ISSUE36 0610G-PRACTISE小组作业

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ISSUE 36"The greatness of individuals can be decided only by those who live after them, not by their contemporaries."

Can the greatness of individuals decided by their descendants or contemporaries, just as the speaker maintains? In my pinion of view, take all the case-by-case study into consideration, the speaker's contention overlook some aspects and unfairly generalized. Not only the people who live after them, but also their contemporaries can identify their attainment.

In the long gorgeous galaxy of the human history, the greatness of individuals can compared with the shinning star, perfected and ornamented the human history. However, some greatest people win the applauses and flowers in their whole life, while other people, although, have talent and intelligent, unfortunately, the entire life full of panic, poverty, hardship and suffering. Some people might be remembered and venerated forever, others might be forgotten soon as the dust. Thus, it is not wisdom to assert that those who live after them can decide the greatness of individuals, as well as by their contemporaries.

Admittedly, in some cases, the greatest men could not be recognized and respected until their death. No better example to illustrate the assertion than Van Gogh, the leader of the later expressionism. However, in his lifetime, no one knew him, understood him, some people even think that he is lunatic, not mention his work. Yet, his work called "shabby, ugly painting" in his lifetime and only valued several dollars. His whole living time contain with miserable and woeful. At the present, his great work worth millions dollars, and be adored and appreciated by contemporaries. Consider, Socrates, famous philosopher and great thinker in ancient Greet, his idea still popular and usually adapted to educational system now. Unfortunately, he was sentence to death by foolish army. In short, many greatest individuals create a large number of significant and contribution to the society, yet, sometimes, maybe they are too surpassed or unique to value by mass public, and cannot be decided and even destroyed by their contemporaries.


Simulantaneously, the greatness of individuals be decided and encouraged and promoted by their contemporaries. Especial in the modern world, compared with the passed time, old period, there are mass of condition to recognized and know the greatest men. After all, the education become more comprehensive and complex, the information become more and more fast and available, the people become more and more rational intellect, all of these provide a better environment and opportunity to the individuals to seek more and study more. We can see the people who make huge contribution to the society will be awarded and honored, therefore many of these great discoveries in the 20th century won the Nobel prizes and other rewarding. This illustrated that the contemporaries emphasis and try every effort to offer a stage to encourage and stimulate public to know to learn to respect them, in other word, the greatness of individuals have the chances to show their perspectives and express their view to the mass public and demos and the most important to elevate themselves. Actually, as the same as the past, people received by contemporaries. Mark Twain will furnish another cogent example. He became a best selling author and household name even during his lifetime. Hence, do not neglect the contemporaries, in some cases; they have ability to find the masterpieces the great men created.


Take all the fact into consideration I mentioned above, I could safely conclude that the contemporaries as well as the descendant should give more veneration and honor to the people who are devout themselves and attribute their life and then make more contribution to the human civilization.

[ 本帖最后由 biess330 于 2006-8-10 12:48 编辑 ]