The American Identity

Romo 1

Jonathan Romo

The American Identity: A Contradiction

The American identity has diversity written all over it. It is ultimately defined as the beliefs of different racial groups coming together as one. From differences to similarities, ignorance to acceptance, everything ends up as a paradox; which is what America is all about. In Creating America, Joyce Moser and Ann Watters suggest that, “In understanding American identities, we need to come to terms with unity and division, with separateness and common ground.” The argument stated above only implies one significant logic behind it, which is that of contradiction. From the terms “unity” to “division” and “separateness” to “common ground” all contradict one another. Moser and Watters use contradiction for one to try and make a connection with how America works as a nation. Diversity pretty much makes everything contradict with races, and is what makes America different from the rest. Also, Moser and Watters are trying to give the message that “American” is something public, while “identity” is something private; a paradox. The relationship between the argument made by Moser and Watters relates to the five secondary texts in similar ways. They all relate with common issues of: identity, diversity and conflicts in America, and contradiction/paradox.

In the essay by McCullers, she pinpoints two different types of methods people went through in order to discover their respective identity. One looked to the woods for an answer

Romo 2

while the other turned to the city. What this argument means is that each individual has different ways in which they express and identify themselves. In the 11th paragraph of the essay by McCullers, it says, “But the answer waits in each separate heart – the answer of our own identity and the way by which we can master loneliness and feel that at last we belong.” The quote above further enhances the argument by McCullers in that it states how the answer to one awaits...