America And I By Anzia Anzierska Summary

America is one of the highest living standard countries in the world, with possibilities of great opportunities. Many immigrants come to this country for the chance at a better life, and to follow the lifestyles and aspects of being an American. Americans can be defined by three key aspects. Striving for what we want to do in life is the first and maybe the most critical, keeping the faith and goals for America that our founding fathers had, and lastly, keeping the pride of being an American when it is tested. These three aspects are what defines immigrants and U.S. born citizens as Americans, and it creates the ground for them to stand on when making the claim that they are American. Striving for what we want to do in life is a critical concept that separates Americans from non americans. In the short story, “America and I” by Anzia Yezierska, she explains how her life in America was not as she expected as far as a career and the type of work she wanted. To be an American means to strive for what immigrants want to do in life instead of just waiting for it to come. This is a strong
part of my definition because it explains how expectations are suppose to be set in order to succeed as a U.S citizen. She went through a lot of “drudgery” when first arriving, but learned how to become independent and self-encouraged. Striving for what we want to do in life is just one of the many key aspects that Americans can be defined by. Another key aspect of being an American is keeping the faith and goals for our country that our founding fathers had.
In the speech, “Address on the Occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Statue of Liberty”, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, he speaks about the importance of the Statue of Liberty and the ideas and beliefs of our founding fathers. To be an American to Roosevelt means to “keep the faith for our day as those who came before us kept the faith for theirs…” I feel as tho his definition of being an American is similar to mines because things change as time goes by, so goals or the “faith” that they had in their day can't be the same as ours. Being an American means adapting to the new era and trying to make the best of it. Keeping the faith and goals for our country that our founding fathers had is an aspect that i don't agree with, but is still worthy of being
one. The final aspect of being an american and to many the most important, is keeping the pride of being an american when it is tested. In the essay, “Veterans day: Never forget their Duty”, by Mike Christian, he tells a story about him and John McCain's time as prisoners, and explains the brave act that he did while in prison. To be an American to Mike Christian means to never let a trial take away your pride of being an American even through the toughest times. His interpretation of being an American is a key aspect of mines because it expresses an action that should be taken into account in times that it is tested. To sum it's up American is one of the highest living standard countries in the world, with possibilities of great opportunities There are many key aspects that Americans can be defined by, but three are key to me. Striving for what you want to do in life, keeping the faith that our founding fathers had, and keeping the pride of being an American when it is tested were described by 3 pieces of writings which included short-stories, essays, and speeches.