Who is considered an American? What does mean to be an American? It is perhaps unsurprising that the traits Americans like to ascribe to themselves are somewhat different from those that foreigners tend to ascribe to them. Indeed, if you ask an American to describe his fellow citizens, he is likely to tell you that they are affable, hardworking and patriotic people; but if you ask some foreign commentators or observers such as a prominent photographer from Switzerland, Robert Frank, he will have a different point of view towards the idea of an American. Robert Frank, a Jewish photographer, was born in Switzerland. He plays an important role in the photography field because of his most famous work The Americans, which was published in …show more content…
The Americans is notable for the way in which it focuses on all strata of American society – young and old, rich and poor, white and black. Frank portrays that White Americans are lonely and emotionless, for example, one of his photographs, “Charity Ball— New York” shows a white woman with tasteless jewels is sitting in a chair, and her face just as a stone without a smile. So why did White Americans in
Since this great country was first established many intuitive minds have tried to answer the question; "What is an American". This country is full of individuals of many backgrounds, and diversities and each person has a different opinion on this question. In my opinion, an American is someone who values freedom and equality and pursues the "American dream." Every American exercises these rights and these are great adjectives to describe our country. Each of the seven readings, and the one image I compiled help mold this broader definition into a more precise description of an American.
Over the years there have been many events that have taken place. These events not only affected the people and the world of the present at that time, but also the future and even the way things are today. Knowing this we must ask ourselves what defines us as Americans? There are series of events that all together add up to define us as Americans such as, the Constitution, Westward Expansion, and the Civil War and Reconstruction. What do you think defines us as Americans?
When asking a random person what it means to be an American, it is surprising the multitude of different answer you get it. For some people it means being a citizen of the United States of America. Others might say it means being free. Many would not argue that it means relating to America. The different responses are innumerable. According to Merriam Webster dictionary, the word American is a noun and adjective. In each definition, references to the geographical Americas is made. Is there a right or wrong answer to this question? Any person's opinion of America, good or bad, is the answer to what American really means.
What does it mean to be an American? This question has often been purposed throughout American Literature. This answer depends on one singular important factor, time. Timing is everything, it determines what is happening in the present, what has occurred in the past, and it gives us a glimpse of the possibilities yet to come. Benjamin Franklin and John Winthrop, both knew a very different America, because of this they both have a very different sense American identity and a sense of community that was present in America during those time periods. Winthrop lived in early America when the country was just starting to take shape with the first colonies being
What means to be an American? About everywhere in the societies and the people in it have diverse opinions to be an American especially when they are from different country. Being an American means to have a willing to accept others from different culture, freedom to do anything, and to have opportunities in terms of relaxed atmosphere.
What does it mean to be an American? Being an American means a multitude of different things. It depends on who the person is and what is the most important to them. It may be that they are free, or that they are proud, or simply because they appreciate the country’s history. This country has so many privileges that other countries do not have, and this sets it aside from them.
Conversely, many believe that being an American comes only from an emotional standpoint and that no other classification is needed. As declared by Jose Antonio Vargas of the Huffington Post, “What it means to be an American is less about who you are than what you are about— how you live your life, how you contribute to this country, how you pledge allegiance to a flag hoping and praying it will make room for you.” Albeit this emotion may contribute to Americanism, it cannot operate by itself. Without citizenship, one cannot be considered American. Going back to the original definition, to be an American is to be, “a native inhabitant of the U.S.: a U.S. citizen.” Anything past this denotation is simply an opinion and cannot be used when coming up with an unambiguous definition of the
To be an American can mean a lot of things to others, but one thing everyone has in common on what they think it means is to be free. It means you can vote for who and what you want. It means you can say “The Pledge of Allegiance.” It means you can have a good education and the job you want. It means to be proud in living in the United States of America. Being an American is having freedom and being able to do things with that freedom. It’s about having freedom of religion, rights, and justice. It also means having equality. To be an American means you have the right and freedom to do what you want. It means having the freedom of speech. It means you can be yourself. To be an American mainly means having freedom.
What does an American mean to you? I think this is a good question what does being an American mean, I think it has something to do with your right and freedom. The reason for this is because we have things that other people in different countries have. I think sometimes we even take advantage of the thing that we have. America is one of the more fortunate countries.
What does it mean to be a citizen? What does it mean to be a part of a country? I believe that being a citizen is much more than just living in the same country for a set number of years. There are several ways that the word "citizen" can be defined. For example, individuals may say that when you do good deeds and make your country a better place you are considered a citizen. When you work hard to donate to your country you are showing that you believe in While there are other individuals believe that being a good citizen means portraying kindness, generosity, a helping hand; what some people may refer to as a servants ' heart. Of course, different countries will have different interpretations of
What is an American? This question cannot be answered by one word. There are so many different characteristics, qualities, and features that can be used to describe an American. Besides features, someone is only a real American if they take advantage of all of the many privileges that are given to them. Any person that is not grateful for the privileges that are given to them to me are not real Americans but this is only my opinion. Real Americans use their privileges to benefit themselves and everyone around them. In today's society there are certain things that are expected from American citizens, for instance being a responsible citizen.
What really is an American? Being an American is not just being born in the USA as most people would think, that is just the technicality of it. For centuries Americans have defined themselves not by their racial, religious, and ethnic identity but by their common values and belief in individual freedom. Not just being able to say “The Pledge of Allegiance” and being able to vote for the president, but being able to be free and to be proud that you live in the United States of America.
What is an American? One may say an American is just someone who gets to live free in America, but it is so much more than that. at American is not just a single person but instead it’s everyone as a whole. It’s not who we are as a person but who we are supposed to want to be. An American is everything beautiful.
Robert Frank is a photographer and documentary filmmaker best known for his book The Americans. It was during the publications of his book that he began taking an interest in cinematography. His book is the most influential book of photographs. He started photography for expression as well to escape the pressures of his business-oriented family. Frank never attended school for photography or film. He felt as though America was a bleak and lonely place with a fast pace society that cared to much for money.
Frank became well known for his book, The Americans. The Americans featured photographs taken by Robert Frank himself in the 1950s. Frank took photos of the "simple things" in life that also showed the hardships of american life such as, cars, jukeboxes and diners. Before Frank, took up his more casual style of photography and filmmaking, Robert was known for his photos in Harper's Bazaar, a well known fashion magazine in the 1950s.