Cloze Summary

A Discussion of American Beliefs and Values— Section 3

This paragraph summarizes part 3 of the discussion. Find the missing words.

The participants agree that the notion of being "& is a ik that a great number of their fellow students "& to. They consider this value so important that they give up their "& and adopt the habits of "& and "& prescribed by their peers. A minority of students "& this peer pressure and prefer more "& relationships which they "& higher than a large circle of so-called friends. To those young people who have developed their own "& it is more important to be W for their independent TwT than to be well-liked as a reward for their ■& They unanimously "£r that respect is the most important "& in human relationships.

Summary

A Discussion of American Beliefs and Values— Section 4

Summarize how the following aspects are related to the ideal of "equal opportunity":

ethnicity law education

money family social background

Discussion

7. Comprehension questions

A Discussion of American Beliefs and Values — Section 2

1. How does Mike think the Vietnam War
affected America as a "nation of winners"?

2. Shannon thinks that, "winning is different
things to different people." What examples
does she give to support her opinion? What
does "winning" mean to her?

3. How does Andrew view the concept of
cooperation and rivalry in society?

To what extent can the values discussed by these four young Americans also be found in your country? What is your personal attitude towards them?

42 AMERICA IN CLOSE-UP

11. Structural Analysis

Put Out No Flags

Let us examine how the author structures his argument in this article.

1. Matthew Rothschild makes two comparisons
to defend the thesis that patriotism is
harmful. He then develops his argument by
drawing consequences from these
comparisons. Find the comparisons in the
text and show how they are used as a basis of
his further argumentation.

2. He then raises two objections to his thesis
but immediately refutes each of them. What
are the objections he mentions and how does
he refute them?

3. Why does he mention the names of four
"modern rulers"?

4. The author supports his argument with a
quotation which he further illustrates by
examples of patriotism in contemporary
America. To what extent is the average
American exposed to sentiments and
symbols of patriotism?

5. What is the conclusion the author finally
draws?

Style

Let us now have a closer look at the stylistic means the author employs to convey his opinon to the reader.

1. The text is full of comparisons, especially similes and metaphors. A simile is a figure of speech in which two things or actions are compared because they have something in common, although they are unlike in many other respects. A metaphor is a simile condensed. Whereas in

a simile the imaginative comparison is expressed by the words like and as, in a metaphor the comparison takes the form of an identification of the two things compared. So when the author says that "patriotism is like religion" he uses a simile. When he says that "patriotism and nationalism are identical twins" which "infect people" he uses metaphors. The author uses the first metaphor in this sentence to illustrate the identical nature of patriotism and nationalism. The second metaphor suggests patriotism's harmful effects through the use of the word "infect," meaning to spread disease.

Look for more similes and metaphors in the text and explain their function. 2. This text has many satirical features because the author often uses irony and sarcasm to expose the "folly" of patriotism. Irony is a figure of speech in which the author stresses his point by saying the opposite of what he means. Sarcasm is aggressive and intended to injure. When the author ironically refers to the community as an institution providing a "noble identity," he actually regards this as a nonsensical idea. He is also being sarcastic when he compares patriotism with a disease. What other examples of irony and sarcasm can you find in this text?

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