Pericles Funeral Oration Analysis

Funeral orations are usually consisting of praises and admirations to the people who passed away. However, there were two famous funeral orations that not only praised the people who sacrificed, also gave an important inspiration about democracy and equality. Both Pericles’ funeral oration and President Lincoln’s Gettysburg address were spoken for the soldiers who died in the battlefield. Moreover, many people claimed Lincoln imitates the ideas of Pericles’ funeral oration. Nevertheless, both orations show a great influence in the history of literature, and also provide significant inspiration for current readers. In the very beginning of the text, we can find an obvious parallel between two orations. Both orations addressed to their great ancestors who created the foundation of the countries. In Pericles’ version, he admired that his ancestors use their braveness to create this free and democratic polis. And in Lincoln’s version, President Lincoln, in the same way, praised the founding fathers create “a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” They both put emphasis on the contributions and efforts of their ancestors. Another important similarity is that they both praise and honor the idea of democracy. In Pericles’ version, he devoted most of his time in …show more content…
One important aspect in Athen’s democracy is freedom for children to choose education. Nowadays, in many democratic countries, children still don’t have the freedom to choose what to study, especially in their early childhood development. Despite the fact that many parents and educators think every child has their uniqueness and specialty, the government are now popularizing the standardized tests for public school students. And this practice not only neglect the free will of students, also eliminate their skills on critical