Do You Consider Yourself An American Analysis

Do you consider yourself an American?
In the play the contrast by Royall Tyler in the beginning you have this idea that to be rich, and fancy is better then showing your true colors because when you are rich and fancy that means you have it all. There is an idea that Americans try to act rich and fancy as if we are better than everyone else, when everyone else seems to be better than us but this play portrays a different side. According to the play being an American means to stand for your country and be proud of the things you have and to cherish them instead of choosing to cherish things that make you seem plush and embellished. In the play Billy is all for glamour and glory he wants to you know about his attributions and the things he
whereas Manly is more reserved and willing to cherish the things he has completed but doesn’t feel the need to constantly gloat about his success. When manly says “Though it is of little consequence to me of what shape my coat is, yet, as to the height of the fashion, there you will please to excuse me, sister. You know my sentiments on that subject.” Manly shows his true colors on how he feels about dressing to someone else’s satisfaction. When reading manly` s parts in the play I hear his voice as subtle and calming when he speaks you wants to listen to hear he is saying instead of Billy who as soon as he starts to talk you do a subliminal eye roll because you have no interest at all. You begin to see that Billy isn’t truly what he proclaims to be in the beginning and there is a lot of things that he hides behind closed doors, whereas manly has been an open book since the beginning and isn’t reserved in showing his true self. I think that is what being an American should be about. As an American you should be proud of what you
Just because you choose to accept the truth doesn’t mean you have to agree with it, but you are willing to be honest with yourself about what that truth is. Being an American means you don’t try to appeal to everyone’s fancy if you are happy in your own life. I think at the end of the play this message is really portrayed because in the beginning Mr. Van Rough thoughts about his daughters marriage were haven't you everything your heart can wish; an't you going to be married to a young man of great fortune" He is telling his daughter that money is going to make her happy because she will fit in with the rich and the fancy but towards the end of the play he starts realizes that even though manly isn’t full of riches when it comes to materialistic things he is rich when it comes to loving his daughter and he sees that being that kind of rich in happiness and love is more important than being rich and having the world see you as fancy. He then is informed about the mistrust and lies that Billy has been portraying this whole time and comes to find out that Billy is in a lot of debt and doesn’t have as much money as his looks portray him to have. He then agrees to let manly marry his