The concepts of life in America are known as the principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These principles have been executed in different periods of time and in different ways. Nevertheless, the concepts of life cannot be specified because in different historical situations, people have had different mindsets. Because of war, industrialisation and changes in society, the concepts have varied.

In the following table, we can summarize the advantages and disadvantages regarding living in more rural or more urban region. It is necessary to understand the different lifestyles and to be able to transfer them to the lifestyles in the past. Also, you should be able to compare different characters, especially in terms of immigration and the concepts of melting pot and salad bowl.

Examples:

In the 19th century, America experienced vast industrial growth which was caused by factors like huge raw material deposits [dt.: Rohstoffvorkommen], population increases, technological progress and new inventions. Through industrialisation and immigration into the cities, urbanisation progressed and people had to move to the cities for their jobs. Since the labour demand decreased in the farming sector and increased in factories, the invention of cars was advantageous for workers who needed to be mobile.

But most people moved to the cities, which had extreme consequences due to the social and cultural clash of many social classes encountering each other and living together. Tensions rose between poor and rich, between immigrants and long-time residents, and urban society was dissatisfied because of the bad living conditions. In addition, working conditions were partly unacceptable and the bad working conditions at the production line [dt.: Fließbandarbeit] caused people to be dehumanised.

Maycomb in "To kill a Mockingbird" is a small village, where different social classes are living together and interacting with each other. One outstanding personality is Dill who comes from one of the largest cities in Mississippi.

Into the Wild is a real story about a man named Chris McCandless who wants to leave society and travel to Alaska. He wants to be on his own to leave his past behind in order to seek new values and adventures. He escapes from mainstream society and wants to dissociate himself from the daily hectic pressure of success and the concrete rules set by society. McCandless was not ready to assume the responsibility that comes with living in American society. On one hand, some might agree with his ideas and think that he saw the problems in social structures, broke out and bravely searched for happiness. On the other hand, some might say that McCandless might have neglected his relatives’ feelings and acted in a way that was reckless, egoistic, or imprudent [dt.: unüberlegt]. He died in the wilderness after about two years.

Häufig liegt der Schwerpunkt bei „concept of life“ in der Thematik Ideale und Realität bezogen auf sozialkritische Phasen, also beispielsweise soziale Umbrüche, auf historische Gegebenheiten wie der Zweite Weltkrieg, die Industrialisierung, die Goldenen Zwanziger oder auch die „Era of Great Depression“. Vor diesen Thematiken sollen dann zum Beispiel die Folgen der Industrialisierung, die damit einhergehende Entmenschlichung, Missstände oder auch der Wandel der amerikanischen Gesellschaft von „melting pot“ zu „salad bowl“, herausgearbeitet werden. Im Regelfall sollen dann Kritiken herausgearbeitet und Vergleiche gezogen werden. Häufig bezieht sich ein im Abitur gegebener Text auf eine Person, die ihren Lebensstil vor einem beliebigen historischen Hintergrund schildert. Vergleiche sollen entweder zu anderen Ländern, anderen Personengruppen oder einem im Unterricht behandelten Protagonisten gezogen werden.