1) How do you feel about the men's treatment of Nolan and of their strict adherence to the policy of never letting Nolan hear of the United States? What would you have done had you been aboard a ship with Nolan? Why?
2) Is there ever a time when breaking a rule is the right thing to do? Why or why not? Explain.
2 comments:
1.) I felt disappointed and sad that Nolan never received the news about the United States. In the movie, “The Man Without a Country”, the scene where Ingham first sees Nolan, he is forbidden to talk about the United States. Even though Nolan, a surprisingly amiable man, is still considered a criminal even though his trial was unjust. When a trial is given, the judge must be mindful on the given evidence, not by the anger of the defendant. The judge in the movie however omitted that law, but also omitted the fact that Aaron Burr was a notoriously evil man. When I considered all of these facts I felt discontent with the actions done by the United States government.
If I was aboard a ship with Nolan, I would have told him minor facts about the United States, just like how Ingham did when he said to cut out Texas. My reason for this is because Nolan isn’t really a huge harm to the United States, and he deserved to hear something about his country. I also consider the fact that a man could go crazy (mentally or physically) from isolation, and this would be an even worse result.
2.) I believe that breaking the rules is sometimes the right thing to do because sometimes rules are biased and unreasonable. For example, in our history, blacks didn’t have rights. This led to many minds and important figures to step up and demand the rights they deserved. If this never happened blacks wouldn’t have rights today. This example shows that sometimes the most accepted rules are bad.
Another reason that supports breaking rules is that it, our society would be in its primordial stage of life. For example, if the United States didn’t first oppose Britain in the first place, we would still be within Britain. Also the important figures of our country like Paul Revere, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin would never have been as famous as they have today. This shows that without breaking the rules things would always be the same.
-Galen C.
1. The men aboard treated Nolan as turncoat, tensing whenever he was in their presence and proofreading what they were about to say. A conversation at mess would carry on with a small stutter in recognition of Nolan, but once Nolan inquired of anything pertaining to the United States, the friendly atmosphere was shattered, and scolding glares were shot. Nolan’s punishment branded him a traitor, and he was treated that way. I was frightened by the strict adherence to the policy of never letting Nolan hear of the United States. Isolation from knowledge is similar to stargazing but having a blanket of clouds draped across the sky. It’s painful to long for forgiveness. In Nolan’s last moments, he learned of the much advancement his nation had made that was kept from him. I was disgusted at the isolation of Nolan, even at his last, when the captain could not bring himself to inform him of the grinding conflict between the North and the South.
If I had been aboard a ship with Nolan, I would have followed orders and kept all information of the United States far away from him. I am too scared of losing my position to serve the well-deserved dessert to a child. I would be pained with guilt with every denial of information, but I too would be guilty of letting down my family back at home.
2. There are times when breaking a rule is the right thing to do because it can effect beneficial changes. History has many examples of this. Northerners broke the rules to assist runaway slaves to freedom. Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat. Google decided to stop censoring in China.
Even if the sacrifice is great, breaking a rule may be the right thing to do because the rule or law is wrong. In the United States, the nation built on compromise, there have been laws that were violated and amended for the better. Questioning rules in society is beneficial because it prevents the oppression caused by situations like Animal Farm, where no one spoke up.
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