BA English / Friends And Strangers / Margaret R. Nydell

Friends And Strangers

                                                                                                Margaret R. Nydell

This essay studies the inter cultural differences is relation with the concept of friends and stranger4s in American culture and in Arabian culture. In Arabian culture there is distend gap between friends and strangers. There are certain rights and duties in a friendship cuhereas a stranger is neither alone for lesing rights nor he is offered any duties. In Arabian culture refusing a friend as taken out breaking the friendship even if the work is impossible to perform, a friend never refuse it directly this response is “ I will try my best”. This response from a friend keeps the friendship alive forever

          An Arabian culture personal benefits is taken from the friendship we often here “ Do it for my sake” but in American culture no benefit is expected from the friendship even if a persona is helped by the other he is not morally oblized to help him.

          The personal chose in so much valued that even the children aren’t oblized ot take care of their parents an American culture, personal details are much more important than a person himself. they realdily disclose their social and economic backgrounds. An contrast to Arabian culture, the Americans are uncuilling to disclose their personal details and individual is much more important then his background.

          An Arabian culture insuling the friends is frequent without information they used their friends and story there as a long as they please. They do not feel that they are interfering their personal life.  Being alone is taken as either being dissatinfie or being sad but in American culture privacy is highly value. A person likes to have a moment of privacy so that they could feel onself with theirself. Besides the Americans enjoy being with the friends but they never let them cross the boundary of personal life.

          These are some of the differences between the Arabians and the Americans concept of friendship. The Arabians have distinctly the line between friends and strangers but the Americans have blurred the line.

-         The concept of friendship

-         Reciprocal favours

-          Introductions

-         Writing patterns

-         For Arabs a friend is someone whose company one enjoys and whose duty is to give help and do his/her ability where as for westerners a friend is someone whose company one enjoys but whom one doesn’t except to have the same sense of duty.

-         For Arabs and oral promise has its own value as response where as for westerners actions are valued more then words.

-         For Arabs loyality is expected from friends but westerns don’t except the same sense of loyality.

-         In the culture of Arabs when introducing oneself it is common to give a lot of information about oneself from a one’s family and one social connections. Where as in westerns culture are disclosed less personal information less personal information.

-         In the culture of Arabs one wret ones friends often and has little concern about privacy where as in western culture one just ones friend less after and has a strong sense of privacy.

-         Arab people, except a friend to reciprocate invitation but the western people don’t have as strong of a need for reciprocal invitation.