Transatlantic Currents
These accounts are very evident in the literature. One such literature is Mary Antins The Promised Land. Mary Antin was born in Russia to an affluent Jewish family. She left Russia when she was barely in her teens and settled in Boston where she attended school and later moved on to New York where she embarked on a career as a writer. She wrote The Promised Land in 1912 which serves as her autobiography for the purpose of putting her past behind which was fraught with hardships (Antin 1912 4). The first parts of her book describe her early life in Russia where life for Jews, even the affluent ones, was very hard being greatly marginalized, discriminated and every so often, persecuted under the autocratic rule of the Tsars who made life miserable for Jews. As she grew older, she learned that she should not blame nor resent the Russian people, whom she called Gentiles, for feeling that way but the Tsars and religious leaders who were the ones who were teaching people to hate Jews and even tried to convert them into (Orthodox) Christianity by force when necessary (Antin 1912 7-10).
She developed a fascination for this new land called America ever since her father emigrated there ahead of his family to eventually bring them there. Through his letters, he described to her how different America was to Russia and spoke of opportunity, equality, and freedom despite struggling in the early stages which made her a lot more excited and looked forward to the day when she could go there and when they left, it was a mixture of sorrow and joy not only felt by her family but the friends and community they were leaving behind (Antim 1912 94-99, 111-112). After 16 days at sea, the authors family finally arrived in America. Antims first impression of her new country was bewilderingly strange, unimaginably complex, and delightfully unexplored (Antim 1912 121). For her, America was a world that was waiting to be explored despite the madness going on at the immigration station and the eccentricities of the people there. In the early stages of her stay in Boston, she felt awkward and oftentimes gravitating between fascination and curiosity of America. They lived in the slum areas of Boston and yet, this did not dampen nor bring back memories of the miserable life they had in Russia though it may have been a far cry from their well-to-do life there. It was apparent that despite the very humble new beginnings in America, there was one thing that made them want to stay and this was something her father told her while she was in Russia freedom (Antim 1912 123-124)
It can be inferred in Antims book that more people were accepted in America. One major challenge thrown to the newly arrived immigrants was they have to prove their worthiness to be called American citizens through work. Basing it on the experience of the authors family, they started at the bottom but through patience, perseverance and hard work, they eventually became more prosperous than they had in Russia and whats better was that they had overcome prejudice and proven that they were worthy denizens of the United States. They discovered that America was an egalitarian society that values merit. Generally, they do not care about ones background, whether rich or poor, or even ones gender. What matters the most is if one can be up to the challenge of finding their place in America (notwithstanding prejudices in some parts) compared to Russia. Based on the authors experience, they did not experience any hostility from the natives having been forewarned by her father not to be a greenhorn and made every effort to blend in even to the extent of adopting American-style names (Antim 1912 123, 126). As far as women were concerned, women were treated equally as men from her childhood to adulthood, Antim hardly ever encountered gender discrimination.
Another literature related to transatlantic connections is the one written by Frances Trollop titled, Domestic Manners of the Americans which was published in 1832. This book is Trollops account of her visit to the United States in 1827. In general, her overall impression of America was anything but pleasant. She was greatly derided and reviled for her rather frank assessment of American society during its antebellum years. Trollop came to America to escape the financial misfortunes she and her family suffered in England and settled briefly in a commune run by Fanny Wright called the Nashoba Commune before taking up residence in Cincinnati, Ohio which was then a small town. She eventually returned to England barely four years later where she wrote her account.
It was rather apparent that Trollope did not find the surroundings conducive. Her return to England was evidence of that feeling. If there was one thing about America that appalled her, it was slavery, something which was abolished in England much earlier and she grew up with that attitude against slavery and was rather surprised it existed in certain parts of the United States, particularly in New Orleans where she initially stayed. She was also appalled by the manners of the people she traveled with on a steamboat who were very slovenly, drunk and tend to indulge in gambling a lot (Trollope 1839 6, 13). Another trait which appeared to have turned her off was the haughtiness of the Americans. They are so proud of their freedom to the point of arrogance or chauvinism in deriding or acting condescending to those outside America whom they regarded as inferior in quality compared to theirs (Trollope 1839 84-85). But in fairness, she did have a fair share of seeing good-mannered people as well and it would be unfair to say that Trollope gave a sweeping statement about the United States. Even Mark Twain, one of Americas foremost writers, defended Trollope for being very honest in her assessment of America at the time (Heineman 1969 546).
It can be inferred here that with the kind of attitude the American people had from being haughty and practicing slavery, nobody would want to immigrate to America and would rather stay and take their chances in their homelands as evidenced (again) by her return to England. In fairness to Trollope, she did not live long enough to see the changes America went through following the civil war (she died in 1863) and what it meant to the subsequent waves of European immigrants who would arrive a decade after her death.
In Trollopes eyes, there was a big difference between the old world and the new world. The new world was hardly the kind of world the early colonists saw when they established their roots there. Trollope was hoping that the new world would enable her to start fresh following her misfortunes in England but somehow she was disappointed and found the social environment inconducive to her. There was also an apparent clash between the two cultures (English and American) where her liberal attitude clash with what she found misplaced conservatism or the hypocritical prudency she found among the affluent members of American society and the lack of delicacy among the working class people (Heineman 1969 549, 552). In the eyes of conservative Americans, she was a social deviant who ventured out on her own without her husband, in the company of a younger man (her art instructor Auguste Hervieu) instead of her husband and wanted to engage in political issues such as slavery (Heineman 1969 553-554). To them, she acted in a conduct unbecoming of a proper woman of the time for not adhering to the social norms every woman at the time was supposed to follow. Women were expected to be reserved and have good manners and it would be unwomanly for her to behave otherwise which was often reserved for women of lesser stature such as prostitutes and the like. As a result, she has often been (it still persists to this day) ridiculed and derided in every way. This goes on to say that Trollope was not accepted by America society for (ironically) telling the truth.
The third literary evidence that talks about transatlantic connections is the movie A Canterbury Tale (1944). This is NOT based on the classic story by Geoffrey Chaucer. The setting was 1944 at the height of the Second World War (the film was produced in that year too). In keeping with the context of the topic, the film is about the adventures of an American soldier Bob Johnson (played by John Sweet who was actually a sergeant in the US Army) and his British companions, Sergeant Peter Gibbs (played by Dennis Price) and a female Land Guard (an auxiliary military outfit) Alison Smith (played by Sheila Sim). The three of them were brought together by an unfortunate incident that befell Alison and the two soldiers helped track down the culprit which turned out to be the local magistrate Thomas Colpeper (played by Eric Portman) who was the mastermind of the attack on Alison because he wanted soldiers to pay attention to his lectures and to keep women in line by not fooling around with the visiting Yanks while their husbandboyfriend-soldiers were in the front-lines. The film was aptly titled Canterbury Tales because like the characters in Chaucer s novel, these three (including Mr. Colpeper) travelled to Canterbury and each of them received a blessing or do penance for one s sins. By the end of the film, all s well that ended well for each of the characters as they received their respective blessings and in the case of Mr. Colpeper, penance.
The film serves to reflect what was it like for American troops to be in a faraway land such as Britain. In keeping with the spirit of the topic once more, this is seen in the eyes of the visitor Sergeant Bob Johnson as an American in British soil. He was sent there in preparation for the invasion of Europe and it is also a personal pilgrimage on his part as his ancestors came from and this is his opportunity to reconnect with his roots. He and his comrades were received ambivalently by the British as the United Kingdom was the staging area for what was to become D-Day. A love-hate relationship developed between them and their British hosts. The Yanks were the subject of ridicule and contempt that fathers would lock up their daughters once the Americans were stationed in their locale. One of the most popular jokes (partly insults) about Americans was that they were overpaid, oversexed and over here, to which the Americans riposted by saying the British were underpaid, undersexed and under Eisenhower. They envied the American troops who were apparently well-paid and these men would spend their pay in having a good time which did not mean touring the sites and soaking up culture but rather to date the local women who were drawn to the GI s Americanesque charm and money and a substantial number of them became war brides and later moved to America after the war with their husbands. Of course, this drew contempt and resentment from the British who think that American troops were sex-starved and this kind of attitude might corrupt their women (they think the Americans seem to regard every woman they meet as a prostitute or an easy lay) and make them commit infidelity to their significant others.
From the purview of an American soldier stationed in Europe (in this case Great Britain which still continues to this day), one of the challenges they have to cope with a culture which is completely alien to them despite speaking the same language albeit in a different manner. From their point of view, they find the British weird and the British also regard the Americans the same way. In one scene in the film, the residents of Chillingbourne (a fictitious town) find it strange that Johnson was surprised that Chillingbourne is a town, not a village because of its small size. They think Johnson is weird for wearing his sergeant s stripes (rank insignia) upside down instead of the British manner (which the Americans think is upside down). Johnson was surprised that British constables (policemen) do not carry guns like American cops do and appeared to be timid when it came to catching offenders. Like his comrades, he finds British English weird. For instance, Johnson learned that the British called their drug stores, grocers (or chemists). This was also something the British felt when trying to understand American English. Of course, there is also the practice of driving on the left-side of the road which newly-arrived Americans have to learn quickly lest they suffer a head-on collision. From here, one can see the similarities and differences between the old world (Britain) and the new world (America) as well as the clash of cultures.
The film also has its bright sides as well, particularly one scene where Johnson and Mr. Horton, a woodworker. Johnson s father was in the same business as Mr. Horton and despite the cultural differences, they both found common ground. Despite the contempt some (if not all) British have towards American troops, quite a number of them still welcomed them especially the Prime Minister of the time, Winston Churchill. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, Churchill fearlessly predicted that the Allies had won the war when the United States joined in. American troops in Britain actually did get to soak up some culture and did try to reconnect with their roots, especially those with British ancestry.
By way of conclusion, there is no definite answer on defining the relationship between Americans and Europeans. In comparing the two accounts of Antim and Trollope (which are non-fictional and based on their personal experiences), both women had different impressions about America although their reasons for coming were the same. Both wanted to escape the economic hardships and persecutions (for Antim) of their home lands and they regarded America as the ideal place to start a new life. However once there, they had different impressions. Trollope found the social environment in America inconducive to her owing to the apparent lack of civility of most of the people she had met ranging from their rowdiness, immorality and consenting to slavery which to her was inhumane. From the researcher s point of view, Trollope s arrival to America came at the wrong time as compared to Antim. Trollope came at the time the United States was still a young nation that had not fully matured yet. Slavery was still an issue because it was left to be when the Constitution was still being drafted for the sake of unity and ratification. Consequently, conflict was inevitable as the issue of slavery was one of the underlying causes of the civil war everyone then wanted to avoid but happened nevertheless as everything came to a head. Everything changed after the civil war ended but unfortunately, Trollope did not live to see the changes that took place in America following the war.
As for the manners, America was regarded the land of the free and if one were to see it from Trollope s point of view, the people at the time tend to think that the freedoms and rights they enjoyed were absolute to the point of recklessness. Looking at it from the perspective of the Americans, their descendants developed a contempt for anything that was not democratic (such as monarchy, aristocracy and despotism) which meant the limitation or elimination of freedom and their rights and they take pride in their freedom (unfortunately) to the point of arrogance in believing their democratic way of life has made them superior to others. Although painful to admit, Trollope was right as this kind of attitude still exists and what is weird is that the Americans are too proud to admit this shortcoming though the rest of the world can see it. This is the reason for the continued love-hate relationship between America and Europe (as well as the rest of the world).
In Antin s case, she arrived in America by the time the civil war was over. Like Trollope, she came from an impoverished background as well as being persecuted by a regime that strongly promoted anti-Semitism. What made her experience different from that of Trollope was her father had prepared her on what to expect in America. Trollope apparently had a culture shock upon arriving. Antin s father emigrated ahead of his family to find work and eventually prepare for their arrival. If one were to base it on what Antin s father wrote in his letters, his description of America was a far cry from Trollope s impressions of it. If there was one thing Antin s father said that helped buoy her spirits, it was the word free. America is a land where they can live a new life, where freedom is guaranteed to everyone who lives there. Free from poverty (so as long as one will work hard and strive) and free from oppression where their people would no longer be marginalized nor persecuted. It is a land that may not care about one s background but offers opportunity to everybody to achieve the American Dream. Antin also had the advantage of being forewarned and oriented by her father to fit in rather than try and stick out like a proverbial sore thumb. Like other immigrant families, discrimination was also rife especially towards the newly arrived immigrants. For their protection, they would often live among their kind forming villages where they feel safe and secure among each other and to provide a feeling of being back home. In the case of the Antin s they were fortunate not to have experienced this kind of problem in America as they had in Russia. Antin s family also came at the time when a large influx of Europeans, especially from eastern Europe came to America under similar circumstances as their own they went through the same ordeal and lived under similar conditions but in time, they were able to prosper and ultimately achieve that American Dream. They were able to send their children to school and these children (and their children) would benefit from the powers bestowed upon them by education which enabled them to break away from the stereotyping usually made on a particular ethnic group as well as refusing to be typecast or pigeonholed into a specific role determined by their ethnic background. They, as well the next generation, would eventually become the main pillars of American society and some would even rise to prominence in their respective fields. In comparing Antin and Trollope, both had differing views about America though the strange part is both of them are right in their impressions though it can be inferred that the circumstances as well as the timing of their stay in America influenced their opinions about it.
With regards to the film A Canterbury Tale (1944), this is the other way around where an American goes to Europe. In the case of Sergeant Johnson, he went to Europe not to settle down. He went there because of his duty as a soldier and (looking at the bigger picture) as part of the campaign to liberate Europe from an oppressive regime. Yet, like some of his comrades, Johnson, in between his military training, took time to be a tourist and soak up some culture as well as rediscover his ancestry. Like a lot of his comrades (and other Americans who would follow), he also experienced culture shock in Britain. It seemed apparent that Americans had initial impressions that because they speak the same language as the British, they would easily adjust to their culture (and vice versa) but it turned out that this notion is wrong. American and British cultures are totally different and even the use of English by the two cultures are different as well. It should be noted that after the Americans declared independence in 1776, they also wanted to be culturally independent as well hence the creation of America English, courtesy of Noah Webster and developing their own distinct cultural traits and habits such as driving on the right side of the road, something which American GI s carried over to Britain and learned the hard way that it is not applicable here. Their attitudes also such as their brashness, maverick (rebellious) streak ad licentiousness offended their British hosts to the point of contempt and resentment hence the rumours and jokes going around regarding the GI s which was meant to be a warning to the women to be wary of these Americans. Both cultures consider each other as strange. It would have bee possible that Trollope s account may have tipped off the British even before the first American soldiers have set foot on British soil thus creating these wrong impressions.
On the other hand, the presence of American forces in Britain serves to underscore the special relationship between the two countries. This was a relationship that was forged by the two wartime leaders of these English-speaking nations, Franklin Roosevelt (US) and Winston Churchill (Britain). This special relationship had helped put behind the animosities between the two nations ever since the Revolutionary War and ushered a new era of cooperation and friendship between the United States and Great Britain. In the course of the war American and British military leaders worked closely together in prosecuting the war which led to one victory after the other which ultimately led to the defeat of the Axis powers, further cementing the importance of the special relationship in every aspect of Anglo-American relations.
Going back to the film, this special relationship is apparent when Sergeant Johnson worked closely with Sergeant Gibbs and Alison in tracking down Alison s assailant and with Johnson finding common ground with Mr. Horton and despite his awkwardness and naivete, Johnson made every effort to be friendly and helpful to the locals, a far cry from the ugly American image a lot of Europeans see in Americans. Despite finding the British strange sometimes, there are some things that Johnson did appreciate about them. Besides enjoying Mr. Horton s company, he marvelled at the splendour of Canterbury cathedral upon arriving there. Johnson clearly represents the American that is anything but a boor as the Europeans fear or suspect.
All in all, these three literary sources show the relationship between Americans and Europeans. Once again, there is no definite conclusion but if one is necessary, it goes to show that there is a love-hate relationship between the people living on both sides of the Atlantic. Yet, more and more Europeans still immigrate to America because of the opportunity and freedom they offer even though some issues still persist. America has continued honouring its commitment in helping ensure the security of Europe through NATO even though some sectors do not want America being entangled in Europe s internal affairs. These literary sources serve to reflect these sentiments.
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