The idea of The Great Gatsby as “The Great American
Novel” somewhat connects to what we believe is “American.” Undeniably, something about this book truly
embodies what we think represents America. This raises an important question: is the
definition of “American” truly uniform, or is it far more subjective than we
imagine it to be? It is certainly hard
to assess such a definition, since the answer lies within. That is, what is considered to be “American”
lies within each one of us on a subconscious level; we grasp it but cannot
fully explain it. The notion of “American”
being a subjective quality also pertains to the topic of immigration. Immigration has made America a literal
melting pot, where numerous cultures are diffused into one. This idea of a mixture means that each
American may not be individually representative of all of American culture, but
rather one part of the body, one ingredient in the pot. One cannot merely describe an archetypal
American because there really isn't one.
Perhaps “American” isn't what a person is but rather what a person
belongs to, a melting pot. Part of being
American is to not be American, but rather to be something else that is somehow
connected to America. In fact, many
immigrants were intent on not becoming American, but simply wanted to be in
America. Nonetheless, these people
became American, and their children embraced American culture even more than
they did. Is being in America synonymous
with being American? Perhaps the future
holds the answer; to quote The Melting
Pot, “the real American has not yet arrived. He is only in the Crucible…he will be the
fusion of all races.”
