Why Does American Culture Matter

Why does it matter Readings from early America, 150 to 400 years ago, are very important to America today for several reasons, one is that they had an effect on American culture that is still apparent today, another is that these writings are a part of history and if they are forgotten about, people don’t read or study them then the lessons they teach will be forgotten, and a final reason is being able to understand what came before this time will help in predicting what will come after. As a country more interest needs to be taken in early American literature so that it can be understood why the culture is the way it is. In order to look at the history of the country in another way, and to see what biases were commonly held at that time, …show more content…
In “The Autobiography” by Benjamin Franklin, he gives a list of 10 virtues that American culture still finds a person who has these virtuous. It is still prevalent in American culture in modern books and television shows even if many people wouldn’t know where it comes from. In Walt Whitman’s poem “Song of Myself” he says “I celebrate myself, and sing myself, \ And what I assume you shall assume \ For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.” In the first line he is talking about how he celebrates who he is but then in the second and third lines he switches around almost completely and is saying that everything that he is, is also what you are. That dichotomy is still resent in today’s America. People celebrate who they are individually but also feel the need to be like everyone else, to be part of a group. Another interesting example is “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving it is a story that shows how much can change in a relatively short time, and how it can be a struggle to keep up with it especially if a person doesn’t like to change much. That is an issue that is still a struggle today especially with the way electronics have changed the culture. Like in “Rip Van Winkle” in twenty years this country will be almost unrecognizable to what it is …show more content…
In forgetting these lessons, history is forgotten. Then history will repeat itself. A good example of this is Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Not many people these days’ read Uncle Tom’s Cabin despite the fact that it was a best seller in its day. What is happening now with Muslim’s has parallels to slaves back when this book came out. They are not exactly the same but do have similarity, such as being seen as less then human. Slaves were also treated like livestock while Muslim’s are treated as if they are all terrorist. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was meant to get people riled up and against slavery. More people need to read this book and make some parallels with modern day issues. Another good example is Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass” as it connects the ideas of America that were prevalent at that time with what is considered America today. It explores the dichotomy that is America, a celebration of individualism and personality along with a theme of