When I was really young I always had the same opinion as my father about most things, even if I didn’t know anything about it. I didn’t know much back then so I just followed everything he said and never questioned it because I thought that he was probably right. Then I grew older and matured and realized that I didn’t agree with him about a lot of things. The way that I used to blindly follow whatever my dad thinks is like the Chinese proverb “A wise man makes his own decisions an ignorant man follows the public opinion.” The proverb means that people who just blindly follow the opinion of someone else instead of thinking for themselves are ignorant. The proverb is also saying that people that would rather just go with anything that …show more content…
the majority of people think instead of making the decision for themselves are ignorant. The wise man that is explained in the proverb is somebody that thinks for himself and doesn’t allow what the public thinks to influence his decision. This fits in with society's beliefs today because lots of people just go along with what the public thinks because that don’t know what to think about things. When the last presidential election was happening lots of people just believed whatever the media or most people said about the candidates and didn’t decide what they thought of them themselves. The world today is so greatly influenced by the media that whatever the media says is what most people think and some people don’t even question if articles are even true they just agree with them. The importance of living by the Chinese proverb “A wise man makes his own decisions and ignorant man follows the public opinion” can be shown through Charles Darwin, the Indian Removal Act of 1830, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and the article “Liberty and Equality: In Defense of Same-Sex Marriage.” Charles Darwin is an example of when the proverb is describing someone who is wise. Charles Darwin represents the proverb because he didn’t follow the public opinion about creation. An article about Charles Darwin and his theories stated “Darwin’s theories were very controversial and not very well accepted among biologists, religious leaders, and the general public” (Coyne). Charles Darwin went against the public opinion about creation with his theories. He told the public his ideas about evolution despite the fact that most did not agree with him. He didn’t change his theories based on what everyone else thought. Charles Darwin represents the proverb because he believed in evolution even though religious people didn’t agree with him. The article also stated “Darwin’s theories weren’t supported by religious people because they said that the theories didn’t go with the story of creation that is in the bible” (Coyne). Back in Charles Darwin’s time most people were very religious. His theories went against the common opinion about creation in America. He didn’t change his opinions to go with the religious ideas of creation even though religion was the most dominant influence. Charles Darwin’s theories weren’t accepted at first but they eventually became the basis of evolutionary biology. The article stated that “Virtually all scientists accepted these theories eventually and they became the became the most dominant influence in evolutionary biology” (Coyne). Charles Darwin’s theories were not accepted by everyone at first but they eventually became an important part of science. If Darwin had not discovered evolution and just believed whatever religious people said not much would be known about the creatures that lived before humans. Although many people still choose not to believe in evolution in favor of religion, evolution still has a big part in explaining how the Earth was created and where humans came from. Charles Darwin represents the proverb because his story shows that people don’t have to believe what everyone else believes and still be considered right. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 is an example of when people make bad decisions based on what everyone else thinks.
The Indian Removal Act represents the proverb because the American citizens felt that Native Americans should give up their land so American farmers could have it. The article “Indian Removal Act of 1830” stated “The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was a law that allowed the president to trade indians federal land in the west in exchange for their home lands” (Tosney). The Indian Removal Act was issued to get land from Native Americans and give it to American citizens. The government gave the Native Americans federal land in exchange but were still having them leave their homes. This was only the beginning of the problems that the Native Americans would face because of this act. The Indian Removal Act represents the proverb because it was made by Americans who had the common belief that Native Americans were savages. The article “Indian Removal Act of 1830” stated “Andrew Jackson was president at this time and since he was a soldier that fought against Indian tribes, he believed that Americans could not coexist peacefully” (Tosney). American citizens believed that they could not live around Native Americans peacefully already and it didn’t help that the president also supported this idea. This belief caused tension between American citizens and Native Americans. This was a time when everyone had the same harmful opinion about a group of people and made …show more content…
horrible decisions based on biases. The Indian Removal Act represents the proverb because it shows how harmful blindly following the public opinion can be. The article “Indian Removal Act of 1830” stated that “ Andrew Jackson said that the removal act would be good for the Indians because it would allow them to cast off their savage habits and become an interesting, civilized and Christian community. In reality this act was horrible and forced indian tribes out of their homes where many died in the long walk to the reservation lands” (Tosney). American Citizens believed that the Native were savages that they couldn’t live near. Most believed that the act was doing no harm so there was little opposition. The Indian Removal Act forced Native Americans out of their homes and made them walk the Trail of Tears (nickname for the path that led to the reservation lands) where many of them died before they reached the reservation land. The Indian Removal Act represents the part of the proverb that explains what makes people ignorant. This event shows how much people can harm each other if they think what everyone else thinks without stopping to question if it is right. The book To Kill a Mockingbird represents the proverb because the main theme of the book is to not treat people badly based on their skin color even if lots of people that you know do it.
To Kill a Mockingbird represents the proverb because Atticus, one of the main characters of the book doesn’t agree with how his town treats African American people. When his children start to understand how racist their town is Atticus says “As you grow older you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t forget it - whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash” (Lee220). Atticus is explaining that treating people poorly because of their skin color is wrong. He is also saying that even if you see people do that kind of thing all the time it is still not okay. He thinks that no matter who you are, how rich you are, or how good your family is if you treat people badly because they have a different skin color than you, you are a bad person. This is very different from the opinion of most people in their town because most of the people there are very racist. To Kill a Mockingbird represents the proverb because Atticus defends an African American man even though he knows they probably won’t win because of the tendency for the juries to be racist during the time that the book is set in. when the jury is about to go make a decision
Atticus says to them “ The witnesses for the state, with the exception of the sheriff of Maycomb county, have presented themselves to you gentlemen, to this court, in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption - the evil assumption - that all negroes lie, that all negroes are basically immoral beings, that all negro men are not to be trusted around our women” (Lee 273). Atticus is against the idea that all African American people are immoral even though that is what most people in the town think. He states that the assumptions that people make about African Americans are evil assumptions and that the jury should not go along with them. He tries to make the jury see that making a decision based on the assumptions that everyone else makes about African American people is wrong. To Kill a Mockingbird represents the proverb because Atticus doesn’t agree with the public’s opinion about African American people. When Atticus is talking to the jury he also says “ You know the truth, the truth is this: Some negroes lie, some negroes are immoral, some negro men are not to be trusted around women - black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no one particular race of men” (Lee 273). Atticus is saying that it is unfair to say that African American people lie and are immoral when it is something that applies to everyone. He thinks that it is unfair to assign all bad traits to African American people because everyone in the human race can have bad traits not only one particular race. He tells them that they know this is true in hopes that they will look past the biases towards African Americans and make a good decision. The book To Kill a Mockingbird represents the proverb because the main characters in the book are wise for not agreeing with the public opinion of African Americans. Another good example of the proverb is the argument about the legalization of same-sex marriage. The article “Liberty and Equality: In Defense of Same-Sex Marriage” represents the proverb because it shows the differing opinions about same-sex marriage. The article Liberty and Equality: In Defense of Same-Sex Marriage states “Laws about same-sex marriage are different around the world. Some countries support it and others give severe punishments to gay couples” (Naylor). There are two main sides in the argument about the legalization of same-sex marriage. The side that believes it is wrong for same-sex couples to be allowed to marry and the side that believes same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. Both sides have been arguing about this topic for a very long time. The article “Liberty and Equality: In Defense of Same-Sex Marriage” represents the proverb because it shows how the opinion the public has about same-sex marriage takes away the rights of same-sex couples. The article states that “It has been difficult to get rights for homosexuals and to get same-sex marriage legalized because people think being gay is wrong based on religious beliefs and social norms” (Naylor). The main reason why same-sex marriage was not legal is because of the religious belief that being in a same-sex relationship is wrong. The religious opinion of same-sex marriage is the more common opinion on the topic because many Americans are religious in some way. That being said not all religious people think that same-sex marriage is wrong but enough of them believe that it is wrong to make it hard to get same-sex marriage legalized. The article “Liberty and Equality: in Defense of Same-Sex Marriage” because the court is looking past everyone else’s opinion about same-sex marriage and looking at the constitution to decide if same-sex marriage should be legal. The article states “The Constitution is being taken into consideration to decide if same-sex marriage should be legal because it protects the rights and liberties of everyone equally despite the public opinion” (Naylor). The people that deny gay people rights and liberties just because same-sex relationships are against their religion are wrong because the Constitution grants rights and liberties to everyone. The Constitution protects everyone’s rights and liberties equally no matter who they are. No one group’s opinion should decide if two people that love each other should be allowed to get married. The article Liberty and Equality: In Defense of Same-Sex Marriage represents the proverb because it shows both sides of it. The one side representing the ignorant man is people that would just agree with the public opinion that same-sex marriage is wrong and not take the fact that same-sex couples have the same rights everyone else does. The other side is the wise man, which is represented by the court, is the people that looked to the Constitution to decide if same-sex marriage should be legal instead of just agreeing with the opinion of the public. The importance of living by the Chinese proverb “A wise man makes his own decisions and ignorant man follows the public opinion” can be shown through Charles Darwin, the Indian Removal Act of 1830, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and the article “Liberty and Equality: In Defense of Same-Sex Marriage.” Charles Darwin is an example of this proverb because he made theories about the creation of people based on his own opinion and research, not on religion which was the most common opinion. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 represents the proverb because most American citizens thought that Native Americans were savages, so they sent them away without thinking about how it could harm them. To Kill a Mockingbird represents the proverb because one of the book’s themes is to not treat people badly based on their skin color even if it is something that most people you know do. The article “Liberty and Equality: In Defense of Same-Sex Marriage” represents the proverb because since the public thinks that same-sex marriage is wrong it was very hard to get it legalized, but eventually the courts looked past what everyone else thought and made a decision using the Constitution. This proverb is important to remember because too many people make decisions based on what everyone else thinks and not what they think. It is also very important to remember this proverb because people often follow the public’s opinion about certain groups of people and are hateful towards them because other people are. It is important for people to realize that they can have their own opinion and that they don’t have to rely on what everyone else says to form an opinion.
“[T]here is one way in this country in which all men are created equal- there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller; the stupid man the equal of an Einstein, and the ignorant man the equal of any college president. That institution, gentlemen, is a court” (Lee 233). These are the words uttered by Atticus Finch, an important character in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus is a lawyer, and at this point in the novel, he is trying to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who was accused of raping a white woman. This reflects upon how society was in the 1930’s, when the color of your skin affected your chances of winning a trial. In fact, it is speculated that To Kill a Mockingbird is loosely based off of the trials of the Scottsboro Boys, a famous case from this time period. Most of the main characters associated with both trials share similar traits, experiences, and backgrounds.
Back in 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act. This act required the government to negotiate treaties that would require the Native Americans to move to the west from their homelands. Native Americans would be moved to an area called the Indian Territory which is Oklahoma and parts of Kansas and Nebraska. Some tribes that were to be moved are Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Choctaw, and Chickasaw. All of the other tribes had relocated in the fall of 1831 to the Indian Territory besides the Cherokee who did not relocate until the fall of 1838. They did not move from their homeland without a fight. Their homeland was parts of Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and North Carolina. They started this march in the fall of 1838 and finished in early
“You can't delete racism. It's like a cigarette. You can't stop smoking if you don't want to, and you can't stop racism if people don't want to. But I'll do everything I can to help”-Mario Balotelli. This quote applies to “To Kill a Mockingbird” because racism is common throughout the novel and a select few characters don't fall to the common influence of racism.
The removal of the Native Americans was an egocentric move on Jackson’s part. Jackson was only able to see how our removal would benefit the government but was not concerned at all about our values and culture. “It puts an end to all possible danger of collision between the authorities of the general and state governments on account of the Indians” (91). This statement, included in the State of the Union Address, exhibits how Jackson was quick to place blame on the Indians. He was basically saying that if there were any disputes between the general and state governments, it would be because of the Indian’s choice to not leave the land. Jackson was attempting to hold the Indians accountable for a matter that they had no say in. It is evident that Jackson could have are less about the Indian’s home land, where we were birthed and raised our kids. It is clear that the sentimental value of the land did not concern Jackson at all. Jackson felt that he offered us an equitable exchange, but his family was not the one being forcefully removed from their birthland to go to an unfamiliar land. “What good m...
"I especially liked the part where the Negroes bless their hearts, couldn't help being inferior to the white race because their skulls are thicker and their brain pans shallower so we must be very kind to them and not let them do anything to hurt themselves and keep them in their places" (Lee 102). This quote is said by Jem Louise to Atticus after finding the racist pamphlet in his office. She is disgusted by his beliefs and is shocked how much he has changed. This quote represents the whole book due to two different views on racial segregation and how blacks didn't have a say in life.
Atticus wants his children to ignore what everybody thinks of him when defending a negro. During a conversation between Jem and Atticus, tells Jem,” As you grow older, you'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, whenever a white man does that to a black man, that white man is trash.” (223). At the court Atticus is sure that he will lose but wants to make a statement to this racist society. He wants this county to treat black people just how they treat white people....
Once the white men decided that they wanted lands belonging to the Native Americans (Indians), the United States Government did everything in its power to help the white men acquire Indian land. The US Government did everything from turning a blind eye to passing legislature requiring the Indians to give up their land (see Indian Removal Bill of 1828). Aided by his bias against the Indians, General Jackson set the Indian removal into effect in the war of 1812 when he battled the great Tecumseh and conquered him.
This quote encompasses the idea that even though Tom Robinson was proved to be an innocent man by Atticus, he was still considered a “bad guy” due to the color of his skin. Back in the 1930’s, caucasian people were always viewed as the more valued race. Despite if a colored person convicted a crime or not, it was always going to be a caucasian’s word over a colored person. This was why Mayella had an advantage over innocent Tom Robinson. Also due to the fact of Tom Robinson being colored, when he was proven guilty by the jury and hauled to the jail, the guards shot him for trying to escape. When Atticus found this out, he disappointedly said, “Seventeen bullets in him. They didn’t have to shoot him that much” (Lee 238) . This strongly withheld the idea that if a white man were to get placed in jail, they most likely would not get shot seventeen times, despite their crime. But when Tom Robinson went to escape for something he didn’t do, he paid the price of death. Even though many people may be innocent, just as the mockingbird, it tends not to be viewed by all, which creates a great conflict that
“As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash” (Atticus) chapter 23.
The removal of Indian tribes was one of the tragic times in America’s history. Native Americans endured hard times when immigrants came to the New World. Their land was stolen, people were treated poorly, tricked, harassed, bullied, and much more. The mistreatment was caused mostly by the white settlers, who wanted the Indians land. The Indians removal was pushed to benefit the settlers, which in turn, caused the Indians to be treated as less than a person and pushed off of their lands. MOREEE
This quote shows how fair Atticus is, he’s trying to understand other people in different situations. His advice is very true and is valid throughout the entire book, it could even be considered a theme on it’s own. Atticus’ quality of respect is very high and continues on into the trial further into the book which helps him during the case and helps Lee build to the theme: “‘Gentleman,’ he was saying ‘I shall be brief, but I would like to use my remaining time with you to remind you that this case is not a difficult one, it requires no minute sifting of complicated facts, but it does require you to be sure beyond all reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the defendant. To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white,” Lee 271 Atticus voices in his final words at the trial.
The early 1800’s was a very important time for America. The small country was quickly expanding. With the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expedition, America almost tripled in size by 1853. However, even with the amount of land growing, not everyone was welcomed with open arms. With the expansion of the country, the white Americans decided that they needed the Natives out.
The once great tribes of Native Americans are now all gone from the land in which their forefathers were born in. This act of ethnic-cleansing was called the Indian Removal Act. This law authorized the removal of Native Americans to move to the west of the Mississippi River in exchange for land. Although this act lead to the growth of America, the Native Americans shouldn’t have had to relocate. The Native Americans shouldn’t have relocated because they were becoming more civilized, because they were on the land first, and they were not safely transported as the government promised.
In this world, everyone has an equal right; however, many people are getting falsely accused of acts they did not commit even though they are innocent. Mockingbirds, one of the most innocent birds, sing their heart out for people to enjoy, however, they getting killed every day. In this novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, there are many racial prejudices going on. Finches stand near the top of the social hierarchy, with Cunningham and Ewells underneath. Black community in Maycomb is even below the Ewells, even if they were a hard worker; they were not treated equally. The “mockingbirds” represents the idea of innocence, so killing a mockingbird is to destroy innocence. Throughout the book, many characters are considered a mockingbird. Three examples are Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and Mr. Dolphus Raymond. Those three characters are innocent; they are kind and were never harmful to others. However, they were destroyed through contact of evil. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the mockingbirds symbolizes the idea of innocence, and Tom, Boo, and Mr. Raymond are considered one of it.
"There's something in our world that makes men lose their heads—they couldn't be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins. They're ugly, but those are the facts of life” (Lee ,223). Atticus told the jury thus quote. In tough situations Atticus always has great judgement. No matter the color, Harper Lee shows Atticus's character to be the most responsible out of most, he's also one of the most important characters in the book and is greatly talked about throughout the