4. America must finally let go of the British model--the U.S. claims it is wholly independent and free, yet it constantly borrows from the British model. Many Americans have a bizarrely strong sense of national pride and patriotism, which makes it impossible for the country to safely embrace the entire British model. And, Great Britain is fundamentally different from the U.S. Physically, Britain is smaller, both in area and population. The United Kingdom is about 94,000 square miles in area, and contains approximately 65 million people (Wikipedia.org, United Kingdom). However, the U.S. is around 3,800,000 square miles in area, with a population of about 325 million people (Wikipedia.org, United States). Britain’s template for a nation is not
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The aforementioned intense patriotism that countless Americans embody is in part a product of the U.S.’s British origin. The United States, as a whole, is often so desperate to prove its individuality and its freedom from Britain, but in reality, it is difficult to erase such a large part of a nation’s history. For example, Hopson’s article discusses the tradition of gambling in the United Kingdom, and it also describes gambling’s impact in America. In fact, “...the Continental Congress tried to help fund the Revolution with a lottery; the tickets were among the first documents to bear the words ‘United States,’” (lines 37-39). According to this quote, gambling appears to be what makes America unique, and what makes it America. The country was “founded on lotteries, literally,” (line 36). Yet, gambling wasn’t an American invention or colonial tradition--it was something the colonists borrowed from Britain, because America was not even a nation at that point. The influence of the British model goes back far into history, and into every aspect of American life. So, the U.S. will presumably fight for a long time to assert its identity and to finally become free of the British model. Then, Fitzgerald, in The Great Gatsby, uses the same concept, but instead of two countries, he discusses two races--or, rather, Tom discusses two races. Throughout the …show more content…
In America, technology plays the role of a religion. For most people, technology is a constant in their everyday lives. According to Bank of America’s data, of the 1000 adults who participated in a survey, around 700 of the respondents “said they usually sleep with or next to their mobile phone,” (Huffingtonpost.com, A Sad Number Of Americans Sleep With Their Smartphone In Their Hand). Technology even provides ethical guidance to some--like George Wilson, in Fitzgerald’s text, looking to the billboard advertisement, and drawing moral standards from it, as though it was God (167), many people in the present look to the Internet for help with right and wrong, and other, difficult decisions. And, instead of visiting a church or a temple to meet with other believers, “followers” of what gambling historian Mark Clapson calls “the power of technology” (line 148), people attend conventions, and use online messaging or video calls to communicate with each
The aforementioned intense patriotism that countless Americans embody is in part a product of the U.S.’s British origin. The United States, as a whole, is often so desperate to prove its individuality and its freedom from Britain, but in reality, it is difficult to erase such a large part of a nation’s history. For example, Hopson’s article discusses the tradition of gambling in the United Kingdom, and it also describes gambling’s impact in America. In fact, “...the Continental Congress tried to help fund the Revolution with a lottery; the tickets were among the first documents to bear the words ‘United States,’” (lines 37-39). According to this quote, gambling appears to be what makes America unique, and what makes it America. The country was “founded on lotteries, literally,” (line 36). Yet, gambling wasn’t an American invention or colonial tradition--it was something the colonists borrowed from Britain, because America was not even a nation at that point. The influence of the British model goes back far into history, and into every aspect of American life. So, the U.S. will presumably fight for a long time to assert its identity and to finally become free of the British model. Then, Fitzgerald, in The Great Gatsby, uses the same concept, but instead of two countries, he discusses two races--or, rather, Tom discusses two races. Throughout the …show more content…
In America, technology plays the role of a religion. For most people, technology is a constant in their everyday lives. According to Bank of America’s data, of the 1000 adults who participated in a survey, around 700 of the respondents “said they usually sleep with or next to their mobile phone,” (Huffingtonpost.com, A Sad Number Of Americans Sleep With Their Smartphone In Their Hand). Technology even provides ethical guidance to some--like George Wilson, in Fitzgerald’s text, looking to the billboard advertisement, and drawing moral standards from it, as though it was God (167), many people in the present look to the Internet for help with right and wrong, and other, difficult decisions. And, instead of visiting a church or a temple to meet with other believers, “followers” of what gambling historian Mark Clapson calls “the power of technology” (line 148), people attend conventions, and use online messaging or video calls to communicate with each