Essay on The Malignant American in Surfacing

American poets, novelists, and other writers often write about the topic of American identity. In this lesson, you have read excerpts from two texts, “Response to Executive Order 9066” by Dwight Okita, and “Mericans” by Sandra Cisneros. Determine a common theme that both authors establish about the topic. In response to the first sign of American identity I noticed by the sort of stories in the classifications of relatives in style tradition Americans names such as empty and uncle. The next thing I noticed relates to young American identity, regarding childhood. As a result of American culture a couple things that could be experienced and childhood during this period, the narrator tries to avoid falling victim of. For example, the grandmother

Throughout both stories you see that being American doesn't mean your culture has to be from America. Any person, ethnicity, and race can be American because appearances and heritage don't define what it means to be

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 Edward L. Hudgins article, What is an American?, Hudgins defines an American in ways I had not thought of before. Hudgins stated all these ideas about Americans being driven to do their best and meeting challenges head-on. I would like to think that being an American means everything Hudgins stated, however I think Hudgins is giving the optimistic answer of what being an American means. What Hudgins explains as being an American is what I believe most Americans were like when the country was first founded. The idea of taking risks and working until the risks paid off is one that most Americans do not believe because the possibility of actually achieve one’s dream is extremely less likely today than it was when the country was first established.

The American is a new man who is neither a European, nor his direct descendant. He is a strange mix of blood which cannot be found in any other country. The American is described as a person whose grandfather was an Englishman, his mother was Dutch and who has married a Frenchwoman. The American is a person who has left behind all his ancient manners and prejudices, and has received new ones from the mode of life he has embraced, the rank he holds and the government he obeys. A person becomes an American after being received in the broad lap of the great Alma Mater, and he becomes melted down into the new race of men whose posterity and efforts could transform the world in the days to come.

Josiah Strong, a reverend and famous Protestant clergyman, wrote in his book, Our Country, about why the United States should support imperialism. He himself is American, but where exactly in America is unknown. It is important that this established, as it makes it easier to understand his motivations for promoting what he thinks are best interests for America. The exact date of this publication is not given, but further research states it is from 1885. At around 1885 was a period of time where imperialism was a concept which was spreading quickly to many large countries, and there were many who supported it in the United States. His book, given the quote, appears to embrace American imperialism for spreading the ideals of the United

In the novel there are many Americans that depict the “American Myth,” for example Ann she was typical of the low wage working people ( Shipler, pg. 24-25), but the thing is Ann did not point fingers of blame at anyone, she excepted that she got herself into the situation that she is now. Even though she knew that the credit card companies rates were high she made the option of using them, but that is not because she had a choice or not but only because she had to. The lease on Ann truck was about to expire and her ex husbands child support of $100 was about to stop because her daughter was about to turn 18. Ann only had one option left which was bankruptcy but then she found

or herself, and thus placing that self into the tradition of American autobiography, s/he provides proof of "American" identity (91).

Throughout the life span of the United States, from its infancy after the Revolution to the present, people have asked, “What is an American?” This question goes far beyond asking who is a citizen or who resides in this land. No, it asks what the identity of an American is? Through popular, art, film, and literature, the American image is defined as being based on embracing our individual identities.

Hooded Americanism: The First Century of the Ku Klux Klan: 1865 to the Present by David Chalmers records the history of the Ku Klux Klan quite bluntly, all the way from its creation following the civil war, to the early 1960’s. The author starts the book quite strongly by discussing in detail many acts of violence and displays of hatred throughout the United States. He makes a point to show that the Klan rode robustly throughout all of the country, not just in the southern states. The first several chapters of the book focus on the Klan’s creation in 1865. He goes on to discuss the attitude of many Americans following the United State’s Civil War and how the war shaped a new nation. The bulk of the book is used to go through many of

What does it mean to be an “American”? To each individual person it means something very different. For the writer Bharati Mukherjee, who wrote the essay, “American Dreamer”, to be a true American someone has to want to be an American, not just prove that they merited citizenship. Her essay “American Dreamer” goes in depth into this idea and her opinion that as an American one should believe in bringing together the cultures in America. “We must think of American culture and nationhood as a constantly reforming, transmogrifying “we” (Mukherjee 438). For the author James Baldwin, who wrote the essay “Stranger in the Village”, an American is a person who is integrated with other cultures, and

The 15th century was a turning point in the world's history, since the ocean, which was previously seen as an obstacle to reach beyond, was turned out to be a medium to unify the continents. The discovery of ocean is mainly referred as the "oceanic revolution" and it put the study of history in a global context, for power relations were no longer limited to national histories. At the time the Ottoman Empire was the leading figure in terms of power, since it was dominant in the Mediterranean which, as Bender states, formed the core of the world's economy. The Europeans, feeling inferior against the power and the wealth of Islamic world, saw the ocean as an alternative way to claim power. As Haring suggests ‘Ocean Sea' became "the medium

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines an America as “a native or inhabitant of the U.S.; a U.S. citizen”. However, being an American is far more than simply living in America or attainting citizenship, it is about a person’s actions and thoughts towards their country. In the book Americanah, Ifemelu, who is originally from Lagos, Nigeria, moves to America to go to a stable college, unlike those in Nigeria, where teachers are frequently on strike. The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez describes the Martinez’s family immigration to Delaware in order to find a reputable school for their mentally disabled child, Maribel. But are the characters in these two books truly American? In modern society, the definition of ‘American’ has become blurred due to numerous immigrants and difficulty to acquire citizenship. Therefore, Americanah and The Book of Unknown Americans do not support or reject the definition of an American, they simply complicate it.

The arrival of immigrants into developed nations has been a common trend for centuries, but so has the wave of resentment from natives of the land towards those who are migrants. Adichie illustries this migrant struggle through Americanah, which explores the hardships migrants must face with trying to be accepted into the new society. With her portrayal of the immigrant tendency to assimilate, Adichie skillfully highlights the pain associated with losing essential parts of one’s true identity.