Reflection of Quotation
“He is an American, who, leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life he has embraced, the new government he obeys, and the new rank he holds. He becomes an American by being received in the broad lap of our great Alma Mater. Here individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men, whose labors and posterity will one day cause great changes in the world.” (23). The quote is from a series of narrative essays titled “What is an American?” by French American Michel-Guillaume Jean de Crevecoeur. Jean de Crevecoeur was addressing a fictional Englishman and explaining his experiences in the New World from which he had fled when the American revolution broke out. He was writing about his experiences at Orange County, New York, after returning to Britain.
Having settled in the Americans colonies around 1765 Jean de Crevecoeur witnessed a lot of diversity. During his life as an American farmer, he had encountered individuals of various extractions including English, Irish, Native American, Swedish, African, Scottish and French. While he was not sure what an American was, he knew it was something different than anything he had ever encountered in class- locked continental Europe. The writings were significant because Jean de Crevecoeur was the person to explain in detail to the Europeans about life in the New World and highlight the American Dream. He described the American as self-reliant, individualistic, hard-working and having the freedom to pursue his defined goals and thereby rejecting the ideological inhibition that had troubled Europe for centuries. The American was a new man and was liberated from religious, socio=economic and ethnic divisions that were commonplace in Europe.
Louis Zamperini was an American World War 2 airman who survived an air crash in the Pacific and remained adrift about 2,000 miles for 47 days while fighting off sharks and surviving Japanese aerial attacks. The ideas in Jean de Crevecoeur’s quotation apply to Zamperini’s extraordinary odyssey in the days following his crash as they highlight several qualities Jean de Crevecoeur associated with Americans. His endurance was like that of immigrants pursuing the American Dream in the American frontier since his fate depended on endurance, determination, and resilience. The frontiersmen had to develop the correct combination of qualities that would allow them to conquer the wilderness by solving emerging problems and having an unbreakable spirit. The frontiersmen and Zamperini are symbolic of the enduring spirit and how persons can put their abilities to good use. Zamperini was fighting the war for a good cause and his beliefs enabled him to survive through his ingenuity that he used to construct a raft.
Zamperini also exhibited endurance when he was incarcerated as a prisoner of war when he was captured by the Japanese. The prison camp was tough for Zamperini as he was constantly beaten and humiliated by a cruel warden called Mitsuhiro Watanabe. He was often forced to race against Japanese captors who bludgeoned him into unconsciousness whenever he won. The prison camp life was also tough on his health and he suffered from beriberi and dysentery. Despite all the suffering he experienced from the Japanese, Zamperini’s spirit was not broken and he survived to the war’s end. His prison experience highlighted man’s vast ability to endure suffering. Accordingly, frontiersmen had to ensure suffering in the American front before they could get settlements. Moreover, afterward, Zamperini displayed resilience by ending his habitual drinking habits, forgiving his Japanese captors and dedicating his life to assisting troubled youngsters.