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Banana Bowl Vs Melting Pot

Decent Essays

Soup or Salad?
Does America have a personality? There are many factors that can affect someone’s personality, but America’s personality is categorized by the conflicting attitudes of nationalism and individualism. These attitudes affected America’s view towards issues of immigration. Depending on which American personality is being used determines whether or not America is been recognized as a “Salad Bowl” or a “Melting Pot” as a country. When America is being described as Nationalistic, then the country is a Melting Pot due to the focus on the assimilation of immigrants. Conversely, when America is being described as Individualistic, the nation is a Salad Bowl because of the focus of cultural retention. The debate of whether or not America’s personality is best represented by a Melting Pot or a Salad Bowl began after the turn of the century; this debate is clearly depicted in the beliefs and works of Diego Rivera and George Bellows. Firstly, Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry is a quintessential and accurate representation of America’s Melting Pot personality. Painted in 1933, this magnificent masterpiece takes up twenty-seven panels and can be found at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Additionally, this Mexican artist’s work can be seen as frescoes, which he describes as, “paintings done rapidly in watercolour on wet plaster on a wall or ceiling, so that the colours penetrate the plaster and become fixed as it dries” (Rivera Court 1). His artwork depicts laborers

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