To understand the most important characteristics of a society, one must study its major cities.Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In deve

For a long time, a majority of people keep the mind that to understand the most important characteristics of a society, its major cities must be studied. Admittedly, the level of modernization of a society can be reflected by its major cities. However, when it comes to cultural tradition or something involved in certain society problems, the rural areas of a society will be more informative.

Undoubtedly, major cities are the mirror of the level of modernization of the society. Regarding these major cities are the window of a society which will absorb others attention, any country will try their best to build their major cities more absorbing , including contributing a large amount of financing fund on the build of transportation conditions or improving their environment and other aspects. For the reason,whether a country is rich can be reflected from their major cities.Take Beijing for example, 40 years ago, nearly all houses in Beijing are bungalows. Even in the most prosperous street, no skyscrapers can be seen. As for the transportation, carriages are the most common way. Through the city of Beijing , it's easy for people to reduce that China had a low level of modernization at that time with the consideration of the common sense that no country does not prefer to show their economic power in order to gain more attention for other countries.

However, for a person, if he wants to understand the most important characteristics of a country's culture, it's not wise to study it from its major cities. There are two reasons to bolster it. First, nowadays, due to the influence of globalization, major cities throughout the world look more or less the same. A great number of kinds of cars and gigantic building are common features of these major cities. No matter in major cities of developed countries or developing countries, major cities share nearly the same mask which is decorated by high technologies, luxury edifices and so on. In contrast, the rural areas of a society maintain more of its cultural tradition.Because these places do not serious influenced by modernization,thus they still remain their traditions,such aspects as their local conventional art,communication ways and languages. For example, in majority part of major cities, English is the international language, particular in formal situations. However, if you study a country's language culture through its major cities without consideration of various dialects in different rural areas, you will never study the diversity of the country's language which actually, the true characteristic of the country. Second, studying a society's major cities only, one will surely neglects some serious social problems such as the big difference between the rich in major cities and the poor in rural areas.

In sum,to understand the most important characteristics such as modernization development of a society, one must study its major cities. However, once involved in the cultural traditions and certain social issues, it's nearly no use to study the major cities only.