What Does It Mean To Be An American
4th Period Definition Essay, “What is an American” FINAL DRAFT
Paste your final draft here:
What Is an American?
What does it mean to be an American? Many will have similarities in their answers but none will ever be the same. When we started this unit, my definition was to have a deep history in the U.S., having opportunities to better yourself, and having freedom. Some people are never able to experience the feeling of living the American dream. Native Americans, who are the original people of this land had their freedoms taken away and have had less opportunities even though they roamed this land and made history on it before anyone else did.
However, there is much more to defining an American than that. Being an american is more than just having a deep history in the U.S.. It is …show more content…
about being a true patriot, not just waving around an American flag on the 4th of July. An American is loyal beyond all else. This was proven in McCain's essay about a man named Mike Christian. In McCain’s essay, he talks about how himself and some other men were captured as prisoners of war and whilst being held captive, Mike Christian gathered some fabric and sewed an American flag on the inside of his shirt, and each morning they would say the Pledge of Allegiance. McCain spoke about how much that meant to all of them, however, one day the Vietnamese found the flag and took it. Christian was repeatedly beaten for hours until being thrown back into the cell. Even though he was tortured for what he had done, he began once again making a new flag for him and his cell mates to say the pledge their to. This shows a real American. He remained loyal to his country even when he had been captured and held away from it. The definition strategy that this uses is exemplification because the use of the text is a way of giving more context on defining an American.
Next, an American is welcoming. This may seem broad but welcoming entails many things. They invite others into their homes with open hearts and not judging them based off of anything. In the speech by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, “Address on the Occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Statue of Liberty October 28, 1936”, Roosevelt says, “They came to us speaking many tongues—but a single language, the universal language of human aspiration”. A true American shows compassion and love for others. Though they are coming from different places and speaking total different languages, they still accept them and join them in the ultimate goal of achieving the American Dream. This portion of texts, also, uses the definition strategy of exemplification because it is a specific example that helps support the main claim and defining an American.
Lastly, a real American shows equality to everyone.
The poem “I, Too, Sing America” by Langston Hughes is a direct response to Walt Whitman’s “I Hear America Singing”. Whitman's poem is about those who make up America and he says how each worker sings their work, loud and proud. However, this does not include colored folks. Hughes, in his poem, states, “I, too, sing America./ I am the darker brother./ They send me to eat in the kitchen”. This is his way of saying that he is not included in with the “average” American because he is colored. His job is merely a servant compared to others and he in incapable of singing his work proudy. Hughes disagrees completely and shows that he, too, sings his work loud and proud even if his work is considered less than the others. At the end of the poem, Hughes finishes with, “They’ll see how beautiful I am/ And be ashamed”. This was his way of saying that one day in the future, people will be ashamed that they ever treated him and others different and they will see his true colors shine through. These text examples uses the definition strategy of negation because two texts are compared and one of the texts directly responds to another, they
negate.
Altogether, an American is loyal, welcoming, and express equality in all aspects. Even in the hardest times they are able to remain true to their roots even if that's just by saying the Pledge of Allegiance each day. They, ultimately, welcome everyone in and show nothing but equality towards all. At the end of the day, everyone is human no matter what. We each have our differences but we can come together as on and show respect for all.
Paste your final draft here:
What Is an American?
What does it mean to be an American? Many will have similarities in their answers but none will ever be the same. When we started this unit, my definition was to have a deep history in the U.S., having opportunities to better yourself, and having freedom. Some people are never able to experience the feeling of living the American dream. Native Americans, who are the original people of this land had their freedoms taken away and have had less opportunities even though they roamed this land and made history on it before anyone else did.
However, there is much more to defining an American than that. Being an american is more than just having a deep history in the U.S.. It is …show more content…
about being a true patriot, not just waving around an American flag on the 4th of July. An American is loyal beyond all else. This was proven in McCain's essay about a man named Mike Christian. In McCain’s essay, he talks about how himself and some other men were captured as prisoners of war and whilst being held captive, Mike Christian gathered some fabric and sewed an American flag on the inside of his shirt, and each morning they would say the Pledge of Allegiance. McCain spoke about how much that meant to all of them, however, one day the Vietnamese found the flag and took it. Christian was repeatedly beaten for hours until being thrown back into the cell. Even though he was tortured for what he had done, he began once again making a new flag for him and his cell mates to say the pledge their to. This shows a real American. He remained loyal to his country even when he had been captured and held away from it. The definition strategy that this uses is exemplification because the use of the text is a way of giving more context on defining an American.
Next, an American is welcoming. This may seem broad but welcoming entails many things. They invite others into their homes with open hearts and not judging them based off of anything. In the speech by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, “Address on the Occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Statue of Liberty October 28, 1936”, Roosevelt says, “They came to us speaking many tongues—but a single language, the universal language of human aspiration”. A true American shows compassion and love for others. Though they are coming from different places and speaking total different languages, they still accept them and join them in the ultimate goal of achieving the American Dream. This portion of texts, also, uses the definition strategy of exemplification because it is a specific example that helps support the main claim and defining an American.
Lastly, a real American shows equality to everyone.
The poem “I, Too, Sing America” by Langston Hughes is a direct response to Walt Whitman’s “I Hear America Singing”. Whitman's poem is about those who make up America and he says how each worker sings their work, loud and proud. However, this does not include colored folks. Hughes, in his poem, states, “I, too, sing America./ I am the darker brother./ They send me to eat in the kitchen”. This is his way of saying that he is not included in with the “average” American because he is colored. His job is merely a servant compared to others and he in incapable of singing his work proudy. Hughes disagrees completely and shows that he, too, sings his work loud and proud even if his work is considered less than the others. At the end of the poem, Hughes finishes with, “They’ll see how beautiful I am/ And be ashamed”. This was his way of saying that one day in the future, people will be ashamed that they ever treated him and others different and they will see his true colors shine through. These text examples uses the definition strategy of negation because two texts are compared and one of the texts directly responds to another, they
negate.
Altogether, an American is loyal, welcoming, and express equality in all aspects. Even in the hardest times they are able to remain true to their roots even if that's just by saying the Pledge of Allegiance each day. They, ultimately, welcome everyone in and show nothing but equality towards all. At the end of the day, everyone is human no matter what. We each have our differences but we can come together as on and show respect for all.