is Langston Hughes. Two of his well-known poems, “Theme for English B”, and “I, too America,” should be recognized for expression of the common thoughts and ideals of African Americans of the time who faced racial segregation. In “Theme for English B”, Hughes shows the reader that despite the lines drawn by society, he is an American and a part of his fellow man although there may be physical differences. “Yet a part of me, as I am a part of you. That’s American.” Hughes does a wonderful job in both his pieces depicting the racism of the time. He shows that no matter your background you are equal to those around you.
What does it mean to be American? and how can someone become an American? First of all, being an American means to have education, good financial status, being secure and be free but also to love the country and all it gives you. To become an American, you will need to have a dream or a goal, these goals can be, having or giving a good education to your children, being able to get a good job, have a quiet life without economic problems nor any other kind of problems, and most importantly be a free person; once you are done with those goals you would become an American and love the country. In the novel "The Book of Unknown Americas" written by Cristina Hernandez, tells the story of a Mexican family who travels to the United States to solve a problem of his daughter who suffers from a brain problem. This family left all their past so that her daughter, Maribel, had the opportunity to improve herself and return to normal as she had been years before. The Rivera family came to an apartment building, where they met a great variety of people who shared the same or similar objective in their lives, these objectives could be from having a better economy, better health or safety or simply
Webster?s Dictionary defines American as or its inhabitants. But is that all America and an American truly is? Is a person American simply because of geography? According to Identities, ?America is a confluence of cultures.? Americans are people whose lives depict men and women who are trying to be as successful and robust as possible, this quest is symbolic to citizens of many other countries. This is why America illustrates the Statue of Liberty, a structure that symbolizes freedom throughout the world. America is composed not only of these peoples, but the cultures and the ways of life of these people.
545 million people have called themselves Americans since this country began in 1776, and around 1.2 million people have died in war for this country. (Source 1)(Source 2) So what did these people live for? What did they die for? They did not live or die for 3,537,436 sq. miles of land. (source 3) They did not call themselves American after any person, object, or place. They called themselves American because they wanted to take on the American identity. An identity shaped by its past, modeled by the presence, and ready to shape the future. The American identity is one of dreamers. To be American is to have a dream, whatever that dream is, and to strive to make that dream a reality. A dream is what all Americans live, and die for.
America is the nation of immigrants. America was founded on the principals of freedom of speech, equality, and the pursuit of happiness and this principle of freedoms encouraged people to come to America. To be an American does not simply mean being born on American soil, it means that one believes and supports the beliefs of American principles. Scruton stated that, “to inherit a culture you must identify with it; and if you cannot identify with it, then you must find a new identity by rejecting it.” To be American is to live by its values, such as patriotism, individualism, conformity, success, and equality. While these are American values, the conflicts that occur between values and those that hold these values is what makes an American. These values lead Americans to become loyal yet logical, expressive yet traditional, and hypocritically tolerant or truly tolerant yet discriminating, all because we hold dearly the tenets of freedom to speech, liberty and pursuits of happiness.
My essay is over the essay “ The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American” by James Baldwin. What is an American? That is one question with many different answers. I feel that an american is not just one born in America , but one who loves it. An american is someone who is proud to be in America, no matter what. An American is someone who loves and cares for others as if they are their own. What it means to be an american is so much more than being born in America.
What does it mean to be an American? Ask any one of the 300 million Americans living in the United States and you are sure to get 300 million different answers. Being American is more than be a citizen of the country or having parents who are citizens. Being an American is more than waving a flag on the Fourth of July. Being an American is more than chanting USA USA USA during the Olympic Games. Although, these things are a part of the “American identity,” they are not the whole.
Since this great country was first established many intuitive minds have tried to answer the question; "What is an American". This country is full of individuals of many backgrounds, and diversities and each person has a different opinion on this question. In my opinion, an American is someone who values freedom and equality and pursues the "American dream." Every American exercises these rights and these are great adjectives to describe our country. Each of the seven readings, and the one image I compiled help mold this broader definition into a more precise description of an American.
What does it mean to be an American? To me, what it means to be American is to Pledge Allegiance to your country, to proudly boast that you live in a country that has a justification for existence, to be given opportunity. Although there are many definitions of what it means to be an American, does being an American really just mean being successful in society? The point of this essay is to describe the different meanings and my feelings of what it is to be “American”.
Identity can be described as the way we view ourselves; the way that we distinguish ourselves from others while also comparing our similarities. In other words identity is what makes someone unique and average at the same time. To start off with I was born and raised in Jamaica for 6 years with my parents, but due to the fact that my parents were offered an opportunity to attend school in America they dove for a chance of a better life. My first home was in Jefferson, Missouri where it seemed like it snowed every day. White sheets of snow would cover every inch of the city, no stone or rock was left without an inch of snow. The city was so beautiful to me because it would always light up in front of my eyes. The people there was so nice that
The New English Dictionary (1999) defines identity as "the distinguishing characteristics of a person." Our identity makes us who and what we are. It could be described as a sense of belonging and about having things in common with others (Weeks, 1990, cited in Austin, 2002, p.1).
What does it mean to be American? Poet Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “America is another name for opportunity. Our whole history appears like a last effort of divine providence on behalf of the human race.” What Ralph Waldo Emerson means by this is that America is the land for a new start. It is where you can be free to express yourself and be who you want to be. People have been coming to the United States for new opportunity for centuries. In this essay I will research what it means to be an American and what defines us.
To be an American means to go about life being yourself, doing what makes you happy, and knowing what you want to do and doing it. My past built me into who I am today, and because I chose to do what I wanted and lived my life the way I wanted it helped me become the strong person I believe I am.
The American persona has meant many different things since the formation of the country, because its ideals are ever-changing. What began as more humble and community centered ideals eventually turned into self-focused and egotistical ideals. True, not all people of America embody these ideals, but the world views its people by these prominent traits. Some characteristics of what defines an American have stayed the same, but today the American ideal is vastly different from the vision of the founders.