Up to this point of our learning on Imperialism, the Boxers deserved a bad rep. This is because the Boxers planned to burn down chapels and committed deliberate murder of westerners. Common people of China during that period had no idea of what science is, and so they believed that they could create potions which drinking it would give the taker superpowers like controlling fire and protection from bullets and weapons. They harmed a lot of people, Christians, foreigners, and also Chinese common people. These actions showed that the Boxers are a chaotic group with thoughts that lag behind the average level of skill and understanding of the world at that time. Therefore, the Boxers deserve a bad rep.
Tag: CER
The Power of Love
The American actor Michael Bergin once said: “My parents loved me, and I want to be worthy of their love.” “The Aged Mother” tells a story about a poor peasant and his mother, who lived in an area that had a policy in which all old people are to be abandoned and to die on their own. The peasant has no choice but to obey the policy, but his mother’s action of love makes the peasant change his mind, and so he hides away his mother and begs the government to delete this rule. From the plot above shown, the big idea of this passage is about love for blood relatives and the filial piety from children to parents. Here’s why…
In the story “The Aged Mother” by Matsuo Basho, the author believes that love for relatives usually invigorates people to face and overcome big difficulties. When the mother tells her son to follow the path which she lay with twigs to go home, the son cried, “I will not leave you. Together we will follow the path and twigs, and together we will die” (Basho 2). During this moment the son is touched by his mother’s love. He feels very guilty of trying to abandon his old and weak mother, but more than that, he also turns determined of protecting his mother from staying alone to die, for maybe he would lose his life from too. Later in the story, the farmer satisfies the government’s demand, and when the governor asks for his wisdom, he says, “‘The truth must be told!’ … [the farmer] relates his story” (Basho 3). From the previous text showed, the farmer stands out to the governor with his mother’s help and appeals for his mother’s difficult and stressed experience. He does even though he may be captured and punished by the governor since his saying is conflicted with the country’s policy. This shows that the son really loves his mother and is determined to fight against the cruel rule in spite of any cost he may have to disburse.
Overall, the theme and main idea of “The Aged Mother” is about love and filial duty. The author indicates that the power of love can stimulate people to face hardships no matter their level of difficulty. This surely is a warm story but also reveals a meaningful statement, which inspires us to think about our family: Would you obey the situation if you were demanded to abandon your parent?
