Abstract Inpidualism, as the typical western capitalist politics and social philosophy, claims and stresses the supreme inpidual value. America is the representative of inpidualism, which can be considered as the leading value of American life, and it has become the core of American culture at present. Especially since the Second World War, inpidualism has had more momentum of development in the social and people’s life. Starting from the related concept of American inpidualism and theory, this paper explores the characteristics of American inpidualism with taking the American sitcom "Friends" as an example. Through the six good friends’ different kinds of choices in family, career, love and marriage, it analyzes inpidualism expressed in various aspects of American life. The first part of this paper elaborates American inpidualism from the aspects of definition, features as well as the influences. The following is to present the application of American inpidualism in Friends. The paper attempts to help more people understand the value of American inpidualism better. It will help people to get know of American culture and promote people’s cross-culture interaction ability.49082

Key words: inpidualism     American culture     Friends

摘要作为典型的西方资本主义政治和社会哲学，个人主义强调个人价值至高无上。而美国又是个人主义价值观的典型代表。现如今，个人主义已成为美国社会生活的主导价值观，同时也是美国文化的核心。尤其是二战以来，个人主义在美国社会及人们生活中迅速膨胀与发展。以美国个人主义价值观及相关理论为基础，本文以美国著名的美剧《老友记》为例，集中探讨了美国个人主义价值观的相关特征。通过《老友记》中六个好友在家庭，事业，爱情以及婚姻中的不同选择，本文研究了美国生活各方面的个人主义价值观的体现。第一部分分别从其内涵、特征及影响三个方面阐述了美国个人主义价值观，接下来分析了个人主义价值观在《老友记》中的具体表现。本文试图向更多的读者展现并帮助其更好的理解美国个人主义价值观。了解个人主义与美国文化的关系有助于我们深刻了解美国文化，从而提高跨文化交际的能力。

毕业论文关键词: 个人主义     美国文化     《老友记》

 Contents

Abstract i

摘  要 ii

Contents iii

Introduction 1

Chapter One  America Inpidualism 4

1.1 The Understanding of America Inpidualism 4

1.2 The Features of American Inpidualism 5

1.3 The influence of American Inpidualism 8

Chapter Two  Embodiment in Friends 11

2.1 Self-independence in Family 11

2.2 Self-struggle in the Cause 12

2.3 Self-Selection in Love and Marriage 13

Conclusion 16

Works Cited 18

Inpidualism in America----Take Friends as an Example

Introduction

As Samuel P. Huntington mentioned his view about inpidualism, “The citizens of different civilizations have different opinions about the relations between God and human, the inpidual and the group, the citizen and the nation, parents and children, husband and wife, liberty and authority, equality and hierarchy. These differences are the product of history. They will not soon disappear.”(Huntington 3) What’s more, Geert Hofstede indicated that, “Culture is more often a source of conflict than of synergy. Cultural differences are a nuisance at best and often a disaster." (Hofstede 91) All these scholars have indicated that the cultural communication and interaction between the west and the east have played an important role in guiding people’s life style and pattern all over the world. And the inpidualism and collectivism are frequently used to indicate people’s different actions.