0910AW 同主题写作第十期 ISSUE48 by divine

DivineUID: 2650173

48"The study of history places too much emphasis on individuals. The most significant events and trends in history were made
possible not by the famous few, but by groups of people whose identities have long been forgotten."

Anyone who has a brief knoledge in the history of mankind would believe that sometimes the most significant events and trends in history were made possible by group of people without names instead of the famous few. However the latter  have brought great changes to their time, which makes them different from other people and worthy of being studied by historians. In my view, emphasis placed on individuals are essential in understanding history so that it should not be subtracted.

Undoubtedly, human history is not made by some famous individuals, but by
common people who make up the biggest part of society,because it is them who
make big events possible by participating. And their behaviors give social trends a
defination. By groups of people whose identities have long been forgotten,The Great
Wall was built,The Crusades waged,and Appolo 13 launched.And social revolutions
took place only when the majority accepted new ideas and adapted to changes, regardless
of the power of famous ones. During French Revlution, citizens of Paris headed Louis XVI for
his indifference of their lives, which shows that the ordinary civilians have great effect on the path of
human beings.

Yet  the above fact can not diminish the importance of individuals in history.
It is always the famous few that act as leaders in significant events and social
trends or masters in his area which changes greatly due to their efforts. Necessarily through a careful research of their actions and minds can we have a clear view of their age and find answers to questions concerning the social development. For example,to study the philosophy of ancient Greek, we study Socrates and Plato;to get knowledge of the American Civil War,we focus on Lincoln and Grant;to understand the development of arts in Renaissiance, Micheangelo should be elaborately examined. What these great names share in common is that they have huge impact on a certain aspect of social development,historians who study without putting emphasis on them would not be able to make cogent propositions.

In addition, even if we admit the importance of the nameless groups in history, information about famous ones are  much more than that of anonymous ones,which result in a convinience in studying the former and difficulties in research of the latter. As a consequence, studying the famous few would be easier and promising a delicate result. Hence it remains the most effective strategy
for historians. For instance,a research on soldiers in Napoleon's army are not likely to work out. After all, there are little record concerning them other than their quantities or wars they took part in. This difficulty in history may be vital because historians depend on records to develop their ideas, without information a detailed research is almost impossible. That explained why it is
a better choice to study Napolean instead of his army.
In sum, although the actions and effects of common people should not be ignored, the famous individuals are still the  
fundamental resource, and preference of historians to study their lives and impacts should be regarded reasonable. When
this work is done and more information about the former becomes available, a research on them would be successful and meaningful.