Unit 5 Culture and Customs

The United States is probably most often generalized1 as a society of individuals and it has ethnically and racially diverse culture because of large-scale immigration from different countries throughout the world, so American holidays can be secular, religious, international, or uniquely American. In leisure time, Americans choose different kinds of recreational ways to rest and relax, including doing sports, reading,enjoying the cuisines, etc. A lot of popular literature works influence the life of Americans, such as The Scarlet Letter, The Old Man and the Sea, The Bluest Eye, and Things Have Changed, etc.Except for spiritual food, Americans also enjoy traditional cuisines, such as turkey, potatoes, corn,which were consumed by native Americans and early European settlers.

Traditional Culture

It is very difficult to define general "American culture". Different situations require different responses, and different people from different ethnic,religious, and regional backgrounds have different values. America is probably most often generalized as a society of individuals. Americans are taught from a very young age to think for themselves, to form and express opinions, and to do things without help.

Today, the United States is ethnically and racially diverse as a result of large-scale immigration from many different countries throughout its history. Its chief early influences came from English settlers of colonial America. In contrary to popular belief, American culture severely predates the signing of the Declaration of Independence, with the migration into the region that is today the continental United States, as well as with its own unique social and cultural characteristics such as dialect2, music, arts, social habits, cuisine and folklore. American culture includes both conservative and liberal elements, military and scientific competitiveness, political structures, risk taking and free expression, materialist and moral elements. It also includes elements which evolved from Native Americans and the culture of African Americans and different cultures from Latin America.

American holidays can be secular, religious,international, or uniquely American. But, not all Americans observe the same holidays, and there are many holidays which are not legal holidays. Also, some holidays are celebrated only by certain religious or cultural groups. Apart from some other common national observances, there are six major national legal holidays in the United States: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day,Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

New Year’s Day is on January 1. The big celebration of this federal holiday begins at the night before New Year’s Eve, when Americans gather to wish each other a happy and prosperous coming year. Many Americans make New Year’s resolutions. The New Year is often "rung in" with bells and noisemakers. On New Year’s Day itself, there are many parades and college football games on the television.

Memorial Day is a federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. It originally honored the people killed in the American Civil War, which has become a day on which the American dead of all wars, and the dead generally, are remembered in special programs held in cemeteries, churches, and other public meeting places.

Independence Day is on July 4. This federal holiday honors the nation’s birthday—the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. It is a day of picnics and patriotic3 parades, a night of concerts and fireworks. The flying of the American flag is widespread.

Labor Day is on the first Monday of September. This federal holiday honors the nation’s working people, typically with parades. For most Americans it marks the end of the summer vacation and the start of the school year.

Thanksgiving Day is a federal holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. This holiday dates from America’s earliest days, when the Pilgrims had a feast. In the fall of 1621, they celebrated their first good harvest and gave thanks. This event was regarded as the nation’s first Thanksgiving. The Thanksgiving feast has become a national tradition and large family dinners are common, with turkey and pumpkin pies.More Americans will travel home for the Thanksgiving holidays than for Christmas Day.

Christmas Day is also a federal holiday celebrated on December 25. Christmas is a Christian holiday marking the birth of the Christ Child. Before Christmas, decorating houses and yards with lights, putting up Christmas trees, exchanging gifts, and sending greeting cards have become holiday traditions even for many non-Christian Americans. It is the Christmas tradition that Santa Claus brings gifts to good children.

Literature Works

The Old Man and the Sea is a short novel written by Hemingway in 1951 in Cuba, which was published in 1952. It was the last major work of fiction by Hemingway that was published during his lifetime. It tells the story of Santiago, an aging Cuban fisherman who struggles with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream off the coast of Cuba. In 1953, The Old Man and the Sea was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and it was cited by the Nobel Committee as contributing to their awarding of the Nobel Prize in Literature to Hemingway in 1954.

Ernest Miller Hemingway (1899—1961)was an American novelist, short story writer,and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the Iceberg Theory—had a strong influence on 20th century fiction, while his adventurous lifestyle and his public image brought him admiration from later generations.Hemingway produced most of his works between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s, and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. He published seven novels, six short-story collections, and two non-fiction works. His three novels, four short story collections, and three non-fiction works were published posthumously4. Many of his works are considered classics of American literature.

The Bluest Eye is a novel written by Morrison in 1970. The novel was set in 1941 and centered around the life of an African-American girl named Pecola who grows up during the years following the Great Depression in Lorain, Ohio. Due to her mannerisms and dark skin, she is consistently regarded as "ugly". As a result, she develops an inferiority complex, which fuels her desire for the blue eyes she equates with "whiteness". The point of view of the novel switches between the perspective of Claudia MacTeer, the daughter of Pecola’s foster parents, and a third(-?)person narrator with inset narratives in the first person.

Toni Morrison(1931—　) is an American novelist, essayist, editor, teacher, and professor emeritus at the Princeton University. Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize and the American Book Award in 1988 for Beloved. The novel was adapted into a film of the same name, starring Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover in 1998. Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993.In 1996, the National Endowment for the Humanities selected her for the Jefferson Lecture, the United States federal government’s highest honor for achievement in the humanities. She was honored with the 1996 National Book Foundation’s Medal of Distinguished5 Contribution to American Letters. Morrison wrote the libretto for a new opera, Margaret Garner, first performed in 2005. On May 29, 2012, Ex-President Barack Obama presented Morrison with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2016, she received the PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction.

The Times They Are a-Changing is a song written by Bob Dylan and released as the title track of his 1964 album of the same name. Dylan wrote the song as a deliberate attempt to create an anthem of change for the time, influenced by Irish and Scottish ballads. Released as a 45-rpm single in Britain in 1965, it reached number nine in the British top ten.

Bob Dylan is an American singer, songwriter, author, and painter who has been an influential figure in popular music and culture for more than five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s, when he became a reluctant "voice of a generation" with songs such as Blowing in the Wind and The Times They Are a-Changing that became anthems for the Civil Rights Movement and anti-war movement. In 1965, he controversially6 abandoned his early fan(-?)base in the American folk music revival, recording a six-minute single, Like a Rolling Stone,which enlarged the scope of popular music. Bob Dylan has received many accolades throughout his long career as a songwriter and performing artist. Dylan’s professional career began in 1961 when he signed with Columbia Records. Fifty-five years later, in 2016, Dylan continued to release new recordings and was the first musician to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.

Food Customs

Traditional American cuisines use some ingredients,such as turkey, potatoes, and corn, which were consumed by Native Americans and early European settlers. Wheat is the primary cereal grain. Slow-cooked pork and beef barbecue, potato chips, and chocolate chip cookies are distinctively American foods. Characteristic dishes such as apple pie, fried chicken, pizza, hamburgers, and hot dogs derive from the recipes of various immigrants.Americans generally prefer coffee to tea.

The American fast food industry, the world’s largest, pioneered the drive-through format in the 1930s. Fast food consumption has sparked health concerns7. American frequent dining at fast food outlets is associated with what public health officials call the American "obesity8 epidemic".

Vocabulary:

1. generalize　[ˈdʒenrəlaɪz]　v.　概括

2. dialect　[ˈdaɪəlekt]　n.　方言

3. patriotic　[ˌpeɪtriˈɒtɪk]　adj.　爱国的

4. posthumously　['pɒstjʊməslɪ]　adv.　于著作者去世后出版地

5. distinguished　[dɪˈstɪŋgwɪʃt]　adj.　杰出的

6. controversially　[ˌkɒntrəˈvɜ:ʃlɪ]　adv.　具有争议地

7. concern　[kənˈsɜ:n]　v.　顾虑

8. obesity　[əʊ'bi:sətɪ]　n.　肥胖

Exercises

I. Try to answer the following questions according to your understanding of the text.

1. Why is the culture of the United States ethnically and racially diverse?

2. How many major legal holidays are there in the United States and what are they?

3. When is Memorial Day in the United States?

4. How many distinguished American writers do you know?

5. What is the primary cereal grain in the United States?

II. Read the following passage carefully, and make a comment on it at the end of the passage in no more than 100 words.

What do you think these names have in common? Royal, Charlie, Salem, Skyler, Justice, and Oakley. Well, in the United States, all of these names are considered fitting for girls and boys.They are considered gender-neutral. And modern American parents appear more willing than ever to consider the possibility of gender fluidity in their children.

Linda Murray is the head of Baby Center.com. She told the AP Associated Press, "This generation is truly interested in gender-neutral names." The Social Security Administration puts out a list of most popular baby names every year based on its registrations. Observers say the gender-neutral names have not made it into the top ten.

However, they say such names are heavily represented in the longer list. Younger parents seem especially likely to choose gender-neutral names for their babies. Pop culture and honoring family or religious history are important to baby naming.

But more and more parents are choosing names that can be used for either sex. Some names just sound cool. Lori Kinkler, a psychologist in San Antonio, Texas, said she chose the gender(-?)neutral name Riley for her daughter. She said if the 3-year-old does not identify as female later in life, she will not have to change her name. In Kinkler’s words, "I like that she feels she has options and knows she’ll be accepted by us." Pamela Redmond Satran is a writer of The Baby Name Bible and Cool Names for Babies. She also writes about the subject online and is a founder of baby name site nameberry.com. Satran says possible gender fluidity is not the only reason parents choose unisex names. She says, "A lot of people choose unisex names because they think they’re cool or they’re meaningful to themselves but they raise their kids in a very gender-specific way."

Comments:

Some people say the name is vital to a person; whereas some people hold the opposite opinion that names do not matter.

What is your point of view?

Reference:

Argument:

1. Deciding whether a person will be successful or not

2. Being easy to remember or not

3. Bringing good luck to the family

Anti-argument:

1. Being only a sign

2. Being easily changed

3. Having no special meaning

Keys to Exercises

I. Try to answer the following questions according to your understanding of the text.

1. The culture of the United States is ethnically and racially diverse because of large-scale immigration from many different countries throughout its history.

2. There are six major national legal holidays in the United States: New Year’s Day,Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

3. Memorial Day is a federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May each year.

4. There are a lot of distinguished and famous writers in the United States, such as O Henry,William Faulkner, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, Jack London, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark Twain, and Joseph Heller etc.

5. Wheat is the primary cereal grain in the United States.

II. Read the following passage carefully, and make a comment on it at the end of the passage in no more than 100 words.

Open-ended.