American Reflections on What It Term Paper

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Carter is very different from a typical American, even a typical African-American. First of all, he is a journalist and a teacher. Out of depression and frustration in realizing his political goals, he has turned to drink, and one of the first 'lessons' he teaches Ilka is how to smoke and drink. Carter also teaches Ilka English by his eloquent example, and her English language skills improve greatly after she meets him. Ilka learns, sadly, why he has grown so bitter about the American experience and the American dream, even while she becomes more acclimated to America. Through her exposure to Carter, Ilka learns that no nation is free from prejudice, and comes to see her own Viennese experience reflected in the experience of the Black, American journalist. Their lives are not common only in love, but also in the suffering they endure in their native lands.

The experience of Carter and Ilka shows some hope of common dialogue, given the gulf between their two personal experiences of America.

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Ilka is White, a Jew, a refugee, a non-native English speaker, and a young woman, while Carter is Black, middle-aged, and native-born -- yet both find a way to connect with one another. The book illustrates the socialization process of Ilka as she becomes an American, how her English improves, and what it means to be a second-class citizen, even in a free society like America. Carter also learns more about the experiences of Jewish people in the world. He sees the experiences of Jews and Blacks as parallel but permanently separate. Although the experiences of these two different people ultimately do not resolve themselves in a happy ending, still, the book suggests that even in the most difficult of times, love can transgress social barriers, and that it is necessary to critically examine the role of race in the American experience to become a "real American."

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