TSIN EE November

Monday, November 16th  TSIN EE

Cartoon 1

Representation of the notion American Dream: 

      - This  cartoon illustrates the American Dream in a satirical / satiric  way

      - There is the American flag with stars and stripes + a big sign with multicolored bulbs, with an arrow  which shows the way. 

This appealing billboard (flashy and multicoloured) attracts the immigrants.

      - It stands for multiculturalism. we have implied meanings / underlying meanings => the colours represent the different ethnies /origins of the immigrants : the idea of a melting-pot is at work here

      - It shows that the USA is an attracting country. It is a land of opportunities, a land of plenty.

Representation of the immigrants

 - They are either young, or  old, alone or with their families (> a baby with his parents).

      - They are in search a better life, living conditions,  living standards  

      - They look very tired / exhausted.

      - Melting-pot of people  and they belong to every generation : youth, adulthood, old age

      > it expresses the idea of diversity (different origin / age / status)

      - They have no luggage, they may have had to live in a hurry or else they may be very poor

Representation of the bridge and meanings:

      - The bridge is very small and tight. It is about to collapse /crumble down.

      - First,  It represents the dangerous (hazardous) trip full of trouble /dangers of the immigrants for the USA and the difficulty of integration > things are getting more and more difficult 

      - The  second implicit meaning is the bridge representing the gateway  = it is very different from the classic representation as the Golden gate / the golden door. It is about to collapse: it is in poor conditions, it is crumbing down

Conclusion

The myth of the "American Dream" is collapsing too.

The myth is debunked (= the reality is hard  /  bleak) by the author / cartoonist/ illustrator

It may be considered as a warning for all the people who still believe in the American Dream. 

They may find a reality that is very different from what they hope for. They put themselves at risk.

Thursday, November 16th    (cs : Aurélien)

new words

-Travel = VB

-a Trip = Noun  un voyage

-Wasted = gaspillé

-Tag / Label   = étiqueté

-Living standards   niveau de vie

-Still = encore ( sans interruption )

-Again = encore ( avec interruption )

-Available = Disponible

-A good for nothing = Un bon à rien

-Salary = Wages

-Although / Though = bien que 

-Be biased / Be prejudiced ( against )

-Faith(s)  = foi, croyance

-Religions

-Belief(s) : croyance

                  Past  l    PP    l     Present partiple  l

- Forbid   l  ade   l  idden l    ding                       l

- Ban       l  ned   l  ned    l    ning                       l

- Prohibit l  ed     l  ed      l    ing                        l

- Plot = Parcele / Intrigue

- Matter = Plan / Matière / Question ( A matter of life & death )

Reasons for immigrating :

 

​Potato famine ​: The Irish = They were starving because of disease in potatoes

 

​Land of opportunity : Jobs / Better life style ( living standards / Start anew / Scratch )​

Religious freedom : Persecuted

The age of steam : Steam ships brought millions of emigrants

Southern Italians : Economic & political reasons

Russian pogroms : Jews who were persecuted

The reason why we often have 2 words for the same meaning:

example: liberty/ freedom 

=> invasion of England in the 11th  century by a French nobleman: all his French men replaced the English nobility and French was the new language but it was used by the ruling elite while the lower classes still spoke English. 

Thus both laguages kept evolving together for 3 centuries.

 

Monday, November 6th

 Question To what extent is the American Dream still alive?

The new face of America (end)

The USA is a melting pot of people from all over the world.

In the document "The history of immigration in the USA" we were reminded that it was in 1492 that Cristopher Columbus discovered the "New World"

(reference from the title of the novel "Brave New World" = the creation of another new world /society under the rule of a World State...)

When the Europeans arrived, this vast territory  was already inhabited by the  Native Americans who  were massacred/ slaughtered by means of weapons and the spreading of diseases such as smallpox (variole): 90% died. They had walked from Siberia to Alaska thousands years ago...

Columbus described them as "friendly" and "welcoming" and totally defenceless. The first successful colony / settlers arrived in the 1600s ("sixteen hundreds").

And that's how this new territory was conquered and along the past centuries several waves of immigrants came to start a new life.

So we understand that the USA as we know it nowadays was not only created but also shaped by its immigrants. 

At the beginning, it was British but they decided to fight for their independence because they no longer wanted to pay the heavy taxes that the greedy England demanded. 

They won the war and proclaimed their independence on July 4th 1776, and that's why they have been celebrating this particular day ever since.

In the background of the document, we can see a great number of faces from different races which represent the immigrants that came to the USA along the past centuries. 

The words "diversity" and  "multiculturalism" in the subtitle refers to their origins and what they brought to the USA: a different culture, a diversity of languages, races, some technical know-how...

The word "melting pot" encapsulates / sums up these ideas.

In the foreground, (the focus of the picture) we can see the face of a young and good-looking woman. 

We may wonder why the journalist and the illustrator have chosen this particular face to represent the people of America.

First, we understand that it is a computerized / virtual  picture (this woman is not real), she is supposed to be a mix of all the ethnies / races that we can see in the background (the different faces of immigrants from diverse origins).

She is young just just as the USA is a young country (officially born in 1776 as already stated above) .

Secondly, as a good-looking person, she is attractive.  We can draw a parallel with the country itself which has attracted so many people -millions of them- over the the years. 

She embodies the attractiveness and the youth of the USA: this choice of illustration shows how this country sees itself and also presents itself.

And indeed, we can't help noticing that when asked about their next ten-year plans, even French teenagers say they consider moving to the States if they are offered an opportunity. 

So, it seems rather realistic as an illustration of the country's attractiveness and it enables us to build up our arguments to answer to our question...To what extent is the American Dream still alive?

New words 

catch up (with) rattraper

on purpose: exprès, à dessein

fail = échouer

succeed (to)  /  manage (to)  : réussir (à)

spread, spread, spread = répandre

disease = illness = maladie 

embody , ied, ied, ying : incarner

greedy : avide, gourmand

slaughter, ed, ed, ing : massacrer

shape, d, d, ing : modeler, former

defenceless : sans defense

melt : fondre

pot : casserole

melting pot : creuset ethnique (mélange de plusieurs ethnies)