Theoretical Frame


A frame that I used in my essay is the Culture vs Nature concept. Martin Arnold talks about this concept in his book "The Dragon: Fear & Power". It is essentially stating that there are two views, one being the calm and composed view, which is culture, and the other being the chaotic, which is nature. Culture, in this case, means community and with community comes a calm and sophisticated way of viewing things. This is essentially the way that the Chinese Dragon will be viewed on in my essay. Nature is very chaotic and aggressive, so I will be using that term to explain more of the American/Western Dragons. 

Another analytic term I will be using is 'clash'. I am using this in the part of my essay in which I talk about the reactions of American and Chinese cultures to each other and their effects on the dragons and their portrayal. Since the cultural views and ideas on dragons and other aspects differ so much, the term clash is perfect to describe what happens.

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