Unit 4 The American Character I ? Ⅰ Objective ? Aware of the factors that cause America’s diversity in life pattern ? Figuring out a general pattern of American personality ? Learning about Newspaper Lead ? ⅡTime Arrangement ???? Text: 2 hours ???? Reading Skill: 1 hour ???? Representation: 0.5 hour ? Ⅲ Related Information ????? History of America’s Culture Value ????? The Protestant Reformation (16th & 17th cent.) Martin Luther. Movement began in 1517AD, in which Roman Catholic priest Martin Luther disagreed with some teachings of the Catholic Church. He believed that people should have freedom to choose their own religious faith. Thus religious belief should only be accepted by personal choice, not by force. He thought too many religious ideas were forced on people, so he wanted to reform the church’s teachings. ???? Situation. The reformation continued to spread to other countries. Many more Protestant groups started in these countries, such as Lutherans in Germany, Huguenots in France, and Presbyterians in other countries like Scotland. One group in England called themselves “Puritans”, meaning “ones that purify.” They wanted to stay in the Church of England, the national church, and make changes in it. ???? Similarities. All of preach similar things such as individual responsibility to God, freedom of conscience, and the equality of all human beings. Human are equal because the Bible says they are all made in God’s image. This teaching raised the value of people as individuals in people’s thinking. Later in the US Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” ? ????? The Enlightenment (18th cent.) ? The leaders were mostly thinkers and writers in Europe. The main point of this movement was using logic and human intelligence to discover truth to build a better world. Scientific discoveries made some people think that the human mind had no limits. Old tradition should be rejected. Enlightenment thinkers wanted to destroy two important authorities in society—the government and the Roman Catholic Church. The Enlightenment added several ideas that became part of American culture. Individualism was one. Another was the positive nature of change—the idea that things can and will be better when we work hard and use our minds. New scientific discoveries also created a hopefulness for the future. The thinking was, “The past is history; long live the future!” Finally, the Enlightenment’s concept of equality was very similar to what the Bible said, but had less religious importance to it. ? ????? The Industrial Revolution (18th& 19th cent.) English merchants had to sell their goods at lower prices than other merchants. For that reason competition became an important part of the British economy. All of these changes affected Americans’ thinking and behavior. They believed they could have greater control over the environment and increase production of many kinds of goods. For example, by 1776 nearly one-third of all of British ships were built in North American. Americans also began to think about life in economic terms. Machines had to be practical to meet certain needs. They also had to be efficient—they had to cost less to run than paying workers to produce the same amount of goods. Factory owners and businessmen quickly learned the importance of the bottom line—“How much will it cost?” and “How long will it take?” Public demand and competition against other factories made control over time an important factor in production. The Industrial Revolution rapidly increased the size of the upper and middle classes of American society. Wealthy people enjoyed this prosperity and became more materialistic, measuring their success by the amount of things they bought and owned. But many of them used their wealth to help society by building hospitals and libraries and improving education. Materialism also reached the working and lower classes. Products and goods were more available and affordable for most people. Freedom to move, individualism and hard work made the new “American Dream” possible. ? ????? The Western Movement (17th cent.) This idea tied together all of the cultural values that make America different. It also helped Americans believe they were different. Life on the frontier and in the west makes tough individualism a valuable quality. Settlers had to be self-evident, since the government services were not available until many years later. Life centered on the work to be done. They needed to settle the land to control environment and improve their lives. The frontier made everyone—settlers, pioneers, and later cowboys—equal in position and rank. All of them started with the same kind of unsettled land. Life was simple but hard. Thus informality became a normal pattern of behavior. It had started earlier with the colonists’ dislike for the idea of nobility. The image of the tough western cowboy continued that idea. Communication was direct, open and blunt. Freedom to pursue the “American Dream” became the common factor among most of them, which strengthened the idea that everyone was equal. ? 　 ? Ⅳ Emphasized Points ? Key Words 1.?? words meaning many and different in this text: diversity; various; multitude 2.?? many-handed man 3.?? DIY: do it yourself ? ? Comments 1.???? “We hold this truth to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” 2.???? Their famous “work ethic” was a rule that all work should be done as if they worked for God. 3.???? “Freudian theory” ? Ⅴ Text Comprehension ??? Structure Analysis Paragraph 1—7 Prejudice toward Americans Pa8: Why is there no single pattern of American character? 1.??????? diverse racial and culture origins 2.??????? successive immigration 3.??????? regional diversity ? Pa9: contradictions in American’s life ? Pa10-28 Success as a Goal 1.? Reasons of “success as a goal” Pa11-12: puritan belief Pa13: Freudian theory 2.? Why strive Pa18: match with others Pa19: mediocre is no good; success is love ? Pa21-23 Love Work 1.? Jack-of-all-trades 2.? do-it-yourself ? Classless Pa20: Pa26: live on several levels ?European settlers lived in North America for over 150 years before declared independence in 1776. They came to be ????? freedom to worship God free?? improve their lives ????? build new communities ? European society? nobles (the nobility) rule by “divine right” ??????????????? commoners ? ? ??? Comprehension Questions ??? In the text the author gives an ideal of the American character, What has influenced Americans to value success? ? ? ? ? ? According to the author, money is a symbol and a tool. How does he justify this statement? ? ? ? ?Discuss the American attitude toward money. Can you give examples to illustrate that attitude? ? ? ? ? ??? Why is there no single pattern of American’s character? ? 　 ? Ⅶ Homework ??????? For “Group Work”, make a comparative study on values either between the Chinese and American or the British and American. ??????? Finish the exercises behind the text. ??????? Go on to read “American Character II”. ??????? Preview Unit 5.