In times such as these where there is a renewal of patriotism from American people probably because of the aftermath of "September 11" a question comes to mind. Do Americans really fill they share an identity together? Do they even realize that they might have a commonality that designates them as American besides citizenship?
             There many countries in this world that share an identity together, for example, nations like China or Mexico who officially have one language and mainly one kind of nationality. In other words, Chinese people speak Chinese in China, and Mexican people speak Spanish in Mexico. Hence, there is very little diversity in those countries which an outsider can discern a distinct identity because of the limited attributes of their nationality. But the United States is so diverse that it is not easy to fathom Americans as a single ethnic society. To, illustrate, Although English is spoken widely in this country, there are millions of American who speak another language such as Spanish, Chinese, and other tongues. So the question is, "What constitutes an American Identity?" Also, is "It possible to be an American and still be different from other Americans?" The answer is "Yes."
             A group of people is tied together by some commonality of their identity. Cultural/environmental factors that determine and shape the individuality of Americans start to occur during childhood. People in the United States were all children once, so the experiences from childhood play a role in the development of a child. Specifically, a child' sense of self is definitely influenced by the outside world. Therefore, Americans share a commonalty through the fact that the community and family affect their personality. With this in mind, two different characters from two different books will illustrate this idea.
             Community and family affect the childhoods of Antonio, a character from B...