Humanities

Category: Humanities

Louie’s Journal

This journal showed the life of Louie, a young adult that lived during the French Revolution. He was part of the Third Estate, meaning his life under monarchy was difficult. Not only did he get through life during the reign of King Louis XVI, he also survived through the reign of terror, a period of time where many executions were happening.

Many things have changed during and after the revolution, some have also stayed the same. Many people in the first two Estates have become the “new poor”. After the revolution, they have almost lost everything. The social structure of France has also changed. Most of the ideas of the way France should be has stayed the same. The Third Estate has not become the new rich but stayed poor.

Money Can’t Buy Everything: Headless King and Queen

March 29, 2021 / Leo / 1 Comment

By: Dan, Leo and Andrew

The French Revolution was the rise of leaders like Maximilien Robespierre and Napoleon Bonaparte, it was also a bloody process that ended where it started. The video explains what life was like under King Louis XIV’s control, what sparked the revolution, the rise of the Jacobins and Robespierre, and a lot of executions. It also includes details about the bloody executions during the reign of terror and how it lead to the death of Robespierre and the end of the revolution.

Unbroken

January 22, 2021 / Leo / 1 Comment

The video contains some details on the story, central ideas, the theme and other elements of the book “Unbroken”. Under the video is some of my thoughts and information I got after reading the book.

“Unbroken” by Lauren Hillenbrand is about Louis Zamperini’s life and how becoming an athlete and World War 2 has affected him. It talks about Louis Zamperini throughout his life, from being an Italian immigrant as a child to becoming a soldier, and the many different problems he has faced along the way. One of the themes in this book is always have hope as it can help you in difficult situations.

You should read this book because 1) it can teach you about living in a racist society as an Italian and how foreigners were treated in that era. 2) The way Louis Zamperini changed over the years can inspire you and shows that if you have hope and be resilient, you can achieve many things. I was inspired by the fact that Louis Zamperini always had hope and survived many difficult situations. 3) The book shows what captured American soldiers had to experience as Prisoners of War and what they risked to protect their country.

After reading this book, I learnt that re-reading a book or parts of a book can help you understand the plot more clearly, find out more themes, or take in more information you missed the first time.

Boxer Rebellion: Good or Bad?

December 1, 2020 / Leo / 0 Comments

The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fists, did not deserve a bad reputation. The influence and pressure of foreign countries was destroying China and its culture. China was already weakened country since many foreign powers took parts of China like Germany in Shandong and Russia in Manchuria. The more China resisted, the more foreign countries would attack and that would lead to the creation of more peace treaties giving foreign countries even more of an advantage. Most of the peace treaties were in favor of foreign countries so the influence of foreign powers would be increased. The Boxer Rebellion would eventually rise and fight back. In conclusion, the Boxer Rebellion did not deserve a bad reputation because foreigners were affecting China’s culture for the benefit of themselves.

How Humanist am I?

October 12, 2020 / Leo / 0 Comments

Renaissance

Humanism

Empowerment

September 30, 2020 / Leo / 0 Comments

In “The Aged Mother”, by Matsuo Basho, a son and his mother lived at the foot of the mountain but there was a leader that had sent out an order to put death to the elderly immediately. The mother was taken onto the mountain by her son, but she was worried about what would have happened to her son if he didn’t know the way more than what would’ve happened to her. Her son found out she was making sure that he could get home safely, so she took her home with him and told the leader of the incident, then he abolished the law. Even though he is following orders of putting death to the elderly, his mother still cared about him and his safety so she put branches on the ground so he can follow the safe path home. She didn’t care about what will happen to her, she cared about her son’s safety and. A mother’s love is very complicated because they will do anything for you even if something happens to themselves. In the story The Aged Mother, by Matsuo Basho, the author believes that love can empower someone to help their loved ones even though something bad could happen to themselves.

His mother keeps dropping branches to help him mark the way back home and tells him: “The mountain road is full of dangers. Look carefully and follow the path which holds the piles of twigs” (Basho 6). It supports the theme statement because it shows that his mother wants his journey back home to be a safe one. To keep him safe and know his way back home, she broke branches and dropped on the ground to guide her son home. The son found out his mother did all this for him, his heart softened, and he couldn’t let his mother die here.

As the story continues, it shows how his mother keeps helping him regardless of her safety. When the general sends out an order to make the rope of ashes, his mother tries to think of a way to make it to help his son even though it could mean that the general knows she is still alive and tells him: “Wait! I will think. I will think” (8). It shows that she wants to help her son, but she isn’t sure of how to make it, so she had to think of it for a day before she could help her son. It also shows that the mother wants her son to succeed, she supported him, and she helped if he needed it.

In conclusion, the author is trying to let the reader know that even if the outcome could be bad for the other person, love can empower them to help you.

Embarrassment

September 13, 2020 / Leo / 0 Comments

This poem is made from words and phrases from the story “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan. The story is about a girl who wants to be more American, but her parents are teaching her to appreciate her Chinese background and tradition. Her parents invited her crush’s American family over for dinner but still went on with Chinese tradition even though there were guests there. The story told her to not be embarrassed just because of her tradition. I chose the fish as the drawing because when her father poked the fishes eyeball out, that was a moment when she would’ve been really embarrassed and would show the conflict. Dinner threw me into despair shows her emotions and how her family’s action has affected her. Robert grimaced shows what Robert, her crush, thinks about her family’s actions and why dinner threw her into despair in more detail. I wanted to disappear emphasizes how strong her emotions are at that point.

Leo