Perceptions+on+Character

__**//Is it a Positive or Negative Character//**__

Americans are different. As we complete the 2010-2011 school year, I realize that to say that the American character is one type would be an extreme generalization. Americans are all different shapes, colors, sizes and personalities. America however, is a nation of hope and optimism, and I will firmly stick by my positive perspective of our great country. America is a great nation, filled with great people, who are unique and do things differently than their neighbors. We think differently and speak out for our beliefs differently than the person sitting to our left or our right. It is important that the American character stays unique, because if Americans fall into thinking that to be similar is correct, than we would be turning into something that America is not.

"[Gatsby] is self-centered, obsessed with money and finding his own happiness. He flaunts his money in order to impress people and is always looking to become “somebody,” as if being himself is not enough. Jay Gatsby, the main character in //The Great Gatsby// states to Daisy, “I didn’t want you to think I was just nobody.” (Fitzgerald 67) He idolized her and wanted to win over her affection. This ideology exemplifies one of the negative American ideals that I have come to realize through the characters in //The Great Gatsby//. The greed demonstrated through Fitzgerald’s writing of Americans in regards to bragging and using materialistic items to be the best and impress their peers was not a new concept to me before reading //The Great Gatsby.// However, reading this story has further disappointed me in regards to this aspect of the American character."

//**F. Scott Fitzgerald: “I didn’t want you to think I was just nobody.”**// --- This quote represents the perception of Americans in which the goal is always to be famous and make a name of yourself, rather than truly appreciating who we are as unique individuals.

Thi s idea shows the American character in the way that Americans are strong and willing to help their neighbors. This is clearly depicted in the picture above when studying the confidence and determination on the faces of the firemen and medics even as they have just experienced some sort of bedlam.

Back __**// Home Page //**__