Yoshie Furuhashi wrote:
>
> [clip]
> >
> >I can't imagine such a story being written by an American.
> >
> >Carrol
>
> The French author to whom you refer is Alphonse Daudet (1840-1897).
> The short story in question -- "The Last Class: The Story of a Little
> Alsatian" -- is available at <http://www.bartleby.com/313/4/2.html>.
>
Though in a tone of triumph rather than pathos, there is one "American Story" that parallels the feeling of Daudet's -- or rather film: The Birth of a Nation. No one else, so far as I know, has attempted to capture in art the "essence" of national identity.
I really think Americans are better off if they refuse to claim a "national" culture. We are a collection with no essence.
Carrol