Myths and heroes : what are the principals myths in the american society and what are the values present there thank to these myths ?

Myths and heroes

Introduction : The notion i am going to deal with is the notion of myths and heroes. First of all, i'd like to give a quite definition of a myth and a hero : A myth can be defined as a story about gods or heroes, it can be a popular belief or a tradition or a false idea. A hero can be a mythological figure, a person who is admired for his or her achievements, a superhero or maybe a role model or an icon. And the theme which, in my opinion, best illustrate this notion is the popular myths in USA. Indeed, they are really present in the american society and provide values to it. So we can ask ourself a question: what are the principals myths in the american society and what are the values present there thank to these myths ?

My first document is an excerpt of the world famous documentary Alistair Cooke's America, broadcoast in 1972. With 13 episodes, this documentary try to show and explain us the development of the american country from the firsts settlers to the 1960's in USA. The 5th episode is dedicated to the end of the 18th century when some politicians had the duty to make a state, after the Independance of their new country, in 1776. They mainly debate about the form of power that the state must have. And they decide at the end to have a strong central government and some strong state rights. It is also at this convention that all these lawyers and deputies like Alexander Hamilton and James Madison voted and accepted The Constitution of their country. Later, they modified it with some amendments, 27 in total, like the probably most famous of them, the 2nd, which guarantees for any US citizen the right to bear guns.

Thank to this convention, people believe in values like the liberty of expression, the feeling to live in a free state, or the self-defence due to a legal guns market.

My second document is about American Success Stories. It told us the story of three of the most powerful and emblematic businessman in the US history, who are John Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie and Henry Heinz. Those men were from poor families and began their professional career with almost nothing. Then they began the profession that we know them, and they gradually imposed themselves in the business world. These 3 men at are the origin of the self-made man myth. Indeed, they propagated the idea that a man doesn't need to born rich to die rich and that the work is almost like a religious duty.

My last document is an other excerpt of the Alistair Cooke's America about one of the most important myth in USA: the Gold Rush. M. Cooke show us the lifestyle of adventurers who wanted to seek some gold in the wild West during the middle of the 19th century. The documentary explain us that only the luckiest and the most persevering people succeed at this task. This episode of this documentary summarizes a myth that touches the majority of the american population: because this myth help people to persevere in their way, to believe in what they do and maybe, just maybe, with hardwork and perseverance, they will succeed.

Conclusion: The principals myths in the american society guide people into a way of life based on democracy and hardwork. These values are the symbol of the success of a person, and even a nation.

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