The Americans and the French For this question I have chosen the Americans and the French as they represent very different aspects of the western world. Furthermore, although allies in the international market place and community, there is a continued hostility and intolerance of each other in terms of their cultures and practices, both in the work place and social traditions and beliefs, which makes the comparison even more interesting. In determining to which dimension the French and the Americans belong to we should look at the differences in how they deal with their cultural problems and how they perceive the world around them. America was referred to as ‘The New World’ when it was discovered and this is still relevant to this day in its national identity. America was built on philosophy and freedom of expression, in a way derived from the new, bountiful land that greeted the first settlers. With a blank canvas it was seen that anything that you set out to achieve was possible because you had at your disposal a seemingly endless supply of material and land to do what you wished, which was no longer available in Europe. This frontier mentality encapsulates the ‘American Dream’, you can achieve any goal and after the presidency was established after the War of Independence, that any citizen could become president, and not have it depend on their social standing or wealth. The greatest proponent of this ideal was Abraham Lincoln who came from simple beginnings to become the most important and revered of all US presidents. Compared to this ‘can do’ attitude and belief that anything is possible, the ‘Old World’ is based on history and tradition. As will be seen in the next section, Europeans, and in particular French managers will adhere to old constructs and bureaucracy rather than taking risks and chancing in the future possibilities like an American. Using the example of the presidency again as a way of demonstrating how French society works and how they can be viewed as a dimension, it is not an open position and not everyone is seen as having a birth rite to reach the highest level of power. Although there was revolution to remove an absolute monarchy, the political system that grew out of it produced another king all but in name, Napoleon. Furthermore, to become president of France it is essential that the correct path is taken through the best schools, ‘les grandes ecoles, and then through a professional career with networking and swift elevation through the hierarchy.
France in America introduces readers to events and developments throughout North American History from a perspective that is not normally presented in American History classes. The book begins by introducing readers to the events that would eventually lead lead France to colonize North America. After many failed attempts to colonize areas such as Brazil and Florida, France was forced to settle for lands in the north that were not sought out by rival European powers at the time.
Tocqueville wrote that Americans are inherently more materialistic than European peoples for three reasons. First, Americans have freed themselves by rejecting “a territorial aristocracy” of hierarchical societal structures on the “soil of America.” By doing so, “the distinctions of ranks are obliterated and privileges are destroyed,” therefore causing “the desire of acquiring the comforts of the world” to haunt “the imagination of the poor, and the dread of losing them that of the rich.” Second, in an egalitarian society, where every citizen has an equal opportunity “the most marked inequalities do not strike the eye; when everything is nearly on the same level, the slightest are marked enough to hurt i...
When Alexis de Tocqueville traveled to America, he hoped to acquire a better understanding of the principles of democracy that the young country was exhibiting. Tocqueville had noticed his native country France slowly but surely moving towards those democratic standards He saw that over the past 700 years events seemingly beyond anyone’s control had been driving the nation towards that specific form of government. He believed that eventually the rest of France and the rest of the Western World would follow at least the principles of equality shown in the New World. However, he also noted that there were certain impediments slowing down the change to democracy. Tocqueville did not think that democracy was the right form of government for every
“Those who become rulers through strength of purpose [vie virtuose], as they did, acquire their kingdoms with difficulty, but they hold on to them with ease. And much of the difficulty they have in getting to power derives from the new institutions and customs they are obliged to establish in order to found their governments and make them secure” (p.19).
Should we chose the french? Should we chose the British? The US government had long thought about this in the 1800’s. The two opposing sides that had about this were the Federalists and the Republicans. The federalists wanted the french because they were ruthless and didn't hold back. On the other hand the republicans wanted the british because they didn't pose as much of a risk towards the country with international affairs and country growth.
The night of the alien invasion, the family experiences a last supper where Morgan expresses his hatred for Graham for letting his mom die. The tension between Graham and Morgan is finally put into words which leads to the release of emotions between the two. At this moment, the family finally comes together to address the hurt they’ve all been feeling after the loss of Colleen. If the aliens had never come, who knows how long the conflict between Morgan and Graham would have ensued. But, because, of the imminence of their possible demise, the feelings were put out into the open allowing for the healing process to
"France, Germany, and Post-cold War Europe." Encyclopedia of the European Union. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc., 2000. Credo Reference. Web. 9 March 2014.
Every time Buck or the suicide is brought up she changes the subject, avoiding, or goes silent, withdrawing. She masks her emotions telling everyone the family is fine. In many instances Conrad tries to talk to his mom; one time he finds her in his brother’s room. He asks her questions and she keeps trying to walk away and eventually shuts her bedroom door, ending any sort of a conversation. Later, it appears she has matured and has a conversation with her son. She finds him outside on the lawn and they talk for a bit, until Conrad mentions Buck, and the conversation ends. Beth is even violent with her husband, yelling at him to control her son or ignore their issues. Her final act of violence was leaving, leaving the family, and hoping to leave her problems. If she had learned to communicate all these could have been avoided. She did not feel safe to speak and no one inquired deep enough to penetrate her hard
There are 4 major characters in the movie, Graham is the father of Morgan and Bo. Then there is Merrill the younger brother of Graham who has come to live with Graham and help with the kids after Colleen had passed. Graham was a priest for the town. He was a good priest. After Colleen’s accident, he thought that god was trying to punish him or tell him he is not doing the right
With all the glory and the splendour that some countries may have experienced, never has history seen how only only one man, Napoleon, brought up his country, France, from its most tormented status, to the very pinnacle of its height in just a few years time. He was a military hero who won splendid land-based battles, which allowed him to dominate most of the European continent. He was a man with ambition, great self-control and calculation, a great strategist, a genius; whatever it was, he was simply the best. But, even though how great this person was, something about how he governed France still floats among people's minds. Did he abuse his power? Did Napoleon defeat the purpose of the ideals of the French Revolution? After all of his success in his military campaigns, did he gratify the people's needs regarding their ideals on the French Revolution? This is one of the many controversies that we have to deal with when studying Napoleon and the French Revolution. In this essay, I will discuss my opinion on whether or not was he a destroyer of the ideals of the French Revolution.
The French and American revolutions are both very significant in the world’s history. The American Revolution happened first, around the last half of the 18th century where the Thirteen Colonies became the United States of America, and gained independence from the British Empire. The French revolution on the other hand, was from 1789 until the turn of the century 1799. For the French people this was a period of political and social turmoil. The idea of Enlightenment stuck a large population of the French people and led to many changes in society. These two individual revolutions have many comparisons and although they are not identical they become intertwined with separate philosophies on politics and economic expansion.
The movie Signs is centered on the Hess family. You have Graham Hess who is the father in the family, Marell Hess who is Graham’s brothers, Morgan and Bo Hess who are Graham’s kids, and then there is Collen Hess who was a loving wife and mother but unfortunately has passed away. Graham Hess was a priest until 6 months ago once the passing of his beloved wife Collen. Morgan and Graham have a very complicated relationship. Graham has certainly changed and Morgan feels as if he needs to be the dad in the family. Bo has this
Americans often think that they have a better chance of finding a common ground with aliens from outer space than with "resident aliens" from Russia. Frequently Russian immigrants feel exactly the same way about their American co-workers, classmates and even spouses. A key to gaining and sustaining a mutual respect in cross-cultural relationships is an understanding of distinctive cultural norms of people from different countries. Without going too deep into historical and psychological aspects of typical Americans’ and Russians’ behaviors and traditions, let us look at a few dissimilarities between representatives of these two cultures.
Through the history of the world, the people of Earth have seen every kind of leader. We’ve seen good leaders, average leaders, and terrible leaders. Many cases in France’s history they have had many leaders go through all of these ranks. For example, Napoleon Bonaparte started out great and slowly went down hill. But never in France’s history have they seen such a terrible leader as King Louie the XVI. Louie was not exactly king material. Louie was fat, shy, gluttonous, gentle, weak minded, not particularly smart and unambitious . He was everything a king shouldn’t be. As the French king Louie made just about every mistake a king could possibly make. These mistakes lead to the French Revolution and even the beheading of King Louie. Throughout Louie’s rein one mistake stands out more than any other. The biggest mistake Louie made was when he bribed the Austrian princess Marie Antoniette at the age of fifteen . Because of Antoniette and Louie’s passion for her France underwent a horrible time period. She is the worst queen France has ever seen. Blinded by beauty, she led to Louie’s death and the uprising of the French people.
Hope is a highly talented, caring, and intelligent young woman. In the time that I have known her, I have witnessed the transformation of a timid girl into a confident young lady. She is not afraid of a challenge and is ready for what lies ahead. Her compassion and understanding can be witnessed in many areas of her life.