C&CE Essay
English 1301
February 17, 2012
English and American Life
I was born in England in 1970 and lived there until I was 10 years old. In 1980, my mother and I immigrated to the United States. I spent the rest of my childhood in Miami, moved around the country for a while, and settled in Houston when I was 20. All of my family still resides in England, except for my mother and me. Although we have lived here for over 30 years, we both still retain our English citizenship. While there are vast similarities between life in England and life in America, I would like to focus on some of the differences of their cultures. The differences that I would like to take a closer look at are the sense of humor, traditions, and the government’s care of the less fortunate.
One of the first things I noticed upon my arrival to America, were the differences in the sense of humor between the two cultures. The English sense of humor seemed to be more sarcastic and wittier. Some would call it a “dry” sense of humor or more cerebral. From my perspective, it certainly appeared more potentially offensive, whereas the American style of humor was much more “slapstick” and “pie in the face”. The Americans were considerably more conscious not to offend. For example, the popular American sit-coms of the day were “Three’s Company” and “Happy Days”.
Another difference I was immediately aware of was how steeped in tradition England is compared to America. In England all families had a Sunday roast, which brought everyone together for a large meal. Even the stores closed on Sundays to accommodate this tradition. All the stores also closed at noon on Wednesdays for what we called a “half day closing”. American families did not stop everything on Sundays for a large family meal. In fact, it seemed that the stores never closed - Sundays, Wednesdays, or even at night. There was obviously a higher emphasis on convenience and commercialism in America.
The final point that I will be
February 17, 2012
English and American Life
I was born in England in 1970 and lived there until I was 10 years old. In 1980, my mother and I immigrated to the United States. I spent the rest of my childhood in Miami, moved around the country for a while, and settled in Houston when I was 20. All of my family still resides in England, except for my mother and me. Although we have lived here for over 30 years, we both still retain our English citizenship. While there are vast similarities between life in England and life in America, I would like to focus on some of the differences of their cultures. The differences that I would like to take a closer look at are the sense of humor, traditions, and the government’s care of the less fortunate.
One of the first things I noticed upon my arrival to America, were the differences in the sense of humor between the two cultures. The English sense of humor seemed to be more sarcastic and wittier. Some would call it a “dry” sense of humor or more cerebral. From my perspective, it certainly appeared more potentially offensive, whereas the American style of humor was much more “slapstick” and “pie in the face”. The Americans were considerably more conscious not to offend. For example, the popular American sit-coms of the day were “Three’s Company” and “Happy Days”.
Another difference I was immediately aware of was how steeped in tradition England is compared to America. In England all families had a Sunday roast, which brought everyone together for a large meal. Even the stores closed on Sundays to accommodate this tradition. All the stores also closed at noon on Wednesdays for what we called a “half day closing”. American families did not stop everything on Sundays for a large family meal. In fact, it seemed that the stores never closed - Sundays, Wednesdays, or even at night. There was obviously a higher emphasis on convenience and commercialism in America.
The final point that I will be