Samantha Wyatt

Dr. Teresa Jones

English 1101

2/15/06

America in the Eyes of Ginsberg and Agee

Allan Ginsberg and James Agee have given us the idea that Americans have an image of a perfect American for its citizens that have caused a large amount of America's problems with racism, American dependence on media to form its own opinion, and war. This perfect American is usually white, male, middle class citizen, early thirties, and very successful at what it is that they do. Allan Ginsberg ferociously attacks American for conforming to this way of thinking instead of being a country that believes and respects individuals for their individuality and difference in opinion. James Agee does almost the same thing in his writing "America, Look at your shame" where he calmly recollects a story about a bus ride he had, which strongly portrays the prejudices that a person who doesn't fit the...