Professional Documents
Culture Documents
100 Arab - Edited
100 Arab - Edited
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The objective of this essay is to reflect on the thoughts which are presented by Ralph
Linton in his article "One Hundred Percent American". With the help of this essay, he reflects
his thoughts regarding the pure identity of the American nation as the people of America
think themselves as hundred per cent pure in terms of their culture, customs, norms and
traditions (Linton, Ralph). But the view which is reflected by Ralph Linton with the help of
practical examples of the daily activities performed by an American citizen and it has been
illustrated that how American culture and norms are borrowed from the other nations. It is
important to consider that the variable of national identity seems to be a single attribute but it
is a combination of different sub-attributes (Linton, Ralph). The remaining parts of the essay
will illustrate how national identity is being influenced by foreign culture (Hutcheson, John,
et al).
If the analysis of American culture and identity with reference to the article of Ralph
is performed than it can be seen that almost every activity of the life of American citizen is
derived from a foreign culture. Several examples have been presented by Ralph in his article
in this regard (Linton, Ralph). For example, the chair which is used by American was
invented in the Near East. The clothes which are used by a person in different parts of the day
performing different activities all have a reflection of some foreign culture. The food and
drink which is placed in pottery vessels have a reflection of Chinese culture as these pottery
vessels were first used in China. The coffee which is used with a meal at breakfast was a
plant first discovered by the Abyssinian Arabs. The key difference here is Arabs will take
coffee without sugar and the Americans will take it with sugar (Linton, Ralph). The
Americans may also use cream in addition to the sugar and it is an approach of making coffee
followed by the locals of Asia Minor. The monetary aspects of life are also influenced by
foreign countries such as the coins which are used by them for transactional purposes, were
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invented in Lydia. Hence, from this case, it is quite clear that the American lifestyle is not
What about the life of an Arab individual? Does he also think the same way the
Americans regarding pure identity? What are the potential differences between the thinking
of an American and Arab citizen regarding the nationality? If the Arab culture is observed, it
can be seen that many of the activities performed by Arabs are influenced by foreign culture
(Collins, Patricia Hill). Key examples can be given of the use of technology in their daily
lifestyle including cell phones and tablets etc. These all inventions are from the West and
they are using as a part of their daily life. The lifestyle in another context like the choice of
clothing, eating preferences and education are also heavily influenced by West as in Arab
countries, several foreign brands (Samsung, McDonalds and Starbucks) can be found
(Khalidi, Rashid, ed). The technology has revolutionized the continents of Arab countries and
after the discovery of oil reserves in the Gulf region, the exponential growth has been
observed during the last decades but much of this development is dependent on the foreign
intervention. It reflects the idea that has been suggested by Ralph Linton that there is no such
thing as a purely national identity and the culture of a country has its connections with other
The conclusion of this discussion based on the article of Ralph Linton can be made in
a way that the cultural and national identity is an important aspect of a person's life and on a
collective scale, for a nation, the national identity means a lot as it gives a nation the sense of
recognition. This recognition is although solely and purely not dependent on a single culture
but is a mix of different cultures and identities over the period of time and then emerging as
one specific identity. The idea presented by Ralph Linton nearly a century ago is still true as
it has been affirmed with the help of literature that pure national identity is a vague term and
one must need to narrow the concept. A person can define what is meant by “pure national
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identity” and “One Hundred Percent Arab” so to make sure that he can distinguish himself
References
Hutcheson, John, et al. "US national identity, political elites, and a patriotic press following
Collins, Patricia Hill. "Like one of the family: race, ethnicity, and the paradox of US national
Khalidi, Rashid, ed. The origins of Arab nationalism. Columbia University Press, 1991.
Relations (2016): 317.