AMH 2020

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Tumblr Post 9 - Course Reflection

1. The Things They Carried: My partner decided to read The Things They Carried which is a piece of historical fiction based upon the life of a solider. The book includes true stories also mixed with exaggerated memoirs. As of currently we have not talked about the Vietnam War since we just covered World War II, but I imagine that it would connect with previous wars based on the type of warfare included. They probably carried similar things and had similar stories like Tim O’Brien did with close friends dying, returning home with these memories, and having to carry loads of guns for long distances. The fright and worry in the book probably would also carry through with any soldier of any war. It was also a war in which not many people supported, just like many Americans being anti-war within World War I and II. Although I am sure when the soldiers came home from those two wars they probably would not have been treated so badly and looked down upon. Since I had to read this book for a previous Literature class, I know that this book is called historical fiction for a reason. Although many of the battles, places they went, and things they actually carried were all facts, many of his stories were completely fiction. He even acknowledges this when he speaks about telling war stories and military memoirs. I learned that people included in these stories did not die or even exist, and at the end where he takes his daughter back to Vietnam and back to the place where one of his closest friends died, that it did not even happen nor does he have a daughter. I believe that this book is probably closer to a work of bad history just based upon the horrible times mentioned throughout the book (even if it is historical fiction). Most of the book recalled death, battles, and gruesome mental images so I have to side with the fact that I think it is bad history. Another thing that plays into this opinion was I know how the war and returning soldiers were treated in the eyes of the American people and it is not a happy part of history. Well I cannot speak for the historic context of the film since my partner picked a book, but the way Tim O’Brien set up the images and setting of the book convinced me and most of my class when we read it, that all of these things actually happened to him.

2. Course Reflection: I think a lot of interesting topics were addressed in this class that I enjoyed (which is strange because I personally become easily bored with history). A big thing that I have always enjoyed learning about was World War II and the events that correlated with it. Being a psychology and criminal justice double major, seeing Hitler and his mindset is a really interesting task for me, as well as looking at all the people that happened to look the other way or be brain washed into assisting him. I also loved hearing about the Civil War because Lincoln is one of my favorite presidents along with FDR and JFK. What I also enjoyed learning about were the things that were not listed in the textbook that the professor brought into the light. Things like the Holodomor, different demagogues, and problems happening all over the country and world. It was scary as well as mesmerizing to learn about things that I never realized were happening or people that I never knew earning power. I know that there is bias in just about anything and clearly there is bias coming from the American side of learning about things. I mean we never learned about how the Nazi’s felt or Josef Stalin possibly being a good guy instead of a terrifying dictator, but I do not think it was necessary to look at things from their point of views. I think the professor did a wonderful job of presenting many different view points when it came to Democrats vs. Republicans and different sides of the wars when the leaders were not thriving off of the death of millions. I honestly do not think there were any blind spots or parts missing from the course. The professor was super in depth and detail with every single topic that I felt like I was properly informed of every piece of American history that we learned. I probably would have liked to learn more about the American culture during each time period, like music, art, and writers, but he covered it pretty well for the most part. I am just biased because I love that kind of stuff and could learn/talk about it for hours. My favorite assignment would have to be my tumblr post about gender equality because I love learning about strong women and the people that stood in their way that they overcame. And to be perfectly honest, I really did not have a least favorite assignment; they all taught me things I never knew and I like that. My understanding of how history is portrayed in the media has changed so much. I know realize how much the media exaggerates every little detail and how much is actually left out of the media that needs to be included. 

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Tumblr Post 8 - Social Justice

The documentary that I chose to watch was one of the hidden genocide within the country of Myanmar. I chose this one because I am trying to be more in tuned with the world and what is happening all around us, but there are so many places that I had no idea where to start. Therefore, I figured this would be a good place to start. The video was obviously about the mass genocide that was hidden by most of the world. Within the country of Myanmar there is an internal war going on between two different ethnic groups. And if anyone thought that it would be a peaceful disagreement, they would be absolutely wrong. These two groups, the Benghalis and Rahkine, have been fighting in ways I never thought possible. Between the two groups, it seems they have covered every aspect of violence that you could think of. In the video they covered people burning down buildings, throwing people into fires (grown people and children), beating people with the butts of guns, shooting people purely for spite, and chopping up people to complete mutilation. 

My response to the film is that I cannot believe that this is happening, but no one else in the world really knows. And I really do not know if it is entirely the fault of the country for not being organized enough to notify anyone else outside of the country or if it just all the other countries turning a blind eye to them for yet another internal conflict within a country. I also cannot believe that these two groups, who are very religious, are fighting to the death over who rightfully originates from the land. I am not entirely sure if the fiilm makers depicted any kind of bias within the movie since it seems that they showed both sides of the argument. But there were definitely more Benghali reports and stories than Rahkine perspective. It seems that the Rahkine were the ones that were doing more harm and I am not sure if it is that way because of fact, or if the film makers purposely made it that way. That was the only true thing that I thought could possibly make the film biased. I also do not think that the authors or film makers missed any possible information to include within the story, but I think that due to the fact that I am not properly informed of this whole event.

The main thing that I learned about this documentary was that this kind of thing could easily be happening in the world without anyone knowing or seemingly caring that it happened. Hundreds or thousand of people could be murdered every day for no real reason and that is just really scary because that very thing could happen in this country if someone really wanted it to. I would really want to know if this sort of thing is still happening or is there some sort of resolution that has come out of the wood works?  And I would also want to know if any other country or large organization came into the picture to help resolve these problems? 

Learning about all of these different scenarios in class where there has been conflict and mass killings have been covered up, I can confidently say that there is no such thing as “never again.” There is always going to be a country or place in the world that is going through controversy and turmoil and I am sure that this sort of thing is going to happen all over again, which is not only depressing but also very scary because no one knows whose country is going to fall into this murderous pit. I think the only way to help this kind of situation would be to try to spread the awareness of this issue as best as anyone could and hope that the talk would be enough for larger countries or even something such as the UN to step in and help ease these problems with something much less serious than mass genocide.

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Tumblr Historical Film Review - 2

Taylor Ferraro - Walk The Line

The film, Walk the Line, is an autobiographical film of the life of the big music legend, Johnny Cash. To be completely honest, anything that was found in this movie does not really have any direct connections to the topics that we talked about in class. There are many things that Johnny Cash did in the movie that broke down barriers of social conduct and status quo, which is related to the history of music. Other than his enlistment within the United States Air Force and his job to decode Soviet Army messages, there is no major happenings that would lead me to believe that this movie is a good representation of American History. Johnny Cash was himself, a huge movement within the musical atmosphere, not only with his risky choices within music, drugs, and family life, but to go outside of the cultural norm of concerts and performance and choose to perform in a jail was probably one of the most iconic things he ever did with his life. Another possible topic within Walk the Line was Reese Witherspoon’s character, June Carter, was depicted a strong-willed woman who did not take the direction of any man, let alone Johnny Cash. Within the time period that Johnny Cash became famous, a lot of the women did not have the same social rights as they do now. Women were still forced into the cookie cutter role of house wife and obedient partner. They did not have the same intensity and power that June Carter did in this movie, and that could very well be a depiction of women first receiving their voice within American culture.

According to the many sources that I looked at and read through, a lot of the movie is historically accurate. There are some minor details in the movie that some extreme movie lover might pick out, like the fact that there are bar codes on items when bar codes never existed during a certain time period within the movie or the fact that his brother actually died in the high school agriculture shop instead of the shed in the back of their house. Those are small, insignificant details that really do not change the attitude or tone of the movie as a whole. Many other things, much more important things, like the fact that his dad blamed him for his brother’s death (claiming that “the devil took the wrong son”) or that he truly performed in a prison after cleaning himself up were all completely true. Although most of the sites claimed the move was historically accurate, one of Johnny Cash’s daughters from his first marriage, Kathy Cash, despised the movie and claimed that it made her mother, Vivian Liberto, look like a mad woman who hated Johnny’s career and they just wanted to depict that to heighten the romance of Johnny and June within the movie. When in reality, according to Kathy, her mother was very supportive of his career and they were very happy together up until the point where Johnny became addicted to drugs. 

I believe that this movie was a work of good and bad history combined together. Yes, his addiction to drugs, terrible attitude, and the death of his brother were terrible points in Johnny Cash’s life, but the ending with the love of June Carter and the creation of two families seems to be the good part of history. He ended up happy, clean/sober, and loving which is the way most people should be. Now that I think of it, the movie is probably a work of good history because it shows the story of a “bad-boy” rockstar whose life was burning and crashing to ground behind the scenes as well as in front of them. But he was able to turn it around for the sake of love and family, and that to me is a good part of his history. 

The historical context of the movie was not a large part of the film. Like I said earlier, this film was more about Johnny Cash’s history rather than American History. I think they did a fantastic job with depicting the setting of the movie with the way everyone looked, acted and performed. It looked like one of Johnny Cash’s concerts but on a big screen. And the people they chose for the roles closely resemble those who lived through the movie. I think that because everything was so accurate and spot on within the movie, the audience was better able to believe everything that was going on and truly see into the life of music legend, Johnny Cash. If everything and everyone was not in the way that they were supposed to be portrayed then I think it would have been harder to relate this to his life. The really big important factor within this movie, to me, was the actor who played Johnny Cash. He looked and acted so much like him that I completely engrossed myself in the movie and believed that what I was watching was a true part of history cut out and presented to me.

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Tumblr Historical Film Review - 1

Taylor Ferraro - Remember the Titans

This film that was based off of a true story that takes place at T.C. Williams High School can relate to a lot of different topics that were and will be discussed in class. We have yet to cover the topic of segregation in the United States within the 1900′s, but we have discussed the topics of slavery, the civil war, and racism within the United States. Clearly the reason that we had segregation in the 1900′s was an effect of the civil war and the African Americans wanting their freedom and their release from the shackles of slavery. We are all well aware of the fact that racism stems from the class system during the beginning stages of making America a country. African Americans were shipped from Africa to the United States to be sold off as property and for the next few centuries, they were looked as less than a person by white people. It’s because of America’s past that desegregation was such a colossal political statement and it is also the main plot line of the movie. T.C. Williams High was one of the first high schools to be desegregated and it was clearly the talk of the town as the movie depicts. People (mainly whites) were boycotting and protesting, might I even add not peacefully, the desegregation of their deeply southern town. This movie addresses those different topics of racism and true events that happened within history. This movie was based on a true story and the main plot line has all the correct information. This movie was a little piece of America’s history so that makes this movie more credible. 

I believe that Remember the Titans for the most part is historically accurate. It was based off a true story of T.C. Williams High School desegregating their students. This therefore leads to a football team with both black and white athletes which will obviously lead to violence, racial slurs, and hostility within the team. But after the initial tension, they all learn to work together after a meeting in the gym where they break through their own personal barriers and become a true team. Then the rest of the movie proceeds with the story of the team becoming the 1971 state champions for their high school. Of course, the entire movie is not historically accurate based on the fact that not everyone can remember every single detail that happened to them. There are even some big events that were portrayed in the movie and seemed genuine and real, but they did not happen to the real team. Prime examples of this was Denzel Washington waking the whole team up at 3 a.m. to go for a run or his famous speech at Gettysburg that he tells the team to attempt to unite them. These all seem like pivotal moments in the movie and because they were successful, most people believe them to be true. It is reported too that some of the teammates did not believe that the coach’s tactics (to be tough and have no mercy) did not have any effect with the season’s outcome and it caused too many people to quit. When I first viewed the film, I believe most of the movie to be fact since it all seemed plausible, but through some research, a lot of the script were big generalizations and assumptions. 

To me, this movie is an example of “good” history because of the successful ending. Even though, the beginning of the movie there are racial slurs and horrible attitudes toward African Americans and it made me disappointed in our country’s history, the whole movie left you with a feeling of triumph. The fact that most of the team got over their previous notions of race and superiority, and they eventually became one of the greatest teams in the country within a small amount of time makes me feel that this movie depicted the good part of history. Even small parts of the movies that take up mere minutes of the movie, were the ones that spoke the most to me. Like when Gerry refuses to go with his girlfriend and friends after the game because she said “[she’s] not running in the same direction as [him].” Something as simple as not joining your friends because of their racist attitudes was a big realization to his character as well as his friends. Another part of the movie that really struck a chord with me was when Julius was going to visit Gerry’s mother and the cop stopped him. At this point, Julius thinks it’s because he’s black and believes he’s in trouble, but the police officer merely compliments him on the season and hope the team continuously does well for the rest of the season. To me, that was a turning point in the movie and it exemplified the wonderful effects of desegregation. 

The film was based in the 1970′s, but it was only released in 2000. I thought for the most part that the depiction of the past in the movie was very believable and I did not recognize anything that might convince me that the era was not anything but the 1970′s. All of the historic context recognized belong in that time era, and I do not believe that anything or anyone was mislead or fooled within this movie. They depicted the whites and blacks as either hostile or friendly towards each other and that is how it was back then. Granted there was probably more hate than love, from both sides, but everything in this film seemed like it was a legitimate scene from that time period. Nothing in the movie was biased or misconstrued, at least from my point of view. 

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Tumblr Post #7 - Louis Farrakhan

The demagogue that I selected was Louis Farrakhan. I have to admit that the reason I selected this one was for it’s strange title “Louis Farrakhan: Angel or Devil?” Now before this video I had no idea who he was, but after watching it, I am shocked that I did not know of this man before. It seems to me like he was such an instrumental part of politics and American government for such a long time that I should be taught about him.

The video was about the different political views he and Alex Jones (from Info Wars) had on various topics. They had gone in length about things such as the governmental system currently, racism within America, white people in general, terrorist attacks, and much more. Most of what he said I can follow, but both of them tend to go onto rants without having much of a purpose. His opinions and insights were very interesting though because I have never encountered or really taken time out of my day to listen, in great detail, to someone who has opinions so completely different from my own. I mean I have had discussions and arguments with people about controversial issues of course, but never with the kind of rationalization that both him and Alex Jones used. They also included some very disturbing videos of people on the topic of abortion that just kind of scared and worried me. I understand the reasoning behind the inclusion of them, but I still do not think it was completely necessary to go as far as to include a clip of a young girl saying “I kill my babies.” But they needed to show that kind of intensity in order for viewers to support their opinions and ideals.

Clearly the film makers had some sort of bias on these topics because it was Alex Jones’s show and therefore he really only wants to put his opinions in without the threat of another one included. That’s why he chose to only show videos of abortion activists saying cruel and unnecessary statements. He did not include those activists who are not so heartless and instead want to help those who were either raped or are not prepared to give their fullest to children. It’s also why he chose to include videos of major newscasters and depict them as ridiculous people because they were questioning him and claiming he was a “conspiracy theorist.” I understand where he is coming from since he is trying to defend himself, but there was definitely bias deep in the show.

The topics they talk about do address parts of U.S. History since they quoted part presidents and were talking about things that are a part of America’s past, but we have not gotten to that time period in our class as of currently. But it does introduce things like racism against blacks which stems from slavery, and religious preferences which stems from the Christian background of most of our founding fathers, and things along those lines. 

The only questions that I have for the film maker, essentially Alex Jones an Louis Farrakhan are: Do you really believe that all white people are devil? Do your really believe that there is not one white person that aligns their views in the same way you do? And do you really believe that all democrats are just people trying get away with murdering black people when most of them defend their rights?

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Tumblr Post 6 - The Korean War

The documentary that I chose to watch dealt with the Korean War. For the first 5-10 minutes, they really focused on how it started and the nicknames that it was associated with. It started with North Korea and the Soviet Union endorsing the communist way and most of the United Nations stepping in and attempting to stop it. They wanted to fight against communism and what it could do for a country like Korea. They called this way the forgotten war because many people did not want to look at this battle as a war. It started very close to the end of World War II and most people did not want another war that soon. The conditions were horrible and the seasons there were very prominent. Most men had to deal with 20 foot snows in the winter and 20 inches of rain in the summer. The cold and the humidity left devastating effects on the men and women that fought on the other side of the world.

My reaction to the film is that I cannot believe that this was considered a forgotten war and that many people failed to acknowledge it. I thought it was very interesting that airplanes and artillery were key factors in this war. Personally, I do not believe that the film makers included any bias within the movie other than the fact that they only showed the view point of the United States of America and United Nations. They failed to show the point of view of the North Koreans and Russians, but that could very well be because of the tensions we have between the nations now. North Korea and Russia are still building barriers from us and that could be a key reason to why they could not receive the other points of view. The citizens there are also under very strict rules and probably could say very little about anything that occurred in the war.

I would like to learn more about the actual battles that were fought and how it felt to be forgotten in such a huge war. I would also like to know how people treated the soldiers that returned home from this war. Was it like the Vietnam War in which most people hated anyone that fought in it and they were shunned when they came back for their return? Or did they applaud their efforts just like most men and women did once World War II ended?

I’m not completely sure if the U.S. should have been involved with the war, but if many of the other countries in the United Nations were involved in this war, then I could see how it would be hard to avoid sending soldiers into battle. And surely, most of the world knows how we feel about communism and it would be hard to criticize from a distance without acting on those actions. We could have been seen as hypocrites and that could have harmed us in the future.

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Tumblr Post 5 - Gender Equality

The film that I chose to watch was titled “Untold Women Who Changed the World.” It basically encompassed many of the issues stemming from feminism and what these women fought for. It did not go as far back as winning the right to vote with feminist activists such as Susan B. Anthony and such, but it did hold details providing the facts about Roe vs. Wade and the attempt to ratify the ERA. It was filled with many different facts such as the first African American woman to run for president mentioning that she felt more discriminated against as a woman than as an African American to the conservative activists who actively tried to decrease the popularity in the states among the subject of the Equal Rights Amendment. I knew that the feminist movement had many supporters, but it was incredible to see the amount of people show up for rallies, protests, and conferences. The support was unfathomable, and I was really moved by all these people supporting the woman’s basic rights. 

My reaction to the women who really fought for our rights and ability to make choices for ourselves was one that consists of a lot of pride and respect. These women did not set out to be a part of this movement for the “glory” or “fame.” They did not set out thinking that this was going to be an easy mission. They set out with the intention of winning our natural unalienable rights such as to vote, to have the choice to abort, and have equal rights across all realms of the country. These women are heroes in my book, and they will forever be heroes in the history books of generations to come. As for my reaction to the conservative activists that made their intentions about the ERA quite apparent, I was easily angered and had a short temper when it came to the words that fell out of their mouth. But I have a firm belief that we should have had equal rights because why not? Are we not the same as men? Do we have inferior intellect and strength that holds us back from being human beings? No, in fact I know plenty of women who could easily beat men in a game of strength or intellect. And one perfect example was Billie Jean King winning the battle of the sexes tennis match. That was an intricate part of the country, and the world, seeing women as equal in every way possible.

To me, the film makers had a slight bias since it was about these women who changed the lives of everyone in America, but they did a fantastic job including concessions and counterpoints within their videos. They provided points of views from everyone who was involved within the fight, whether it was feminists or anti-feminists. I also feel that they did a superb job including all of the information and facts they needed to let the message in the video come across.

Of course the themes in this video can connect to me life. There is something everyday that someone says to me that can come across as sexist whether they realize it or not. It is the simple way that my dad asks me to help my mother clean the dinner table while him and my brother watch football on the couch. Or the way that some men I knew quickly dismiss the idea that women aren’t paid nearly as much as men are. I encounter this every day and although those women gave us incredible rights that have made us come far, there is still so much more that needs to be done to ensure that we have all the rights we will ever need and deserve.

As for any questions I have...I don’t really have any right now. They satisfied my thirst for knowledge on this subject and left me feeling really well versed and knowledgeable about the subject.

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Tumblr Post 4 - Religious Liberty vs. Religious Freedom

To me there is not much of a difference between religious freedom and religious liberty. However, I consider them to be slightly different in one way. Religious freedom (at least defined by me) is the freedom to worship whatever religion you choose and that comes with no one from the government persecuting you for doing so. Religious liberty, however, seems to be the separation of church and state with any country or government policy. It is a slight difference, but most of the time religious freedom and religious liberty are used as substitutes to each other and most of the time, people understand the message underneath the words.

As for my reaction to the videos, they were very mixed and it left me a little confused on how I felt. For the first video that was under religious liberty I thought that most of them would have gone out of business for supporting liberal causes and such, but it was quite the opposite. They were relieved of their jobs and businesses due to them refusing to believe and accept gay marriage or provide services for people who were gay. Now, I completely and totally support same-sex marriage, and the thought of these people refusing to make a product or doing a service because of someone’s sexuality makes me sick. But I don’t believe that they should have lost their job for that reason. Granted I don’t know how most of the law works and what can and cannot happen underneath the Religious Act that Bill Clinton passed, but that is discrimination, not the right to refuse service to anyone. 

I also thought that the Daily Show and Real Time with Bill Maher are the videos that correspond greatly with my beliefs today. Bill Maher made fantastic counterpoints with how most people are saying that Christianity is going under attack and suffer the greatest when really, they are the majority and very little people are attacking them other than liberals. Then when he went through person by person and even media by media, he made the audience realize that very few people who are in positions of power are going to criticize Christians due to the fact that they are Christians themselves. The Daily Show made fantastic sarcastic points with how the people of Indiana are reacting to their “religious freedom being taken away.” Especially when they compared the gay community to people such as the KKK or Nazi Germany through analogies. 

The topics that we have discussed in class do relate to the topic we have here. In the ways that many people feel discriminated against in the same way that the Christians feel discriminated. The only difference would be that the people discriminated against in the past (that we are learning about now) have a legitimate right to feel as if they are being treated unfairly. Most of the people in the past were succumbed to violence and political unfairness while the Christians now are feeling a sense of equality for all, instead of just for their people. They are feeling verbal threats from people who realize that no one should be discriminated against for their sexuality or gender identity. They are upset about being dragged into the 21st century.

I already said my views on this topic match up with the type of views that were demonstrated on The Daily Show and Real Time with Bill Maher. I tend to have a more liberal way of thinking and I believe that that’s how America should be looking at things. After all, our country was founded on becoming our own people with our own rights. No one should be feeling discriminated against in any part of our country whether it’s because of race, gender, or sexuality, However, I know that this sadly is not the truth, but I hope one day that it will be. Because that’s how people should live - in harmony and peace. 

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Tumblr Post 3 - Donald Trump

For my group, I am in Tumblr Group #2, which had the overwhelming topic of Donald Trump and his stand on the fact that he wishes to ban Muslims. Now this is a very significant thing to say with everything happening in the news lately with ISIS and their attacks happening all over the world. Donald Trump claims that the way to solve our issues with ISIS and everything surrounding it, is to put a ban on Muslims entering the United States of America. 

Although I have heard and talked about this topic a lot lately with many of my friends and family, I will still have the same response to it. I think he is completely out of his mind. I understand that ISIS is a very large threat to many countries, but to automatically associate every Muslim with them is insulting to those people he is discriminating against. This country was built on the fact that anyone who needed to venture over here for a new life full of opportunities, and you cannot just change that based on your own personal biases against an entire population of people. Most Muslims are peaceful, normal people just like everyone else in America. Every cultural or ethnic group has people in it that are dangerous and very threatening, but to single one culture out now without attempting to do that to everyone is not how a presidential candidate should approach this situation. 

This topic in particular is almost identical to some of the issues that we have addressed in class. A couple of classes ago we spoke about America in the past treating almost every minority poorly, and this is just the next cultural/ethnic group that we are discriminating against. We have discriminated against Africans, Native Americans, Asians, Italians, and many more groups. The only difference is the time period that we are being cruel in. Just like in the past we are calling them derogatory names, treating them like they are beneath us, and resorting to violence. History has a tendency to repeat itself.

As I said before, I do not agree with very much of what Donald Trump said. The only thing I agree with is that ISIS is a threat, and a serious one at that. Everything else, is basically the opposite of what I stand for and what my beliefs are. 

What gave me the strongest reaction was when he said he had many Muslim friends that agree with him and that many of them are nice people. This completely contradicts what he claims about them as a culture, and if you have many Muslim friends than how are you going to discriminate against other Muslims just because they are not already in the U.S.? Another strong reaction was when someone brought up the point that there are many Muslims in the U.S. as it is, and they wanted to ask him how he feels about that. That was the strongest point that I heard throughout all of those videos.

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Taylor Ferraro: Tumblr Post 1

Well I don’t know if you remember my story about my previous history experience, but it was definitely unique. A lot of my teachers that I had in middle school were really passionate about the subject, and made sure to rub off their enthusiasm onto us. But once I got into high school it was just a bunch of coaches that used the class to talk about their sport, and talk with their own players in the class. However, my junior year history teacher ended up getting arrested for I believe child pornography, and other charges related to pedophilia. So after that, my love for history kind of went down the drain. But I really used to love the subject. My dad was also a big influence on me when it came to history because he absolutely adores it. He could watch history documentaries for the rest of his life and die a happy man. 

I suppose everyone interacts with history every day. History makes us who we are. Without it, there would not be any knowledge of prior inventions, no one to inspire children, and not as many people would feel lucky to live in this day and age. 100 years ago women’s rights were nonexistent, and it is incredible, to me, to think of the ways that women fought for the rights we take for granted now. Every time I go to school, vote, talk to a man, go to the bank, I am reminded that many women fought for me to be able to do these basic things.

The piece of historical fiction that I chose was Pride and Prejudice. I have both read the book and saw the movie. I know that it is probably a stretch as a piece of historical fiction, but I really fell in love with the book when I read it. My aunt gave it to me at the beginning of the fall semester and I absolutely loved it. The time period was the early 19th century in England, and the book is about a young woman, Elizabeth Bennet, as she manages to learn about the different manners and proper social interactions as she ends up falling in love with the man of her nightmares. What really interested me was how the mother was pressuring all of her daughters into marriage, and how that was common within the book. I know mother’s pressure their daughters and sons now, but it was nothing compared to her mother. 

My partner’s, Nicole, piece of historical fiction was The Things They Carried. I actually had to read that book as some prerequisite work for my AP Literature class, and although it had a slow start with listing all of the things they actually carried, the book was very interesting. And it amazed me that almost all of that book was completely made up, but he made it sound like it was an intricate part of his life. And being able to convince people of that through writing is just mind blowing to me.