Theodore H. White The American Idea Analysis

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The American Idea Essay The American Idea by Theodore H. White is an inspiring non-fiction piece. Many thoughts are brought to mind when the term “The American Idea” is heard. White examines how only an idea could cause so many people to fight, and to give up their home life. The purpose of him writing this story is to show the numerous readers that there is something greater than material things, there is a way of life, and we are the country brought that way of life to light. Now, people across the globe have brought the idea into their own heads. This has had a major impact on the way that they live and view life. At the beginning of the essay he says “Jefferson himself could not have imagined the reach of his call across the world in time to come when he wrote: we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (White 561). White used foreshadowing to bring the reader in and make them think about how big the impact actually is on today’s society before he later goes on to provide more examples that this had on the world.…show more content…
When he says “Englishmen are English, Frenchmen are French, Chinese are Chinese” and “Americans are a nation born of an idea: not the place, but the idea” he uses metaphors to show how different America is than any other country in the world (White 562). Other countries are known for their industry or their agriculture, but the United States is known for the idea that shaped the reform of many other governments and the country has been brought to the vanguard of almost everything it does because of this idea of free-will and
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