Merry Wiesner’s article exploring the imperialistic ways of Ancient Rome and China during the Han Dynasty was quite eye-opening. Both kingdoms were located in very different parts of the world, but they had similar terrains, and obviously a similar way of thinking. They both understood that the people of their country needed to be governed, but monarchy was not the way to go about it. So, in turn, they decided to become an imperialistic society – rule with the use of an emperor. Wiesner poses the following questions in her piece: how did each of these peoples [Han and Rome] redefine political authority to suit a new level of world mastery, and what do their views of imperial authority tell us about the ways in which they understood the state and its power?…
Rome and Han China at their peaks were the largest and most successful empires the world had yet seen. While Rome centered around the Mediterranean Sea in Europe- from the Roman city-state in central Italy- Han China was based in most of present day China, with the Han homeland located east in the empire. Although in no close contact of each other- the Roman Empire and Han China being separated by thousands of miles- both of these great civilizations grew to great heights and shared many characteristics. While the declines of the Roman Empire and Han China were very similar, both experiencing a collapsing economy, inefficient government, and invasions by other peoples, the differences in their downfalls lie in the core ideals of the empires and how each issue was handled.…
Early civilizations, formed and shaped by their rulers and people, rely on their roots. Geography, people, agriculture, and religion all had an effect on the culture of early groups. Language, derived from thousands of years of oral evolvement, distinguishes the people all over the world to this day. This wide variety of components formed two of the early civilizations, Rome and China. However, specific impacts, religion, formed from respect for a supernatural, immortal deity, and religious ideology, the process of basing religion off of politics, left colossal influences on culture.…
Rome and the Han dynasty were two very successful and influential empires. The language started by the Romans became the basis of many languages all over the world. During the Han dynasty many inventions were created that are still in use, such as the compass and paper. Rome and China’s similarities, expansionistic military and monopoly of trade, helped them prosper. Their difference, how their governments functioned, led to the decline of the Roman empire.…
The Things They Carried In the classic novel, The Things They Carried, author Tim O’Brien illustrates the gruesome details of a dead soldier to develop the speaker’s negative attitude towards the traumatizing effects of war. He provides a detailed description of the soldier as well as a made-up backstory to further enhance the effect. The speaker believes that his death is unnecessary, a waste of life, and not detrimental to the outcome of the war.…
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien “In war, truth is the first casualty”. These words by the Greek dramatist Aeschylus show how the nature of war hasn’t changed in the last two thousand years. During times of War truth gets very muddy and hard to understand, it becomes hard to separate what really happened to what seems to have happened. Ambiguity is the common denominator of every War. “The Things They Carried” is a book about the Vietnam War, but it is also a book about Storytelling itself, and how this one is based on deception and manipulation of the truth.…
The early-mid 1900’s led to the rise of some of the world’s most notorious and dangerous leaders: Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union, and Mao Zedong of China. Known for their ruthlessness and radical reform, these two dictators created a long-term legacy of both progress and struggle during their reigns. Stalin’s path to power occurred in Russia within the Soviet Union, serving as the Secretary of the Communist Party and an important assistant to the controlling Lenin. Utilizing his position, he got many of his companions into powerful governmental positions and was able to gain political support until he eventually took over after Lenin’s death in 1924. Mao Zedong, over in China, was a school teacher during the majority of his years prior to the May Fourth Movement.…
In the book, “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, there are many conflicts and from those conflicts, lessons are learned. We learn how there is a great power to storytelling, how the fear of shame can motivate people, and how we shouldn’t let anything hold us back, especially things that were out of our control. The biggest theme of the book is how there is an immense power to storytelling. Throughout the book, O’Brien talks about how storytelling helps bring other people into the past and share unknowable experiences with the storyteller. Another thing O’Brien talked about was how storytelling allowed the dead to come back to life.…
Ian Kershaw’s article “Hitler and the Germans” analyzes the approach used to assert Hitler’s position in German politics. The main theme of this article is the creation of the “Hitler myth” and its spread throughout German society. This critique will discuss Kershaw’s argument and how effective it was. Kershaw argues that Hitler’s personality was not the key to his success and neither was his own personal Weltanschauung. He believes that it would be more accurate to study the popular image of Hitler, what the average German would have experienced.…
General historical fiction is a historical and literature complex that characterized by a historicity and fabrication. The author will be required to have an imagination for securing the concrete by associating the inner unity of the historical consciousness. Tim O’Brien’s story, “The Things They Carried” is unique and challenging, so it stimulates readers about the curiosity of the story. Even though the story is deal with the fiction story about the Vietnam War, O’Brien named the main character of the story as “Tim O’Brien” which was same name with him and used the first person narrator method to bring a realistic effect to the entire story. His experience of participating in Vietnam War helps him to describe the story more perfect.…
After the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., three men, M. Aemilius Lepidus, Mark Antony, and Octavian vied for the support of the Caesarians and the Roman people. After establishing themselves as a Triumvirate, eliminating their opposition by proscription and at the battle of Philippi, their alliance dissipated. Lepidus’ troops deserted to Octavian’s side, leaving the triumvirs Octavian and Antony at odds. Octavian began a propaganda campaign against Antony that ultimately led to his defeat at the Battle of Actium. Octavian’s use of propaganda strived to show Antony as a traitorous foreigner and portray himself as an embodiment of Rome and Roman ideals.…
The Holocaust and the atomic bombings were both tragic events in our nation’s history, however I believe that both were equally devastating because many lives were both tortured and lost. Even though lives were both lost and tortured in these tragic events, each event experienced different ways in which it tortured and killed people inhumanely. During the Holocaust the Nazi’s would torture and kill Jews in what were called concentration camps. Auschwitz, one of the biggest concentration camp, which was actually a combination of three different types of camps located in Poland.…
Hitler and Caesar were the two most powerful leaders of all time. Caesar and Hitler have many similar characteristics but Caesar was a good leader while Hitler was the exact opposite. In the “The Arrogance and Cruelty of Power,” Robert H. Jackson argued about the trial against the Nazis leaders. The trial ended by showing justice for all the innocent lives that were taken. People state that Hitler and Caesar both have the same amount of ambition and both abused their power, but this statement is false.…
Not only does Hessler’s account show the value of travel as a source of knowledge and truth, but he accomplishes an achievement by venturing into one of the most isolated areas of China and leaving with a unique understanding of the people and…
There are many reasons why Hitler and Mao were able to maintain power and the methods that were used have similarities and differences. Hitler and Mao were two authoritarian leaders that were able to rise and maintain power in the 20th century. Mao, who was a strong left-wing socialist was able to maintained his power in China. Hitler on the other hand, was a heavy right-wing fascist, and was able to maintain his power in Germany. All in all, the methods and ideologies used by both Hitler and Mao were unique to their own country, but in the overall presence, were very similar.…