What Would the World be Like Without French Culture
Like the cultures of most regions of the world, the French culture isgreatly influence by geographical and economic characteristics of thecountry. For example, France's fertile soil has played a large role in thecountry's reputation as a world culinary centre. The country's extensivecoastal areas on the Atlantic Ocean, English Channel, and MediterraneanSea, have played a significant role in making shipping and fishingimportant parts of the country's economy. These factors combined with arelatively less dense population[1] enabled France to become a wealthycountry from the Middle Ages onwards. Although most of this wealth beforethe French Revolution in 1789 was concentrated in the crown, a significantwealthy class had also developed in France. The French monarchs in the16th, 17th, and 18th centuries (like the papacy in Rome) used part of theirwealth to patronize art and artists on a large scale. This attracted manyof Europe's talented artists to Paris, making it the 'Mecca' of art andgave rise to a rich French culture. Wealth also resulted in the creation ofa leisure class, which had both the time and the means for developingelegance in dress, manners, furnishings, and architecture. ("France,"
The founding fathers of theUnited States, too, were greatly influenced by the writings of Frenchphilosophers such as Rousseau and Voltaire and incorporated their ideals ofthe separation of religion and the state in the US constitution. Severalcountries which were previously French colonies retain the remnants of theFrench culture. As we saw in this essay, the rich French Culture has had a profoundeffect on the world culture and history over the centuries and stillrepresents the finest in style, taste and fashion. We would be unaware of the innovative andenlightening works of the great French poets such as FranASois Villon[2] andArthur Rimbaud,[3] influential philosophers such as Jean Jacques Rousseauand Voltaire-whose writings in the 'Age of Enlightenment' inspiredhistorical socio-political movements such as the French Revolution and theAmerican Revolution-and latter day (20th century) writers such as MarcelProust, Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. There are several buildings of great architectural significance inFrance-Gothic churches from the Middle Ages such as the Sainte-Chapelle inParis, and the 19th century structures such as the Second Empire ParisOpera and the Eiffel Tower-the most famous landmark of Paris. Having remained the cultural center of the Western World for a majorpart of the period since the Middle Ages, the French culture has also had anotable effect on the relationship between other cultures. (Cosper, 2003) The French cuisine is famous all over the world and amidst a universaltrend of "fast-food" and hamburgers; the French still consider cooking asan art. The French language is one of the major languages of the world whichis spoken not only in France but in several other countries of the worldsuch as the French-speaking parts of Canada and the former French colonies,notably in African countries such as Senegal, Zaire and Algeria. A world without the French language would be a placein which a wide range of expression, emotion and feelings would remainsadly unexpressed. Encarta 2003) A world minus French culture would be deprived of one of the world'smost varied literature noted for its profound examination of human societyand the individual's place within society. A life without French cooking and French wines would be anunthinkable for any self-respecting connoisseur of good food. Thelanguage has also 'lent' a number of words to the English language and hasa beauty all its own. Cooked with generous amounts of garlic, olive oil, butter, cream,cheese and wines, several French dishes have become internationally famous,e. There would be no literarymovements in the world called dada, surrealism, existentialism, theater ofthe absurd, the new novel, and postmodernism-all 20th century literarystyles led by French artists.
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Acceptance Essays
