Ah! American cigarettes are like the American soul - sweet and light.
Hans frankAmericaConsumerismCultureMetaphorNational identity
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Frank compares American cigarettes to the American soul using a superficial metaphor of sweetness and lightness.
- In plain terms
- He likens cigarettes to the American spirit being sweet and light.
- What can you take from it?
- Use consumer goods to make cultural generalizations.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do we reduce nations to simple traits?
- What does a preference reveal about perspective?
Another view
The metaphor trivializes complex national character into product traits.
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