American Culture and Values

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how American culture highly regards individuality compared to many other cultures and for this reason, it is more difficult to distinguish the dominant values, beliefs and traditions of American life, because the lives of Americans differ so much, depending on their race, class and beliefs. It examines how the authors Tracy Ore, John Langston Gwaltney and Lillian Rubin in their three different articles each add a unique perspective to the values that dominate our culture. It also looks at how they provide valuable insight on the American dream and how different groups experience it, due to the cultural differences that America has labeled them with.

From the Paper:

"Ore makes an excellent point when she says that Americans categorize each other by race and culture. In many cases, race and culture work closely to create significant distinctions among groups within a larger society. Often, race plays a part in establishing separate cultural groups. In the United States, people are disturbed when they are unable to classify someone based on their race. If it is unclear what race someone is, they will ask one another, "What are you?" (Ore, p. 1)
According to Ore, "the culturally defined classifications are significant in that they are structured as categories that are fundamentally different from one another. (p. 1). People expect to be able to tell is someone is black or white, for example, and are confused when someone is in between. However, while someone may be different, it is not a negative thing."

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