Both American and French people associate wealth, money, and intelligence with the word "elite." The American list focused a great deal on sports while the French list only made one brief mention of athleticism. There was much more emphasis on education on the French list. In American schools, sports are very important. Are sports very important in French schools? If so, how does that compare with the emphasis on education?

The American responses to the word "elite" are much more negative than the French responses. Americans associate the elite with characteristics such as snobby, supercilious, snotty, self-important, showy, and arrogant. However, the French students, for the most part, associate the elite with excellence - intelligence, good schools, and success. The elite, for both the American and French students, does initiate responses with words like money, rich, and wealth. Perhaps the negative and critical words used by the Americans reflect a society where money is of primary importance, and where success is not always deserved. And in France, maybe being part of "the Elite" is more of a reflection of downright hard-work and determination. Are social lives and monetary success as much of a political game in France as it can be in America? Does "being nice," "networking," and being a "politician" guarantee success in France, as many people think it might in America?

It was interesting that many of the American responses were very negative, but most of the French responses were extremely positive. The French seem to revere the elite, associating the word with learning, intellect, and ability. The elite appear to acquire their status through their own hard work and admirable qualities. To Americans, eliteness is only sometimes admirable, but more often associated with snobbiness and arrogance. I found it interesting that the French also associated "elite" with politics. Is being a politician very admirable, a displa of success in France?

Is there still a prevalent social class distinction in France? How would an average person react to an elite person? Jealousy? Admiration?

Personellement, j'associe l'élite à pouvoir, que je n'admire pas particulièrement.

Je pense que l'élite est souvent associée quelquechose de négative, même en France. pour moi élite est associé à une catégorie sociale beacoup plus riche, qui attire souvent une certaine forme de mépris. L'élite correspond à un niveau que peu de personnes peuvent atteindre, et elle est en grande partie réservée aux personnes qui se situent dejà dans une catégorie sociale élevée.

Pour moi, l'élite ne s'associe pas forcément aux snobs; en réalité les personnes faisant partie de l'élite sont assez souvent hautaines, surtout les hommes politiques, mais j'ai un ami extrêmement intelligent et très simple, ce qui m'aide à voir "l'élite" comme quelque chose de moins péjoratif.