Bill Bryson, in the given segment of his novel Neither Here Nor There: Travels to Europe, emphasizes the drastic differences in societies across the Atlantic. Bryson’s purpose is to inform Americans on the substantial changes in culture from the USA, especially New York, to Europe. He adopts a humorous and sincere tone in order to express his experience to the audience, being the American people. To begin the text Bryson uses hyperbole when discussing the enormous yellow backpack he took on his trip. As well as when advancing through customs and being expected to be questioned about the contents inside of his backpack. Hyperbole is used when he says, “Anything to declare? Cigarettes? Alcohol? Dead horse?” Bryson exaggerates the stereotype that he brought with him when traveling to Europe about the items being brought with him. He continues to describe the unaccustomed world he had began to discover. While Bryson explains the unfamiliar terrain he uses a simile. He states, “I felt like someone stepping out of doors for the first time.” This statement …show more content…
By saying this he isolates each object individually to distinguish the specific things he has never experienced in his lifetime, a few being an unsliced loaf of bread, or a person wearing a beret who expected to be taken seriously. He also exhibits humor in his writing here to give the readers a perspective of his trip and experiences. Bryson finishes with a sentence about how New York and Luxembourg are practically two distinct worlds. He uses consonance when declaring that, “They don't know anything about the New York Yankees, they don't know the theme tune to the Mickey Mouse Club, they are from another world.” When talking about the Yankees and Mickey Mouse, both have repeated letters at the beginning of each word, so that you remember these examples Bryson
The extend of most American’s knowledge of early America is of Columbus’ discovery of America for Europe in 1492 and the landing of the Mayflower in Plymouth in 1620. This was true of A Voyage Long and Strange author, Tony Horwitz. Horwitz felt as if there were pieces missing in his picture of early America and set out on a journey that spanned from Canada to the Dominican Republic. The novel starts out with a prologue of Horwitz talking about his own reasons for wanting to learn more of early America and then is broken into three sections Discovery, Conquest, and Settlement. Each section discusses another period in early American history starting with first contact in Vinland and ending with the landing in Plymouth.
In this section, the readers are introduced to the idea that rich American tourists influences Parisian shop owners and city officials to Americanize to attract customers. Consequently, creating a hub for Americans that influences Parisian and can be influenced by Parisians. She focuses on how this hub changed views on both sides. Americans seeing it as an exclusive club, Parisians understanding it as a betrayal of the ‘true’ Paris. Tensions from the preferential treatment of Americans become the basis for many of Blowers subsequent chapters.
In this book, Kupperman is telling a well-known event in remarkable detail. She intentionally uses last three chapters of the nine to tell the Jamestown’s history. The first six are in relation to how Jamestown came to be. The first chapter deals with political, national and religious conflicts during this period and how it motivated the English to venture West. The second is titled,” Adventurers, Opportunities, and Improvisation.” The highlight of this chapter is the story of John Smith, and how his precious experience enabled him to save ”the Jamestown colony from certain ruin.” (51) He is just an example of the “many whose first experiences along these lines were Africa or the eastern Mediterranean later turned their acquired skills to American ventures.” (43) Chapter three discusses the European and Native American interaction before and during this period. “North America’s people had had extensive and intimate experience of Europeans long before colonies was thought of, and through this experience they had come to understand much about the different kind of people across the sea.” (73) This exchange of information happened because a lot of Europeans lived among the Natives (not as colonist or settlers), and Natives were brought back to Europe. The people in Europe were very fascinated with these new people and their culture. Chapter four analyzes this fascination. It starts off talking about Thomas Trevilian, an author of “an elaborate commonplace book,” that showed “the English public was keenly interested in the world and in understanding how to categorize the knowledge about all the new things, people, and cultures of which specimens and descriptions were now available to them.
Takaki, Ronald. “Between Two Endless Days.” A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1993. 277-310.
Martinez creates unity within in her essay by repeating key words/ phrases. Her main argument is the falling of a Euro American identity and the social disturbance it creates, and she restates this by saying “dominant society psych”, “Hey whitey it’s your turn at the back of the bus”, “Euro American anxiety”, “decline of Euro- American cultural centricity”. She never moves far from her original argument even as she retraces the steps of American “identity”, and she makes sure to point out...
In the seventeenth century, the English and many other Eastern countries came to the “new land” for a vast amount of reasons. Many of these foreigners came for religious freedom, some to seek fortune, and others were convicts being deported. However, for those who came across the sea, there was one thing they were not planning to have conflict with when they arrived. The natives, or as the English called them “savages”, which were a distinction on how some viewed these natives, had made this land their home long before settlers came exploring. The differences in language, hierarchy, and society divided these two cultures. Living in the same region, the relationships between the natives and English varied among the East coast.
Thus, Bierce satirizes American culture and the popular beliefs of destiny and natural superiority associated with his time. American history is shown to be nothing more than a deaf and mute child roaming in the wilderness playing war games. The arrogant notion of superiority is described as feeble and ultimately destructive. Bierce calls upon Americans to view themselves with a kind of humility toward the natural world and its it place inside of it; no longer should Americans see themselves as privileged, instead, they should become humbled.
After a close analysis of “America” by Tony Hoagland, the poem warns and points out the problems with our consumerism. Hoagland uses metaphors and imagery to describe the actions of American, while throwing in counteracting themes. And uses thoughts and dreams to bring in metaphors that complex the poem.
Leaving everything one has ever known to seek a new life in a foreign country is enough to make anyone cower away. However, that did not stop author of America and I, Anzia Yezierska, who uncovers the truth of being an immigrant in the late 1800s to early 1900s. Thousands of immigrants come to the United States every year in search of finding their dream and living with freedom. In America and I, Anzia Yezierska demonstrates the hardships of living as an immigrant in America while using repetition, imagery and tone.
Stepping out of my first plane ride, I experience an epiphany of new culture, which seems to me as a whole new world. Buzzing around my ears are conversations in an unfamiliar language that intrigues me. It then struck me that after twenty hours of a seemingly perpetual plane ride that I finally arrived in The United States of America, a country full of new opportunities. It was this moment that I realized how diverse and big this world is. This is the story of my new life in America.
...onal confusion comes his inability to accept his brother Allie’s premature death. Through characterization, symbolism, and internal and external conflict, Salinger uses the baseball mitt, the red hunting hat, and the carousel to explore the protagonist struggle to resolve his grief.
Guarneri, Carl J. "Globalization and the Impact of American Popular Culture Abroad." (n.d.): 1-20. Print.
I walked around unsteadily all day like a lost baby, far away from its pack. Surrounded by unfamiliar territory and uncomfortable weather, I tried to search for any signs of similarities with my previous country. I roamed around from place to place and moved along with the day, wanting to just get away and go back home. This was my first day in the United States of America.
The finding of the Americans was a life changing discovery for the Europeans. Although it was a dream come true for many foreigners to become an American, they were completely unaware of the several obstacles that were needed to actually earn that title. The documentary The Long Long Journey shows the struggles of a polish family migrating to the US during early 18th century. This documentary shows not only the perspective of Europeans of new America, but as well as show how “Americans” treated the immigrants. This film begins off with hundreds of Europeans traveling by boat to NYC. During this time, many Slavs, Polishes, Russians and several other Europeans sought to flee their homes due to harsh conditions in their country. Janket faced numerous challenges to become a true American such as his lack of knowledge of US cultural norms, having to step up and fulfill his father's role and his inability to live out his version of american dream.
with its homes and its family life and its comparative peace. Allthat went, and though I can think about the new world I cannotput it into fiction”. But of course