American Voice Analysis

An American can be defined by a variety of things. A natural born citizen is just as American as an immigrant searching for a new life, just like in “America and I” by Aniza Yezierska. An American can be a rich businessman or it could be a dedicated soldier like in “Veteran’s Day: Never Forget Their Duty” by John McCain. An individual’s definition of being an American is shaped by their life experiences. A person’s view on being an American is different because of experiences, such as being a veteran, being an immigrant, or living in poverty, all of which affect one’s perspective.

Michael Walzer’s essay on “What Does It Mean to Be an American?” raises many points about the American citizen. Specifically, he discusses “American” as an adjective (Walzer). “American” is often associated with American citizens; while this is true, the term can also be applied to Canadians and Mexicans (Walzer). American is such an ambiguous adjective that it is applicable to all countries and individuals that are part of the North American continent. Like Mr. Walzer states, American is not a truly defined term and America is not a country (Walzer). Walzer goes on to introduce a Horace Kallen’s opinion on American’s as anonymous and their “unique” pluralism (Walzer). There are exceptions to all things; the positive to being an American is the fact that Americans can be whatever they choose to be. I feel to be an American one must believe in the American ideals, they must believe in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. American 's in general may be anonymous, however, upon further reflection they have left the definition of “American” open for each American to define the adjective for themselves.

In “I Hear America Singing,” Walt Whitman’s message of the American identity is that it is diverse and proud. The fact the American identity is diverse is proven best in the first line, which states, “I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear.” In this line, the word “varied” proves that it is diverse because if something is varied it has a variety of things amassing it. The American identity being proud is proven by the line, “Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else.” This line proves that the American identity is proud because it is saying that we celebrate what only we have. This celebration evinces that we are proud of what we gain by working.

“The Sound of a Voice” by David Henry Hwang is a one act play telling the story of two characters, Man and Woman. These characters both live alone and isolated. Woman is rumored to be a witch, and Man is a soldier without a purpose who comes in hope of killing Woman. They both have a fear of silence and love. These unusual fears result in their fatal downfall. This play explores deep emotions, such as the fear of silence that Man and Woman share which pushes Woman to commit suicide. A fear of intimacy, felt exceptionally strong by Man, results in unfortunate timing leading to Woman’s death. Loneliness displayed by both characters is the underlying cause of the outcome. These feelings play together to contribute to Man and Woman’s tragic love.

One of the most interesting things about a culture is the voice of the people. In the United States, the American Voice is the combined voices of the people who live in America and the mixing of thousands of different perspectives and ideas. The natural mixing of American culture leads to change whether for better or for worse, as time goes on, so does America and the American people. American literature commonly has strong themes of unity and equality. The clearest way to see the voice of a culture is through its literature, essays by american authors like The Declaration of Independance, Ain’t I a Woman, and Letters from Birmingham Jail.

Americans have not only defined themselves by their religious, ethnic and racial identity, but also by their individual freedom and common values. America has become a nation where its people can fight for what they believe in. Our founding fathers have formed America to be “the land of the free and the home of the brave”. Being apart of the American culture and living on the land founded by our leaders specifies the meaning of the American Identity.

There are many aspects to what it means to be an American. Freedom and equality are two things that defines you as an American. Also, depending on the area you live can have an impact on if you are considered an American. There are many things that surprised me throughout the essays in the book. What surprised me the most was the fact that we all had immigrants in our family that came to the United States from another country, so they were at one time immigrants. Also, I never really thought how America is a lot of different people coming together with all different religions.

The evergreen voice of cuckoo reminds me of cold and misty mornings and sometimes lazy evenings. That voice refreshes our mind and soul. It urges us to stay alert for more and more of that versatile song. Its diverse way of singing enables me fight back all vicissitudes of life. Without the music coming out of cuckoo, life will be like an ice cube left out in a summer

Being an American is a difficult concept to grasp, but it is even harder to define what it truly means to be one. Being an American is something words cannot describe rather it is shown through one’s actions and it is a feeling from within. Although Americans often take their rights for granted, it is a common understanding how these rights are more like privileges. In fact, many Americans are fortunate enough to only be limited by self- restrictions. What an American can achieve is based on hard work, basically making the sky the limit. An American is a free citizen that has rights that enables he or she to do more for others, to bravely stand for what is right, and to selflessly sacrifice for those around.

Last Friday, Serene State University celebrated it commencement ceremony. The event attendance broke university records with 832 graduates, with about 350 of them being first-generation college graduates. The total number of assistance reach 6,873 people.

This quote, by African-American Folk Saying is relevant in today’s society because it signifies how American culture in the North and South have different perspective how they see African Americans. This perspective on African Americans has been going on since slavery. In the south, slaves were able to get close with the families, but never became high enough to be seen as part of the white family. Blacks were allowed to enter the home of the slave owners to clean, cook and etc. but they never could eat or sit in the house, they were given leftovers. In the North, you can be free but still not be seen as equal in the eyes of the whites. In the case of Fredrick Douglas, he was seen as a free man and was taught to read and write, but never did

In the early-mid 20th century, people of African descent were treated as lower class citizens to white people in the American South. The reason that multitudinous whites treated blacks in this manner is as a result of white parents teaching their white children that black people were “less human” than the whites just as a result of the darker skin pigmentation. While today we consider this to be asinine in the not so distant past, this was a problem and as a result a myriad of people were killed and injured. These are a few reasons why this quote is deep and philosophical.

As an American, you are obligated to show distinct characteristics that display a courageous and passionate personality.At the start of an independent America,The Declaration of Independence had established the idea that an “american” should fight for what they believe in. For example, “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter to abolish it.” (pg 272 line15-16)Even since the 1700’s, americans have set the example to stand up for what's right even when you are against the odds. Relentlessness and determination have been the root of character for americans since the beginning of America. This idea of the american character has prospered to current times.Pop culture has engraved the idea of an american into its most popular literature. In the series The Hunger Games written by Suzanne Collins, the main character, Katniss Evergreen, fights against the

Throughout this course learning or discovering to find and use my voice in writing has been an area of growth and learning for me. After reflecting back on my work from the semester, as well as that of my fellow students, I was struck by the process all of us went through to imitate the voices or styles of other writers and through this process find our own. Not only are these essays thematically linked by their exploration or development of voice, but also by a subtler theme of expressing an untold story or voice. This latter part I find particularly compelling, I am deeply moved by work that allows me to see a different perspective, that transforms the sense of an “other” into understanding, or advocates for marginalized peoples and beings

The American voice is what Americans have to say that helps contribute to worldly matters. It is unique because it changes everyday with new events happening and people adding more to the American voice. John Steinbeck was a big contributor to the American voice in the 30’s and 40’s during the Great Depression era. He grew up in a hardworking family, his mother a schoolteacher and his father moved from job to job trying to keep food on the table. He worked as a war correspondent during World War II and also worked as a caretaker for the elderly. His background helped shape who he was, and ultimately helped his work because he could relate to people.