American Character

Though America is called a “melting pot” it surprises you with variety of customs and traditions. The most important characteristic of the Americans is diversity.

American dream. The famous novel by T. Draiser “The American Tragedy” reflects the most favorable American feature – the American dream. It means to start with nothing, to work hard, and then to make a fortune. Most of all the Americans want to be successful. The term “self-made man” means a person who achieved great results having begun from nothing.

Attitude to work. As people want to be successful they work hard and sometimes it looks as if they never stop working. Some even hold two full-time jobs at the same time. The bad side of this is that many Americans have little time for their families (that’s why Christmas is a great family holiday), the good side, though, is the confidence they have in themselves. They feel to be able to do anything and get whatever they want if they try hard enough.

The attitude to work is based on the Protestant work ethic which teaches the necessity of hard work, perfection and the goodness of labor. Protestant preachers see hard work as a correction for the original sin. The key elements of the Protestant ethic were diligence, punctuality, deferment of gratification, and primacy of the work domain.

Pioneering spirit. A great number of Americans are the descendants of the immigrants, people who came to the USA because of the religious beliefs, intentions to discover new lands, in search of free land or gold. These people kept their spirit up to nowadays. About 42 million Americans change residences every year. Some go off to college or change jobs, others want to make a fresh start in a new place. It’s not a problem for them to drive up to 100 miles just to have dinner with their friends. This spirit can also make them change jobs and even careers as opportunities change. Americans love science and technology because these fields involve new discoveries.

Hurry, hurry, hurry. There are a lot of sayings about time in America: “Be on time”, “Don’t waste time”, “Time is money”, “Time waits for no one” which reflect the American obsession with promptness and efficiency. Often it makes them impatient when they have to wait. Sometimes it makes it difficult for them to relax.

Money. Many people think Americans are materialistic, valuing wealth above all. Money shows the level you’ve achieved, being a symbol of success and power. Big and expensive houses and cars are being bought “to keep y\up with the Joneses”, though it can be very difficult to afford such things. They work hard to earn enough money to satisfy their needs. Much money is spent on themselves. At the same time they willingly donate money to good causes.

Personal life. Because Americans have come from many nationalities, there are more “acceptable” questions that there could be in case they had a common heritage. You can easily behave your way – it’s acceptable. Acceptable questions are” Are you married?”, “How many children do you have?” They are not personal by American standards – they are a search for common ground on which to build a relationship or base a conversation. They mean that the questioner is interested in the person, his/her life and business.

Education. You can easily meet Americans who lack knowledge of their own country. Unfortunately, not much geography, history, culture, customs are taught in the American schools – some say because they are insulated by oceans. The country has been developed from virgin land into the modern power for 300 years only. The Indians of America did not develop their alphabet, their culture was primarily oral. The immigrants from different countries belonged to different cultural and social levels. Alongside with the professors there were illiterate stubborn peasants. At the same time many Irishmen who came to America brought there their love to knowledge and free education for children is a great achievement. America did not think of itself as a part of the world till the end of the World War II. Regrettably, many Americans still are rather ignorant in regard to other lands.

Meeting people. Americans have a minimum feeling for rank, especially socially; they find the terms “Mr”, “Mrs”, or “Miss” formal. People well beyond middle age say “Just call me Dirk (Amy).” Being of first name terms is taken as a sign of acceptance and friendliness.

However, they use occupational titles, which denote a recognition that has been earned, not inherited. Occupations that most frequently carry titles include diplomats, members of the Senate, judges of the courts, military officers above a certain rank, medical doctors, ranking professors, priests, rabbis, and some Protestant clergy: Ambassador Jones, Senator Smith, Governor Rockefeller, Judge Harley, General Clark, Doctor Brown (medical), Doctor Green (Ph.D.), Father White, Rabbi Cohen, Doctor (Bishop, Reverend) Gray.

Honesty. Americans believe that “honesty is the best policy”. They are direct and assertive and generally straightforward when it comes to express themselves. They ask for what they want; they are not afraid to complain about bad service; students express their attitude to the teacher; an employee points a mistake out to the boss.

Practical outlook. Americans admire what is practical, fast, efficient, and new. They do not understand cultures that value traditional ways of doing things. They love change, “the spirit of adventure”. They have none of the Englishman’s sentimental love for things because they are old. In general they like tradition, but are not sentimental about it. After all, they can go to Europe for things like that.

Racism. Racism and prejudice are serious problems in the USA, however, most Americans believe in the ideals of equality and mutual respect. If there’s Chinatown in the city, “inner” city, and the part where the whites live, neither of them cross the invisible line separating their zones.

In the southern states the blacks dominate and the life is hard for the whites. The word “Negro” is insulting, they use the term “Afro-American”.

Women. Nowadays the majority of American women prefer to work and occupy high social status. In recent years women comprised the great majority of nurses and telephone operators, secretaries, typists, teachers, excluding those at the college level. There are a lot of women lawyers and doctors now, policewomen and female senators. Many married women have entered the labor force for non-economic reasons – to have other interests in addition to their homes.

In the early 1900s the term “feminism” was adopted by women’s rights activists in the US whose aim was not only to win the vote but to achieve the equality of sexes on every level. By the late 1990s the women’s movement was a pervading force in American life. The movement has profoundly influenced American family, workforce, politics, and education. In the universities we can find gender studies and women’s studies, there are new words that were changed – “spokesperson” instead of “spokesman”, “chair” instead of “chairman”.

Social classes. Americans like to think that everyone in America is equal; and that everyone can live the American dream. In theory, there is no such thing as a class system in America, just about everyone likes to think they are middle class, and that even a plumber can have a son who’s a university professor. However, Americans have their own upper classes (the Kennedys and the Vanderbilts), and lower classes (white trash, hillbillies, and marginalized groups).

Class distinctions in America are very complicated because of the power of “the fable of equality” called so by Frances Trollope and the policy of the government not to recognize the existing of classes officially.

Sense of humor. American humor is based entirely on jokes about lawyers. In American society this profession is hated, and there are literally thousand of lawyer jokes.

Yankee. To people from the South of the US, “yankee’ may mean a Northerner. To people from other countries, “yankee” mean an American. But, properly used, “yankee” means a person who lives in New England. Yankees are known for being honest but shrewd, realistic and to-the-point, practical rather than romantic, untalkative, thrifty, principled, and independent.

Individualism and privacy. In the USA each individual is seen as completely and marvelously unique, totally different from all other individuals and, therefore, precious and wonderful. Americans do not like the idea of being a member of a group, whatever the group, so, they tend to leave groups as easily as they enter them.

Privacy is seen as a very positive condition and a necessary, desirable and satisfying requirement. It’s typical for Americans to say “If I don’t have at least an hour a day to myself, I will go stark raving mad!”

Change. Americans regard change as a good condition. Change is strongly linked to development, improvement, progress, and growth. It is also connected with their belief in future. Americans think future will bring greater happiness, so, all energy is directed toward realizing that better future.