What this post will explore is how America’s character consists
of several binaries. In other words, his personality is predicated on contradictions.

Let’s go over them.

Child vs Adult:

What you’ll notice is that even though America fought for
his independence and vied to be recognized as self-efficient, he’s still
equated to that of a child [x]. 

He’ll also often swing back and forth between a “I need you/
go away, I don’t need you” complex when interacting with England, who served as
his primary mentor/ parent figure.

Ex: He rejects England’s offer to become his friend in the
strips depicting Japan’s Westernization period [x]. 

vs

Ex: In a volume 2 character note, England and Japan are
listed as America’s only friends. Remember
that this character note isn’t applicable to modern times; it’s dated.

Ex: America arrives at the African Warfront in WW2 and
ignores England’s advice, only to be overwhelmed and defeated by Germany [x]. 

vs

Ex: Following his independence, America attempts to force
himself into Canada’s home after learning that England fell ill as a result of
the conflict [x]. 

While he may be an adult, America doesn’t always have an
accurate grasp of how the world really works.

Ex: He comes up with childish world defense plans that any
competent person (let alone adult) would realize is not realistic (let alone
possible) [x]

vs

Ex: He successfully invests himself in the massive economic growth
experienced in his country during the second industrial revolution [x]. 

Reading the
Atmosphere vs Choosing not to:

The underlying comic gag is that America’s unable to read
the atmosphere [x]. 

Yet, in one of his character notes, it’s revealed that he
purposefully chooses not to read the atmosphere [x]. 

There are times where America will act purposefully
oblivious and there are times where he’s completely aware of what he’s doing.
What confuses people is that the latter occasion often involves him appearing
oblivious to hide his motives.

Ex: Not long after Russia switched sides in WW2, America
runs his mouth and refers to him as a “bad guy.” Note again, how childish this
perception of the world is.

However, when Russia confronts America and threatens him for
this comment, America seems to read the situation and feigns cluelessness to
avoid further conflict. You could also very easily read this as America being petty
the whole time and wanting to take a jab at Russia’s character.

Ex: America receives a one-way ticket to Siberia from Russia for his birthday. He ‘obliviously’ thanks Russia for the gift, not
wanting to give the latter the benefit of a reaction and promises to use it as
a tissue if he gets a cold…and then proceeds to do so [x]. 

Lastly, there’s the comic gag that America’s sense of
geography is egocentric in nature.

Ex: In one strip, he’s reprimanded for using a map of his
country as a substitute for a world map.

Vs

Ex: He deliberately omits Mexico from a map he constructed
because of his grudge over Alamo [x]. 

Point
is, he’s not dumb.  

Hero vs Achilles Complex:

This one is fairly simple.
Basically, America’s infamous for being the “hero” of the series [x]. 

He’s strong yet also very
insecure of himself [x]. 

He’s insecure about his
weight and doesn’t realize that he’s not overweight at all (you’ll notice that the character note contradicts the strips following it). In fact, he’s just
muscular [x]. 

Ex: In this strip, he’s
shown to be aware of the fact that he wasn’t viewed very favourably by other
nations [x]. 

Hero vs Me Complex:

This one is a bit tricky.

There’s no doubt that
America cares about his friends and will go out of his way to make them happy
(e.g., gifts, hosting them) [x]. 

On the other hand, Himaruya
has to work with the global stereotype that historically American foreign
policy has mostly been of self-interest—a great power that has exerted
pressure to get what it wants.

What I really want to
stress is that much of America’s egocentrism isn’t on purpose. Longer
post on that here [x].

It’s also important to
recognize that the nations have two selves: the personal and the political.
They act differently according to their environment, whether it’s a world meeting
or a casual outing. They shouldn’t be confused as the same thing.

Still, there are times
where America will deliberately attempt to intimidate other nations into
complying with him. Like a child, he lives in his own world and isn’t receptive
to other opinions.

Ex: Canada gets fed up with
post-colonial America, berating the latter for being too domineering, bossy,
and selfish [x],

Ex: He claims to want to
work together with other nations. Moments later, he states that opposing
opinions won’t be tolerated.

Ex: He snaps bundled spoons
as an intimidation tactic to prevent other nations from disagreeing with him [x].

In sum, this post shouldn’t
be taken as an excuse to hop on the bandwagon to point out how flawed America
is. It’s quite the opposite. Be mindful that Hetalia’s whole premise is satirical
stereotypes; it doesn’t hurt to have a sense of humour either. His contradictions
and flaws are what make him funny and relatable.