The Wave Journal Entry: 17/3/08
Our quote for today’s journal entry for The Wave is:
“The past is never dead, it’s not even past”
What does this quote mean to you?
To me this quote translates to the past’s events are never resting. And by that I mean, well of course what happened in the past happened and is not still happening [although, an event that could’ve started in the past might still be active], that whatever happened in the past still effects society today and may be prone [or, not necessarily prone, but be able] to repeat in the present or future. By the last part- “it’s not even past”- to me means what happened in the past isn’t over and done with; it’s not forgotten or left alone. It will somehow affect society or the world today.
How does this connect to The Wave?
The Wave is an example of this quote. The Wave’s main idea is the reenactment of the past when the Nazis controlled Germany. This shows how things and events in the present and future relate to/ or result from the past. The Wave was an experiment to see if the high school students understood, or rather- to teach and make them understand- what life and society was like back in Germany with the Nazi rule. Therefore, the past is not dead- it is still living in Gordon High School- students, parents, and teachers are still being affected by it.
Can you make a connection in US History too?
We have just been studying the American Revolution in our US History class. A connection between this quote and the information we have acquired about the America’s “past”, would be that the Patriots won. The United States of America exists today. The past is still alive- the Patriots fought for their freedom, rights, and independence. Americans fight for these three things today- freedom, rights, and independence. They fight for freedom, their rights, and independence through war, debates, governmental arguments, lawsuits [definition: An action or a suit brought before a court, as to recover a right or redress a grievance], etc. In all history classes there are events that happened in the past that can be related to or directly linked to events, etc. that exist today.
