Compare and Contrast Gandhi and Ataturk

     Gandhi and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk are both men famous for their beliefs and conviction to those beliefs. They have several similarities and differences and comparing them helps put both of them in perspective. One of the major differences is the fact that Gandhi was a pacifist while Ataturk was not totally opposed to violence. Ataturk is known for shaping the Republic of Turkey after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Gandhi, on the other hand, is known for his social and religious beliefs. Also, Ataturk supported Westernization, but Gandhi was totally opposed to it. Despite these major differences, these two men have several similarities. Both fought social innjustice in their own way. Gandhi fought segregation while Ataturk helped with women's rights. Gandhi and Ataturk have owned at least one of their names: Ataturk got his last name "Ataturk" when the Grand National Assembly gave it to him and was given his middle name "Kemal," which means mature, at military school. Gandhi was given the name "mahatma" which means great soul. Both were arrested for their beliefs and both had strong parental influences as children. Another similarity is the fact that both of these men were leaders in nationalism. The two men had different backgrounds though. Gandhi was born in India on October 9, 1869. He was part of an arranged marriage at age thirteen and went through a rebellious period at this time. He was a bad student and only barely passed his exams. Ataturk was born in 1881 in the Ottoman Empire (modern day Turkey) and went to a military school. He was considered a fairly good student, but only barely escaped being kicked out of school due to his part in publishing a newspaper criticizing the Ottoman Empire.

 

Gandhi

"An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind."

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

 

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

"Everything we see in the world is the creative work of women."

"To see me does not necessarily mean to see my face. To understand my thoughts is to have seen me."

Einstein Documentary Reflection- Ashley Walker

Einstein is treated as a great genius by most people today, but he was still a human and had human characteristics. Einstein's main purpose was not to prove his intelligence or ability to solve complex problems but to find the answers to his questions. He once said, "I want to know God's thoughts in a mathematical way." This shows that he was not doing what he did to outsmart others but to simply gain knowledge. In fact, in college, he was considered a goofball and often skipped class and because of this could not get a job after college. Finally, he moved and was able to find a job as a patent clerk. The job of analyzing patents came easily to Einstein and he had lots of extra time on his hands which he did not waste. In 1985, Einstein's "miracle year," he published four scientific papers in his spare time. His most famous equation, e=mc2, was thought of during this year. This equation stated that matter can become energy and energy can become matter. Another famous idea, The Special Theory of Relativity, was also published in 1905. The Special Theory of Relativity was a theory of Einstein's that stated that time and space are very closely related, even the same thing (space-time). Einstein thought of this theory when he was riding a bus. He looked back at a clock tower behind the bus and imagined the bus going at the speed of light. In his imagination, he looked back and saw that it appeared that the clock was frozen. No one accepted this theory at first, but then Max Planck recognized Einstein's importance. At this time, Einstein was still not an official scientist. Einstein got married and settled down, but continued his work. Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity started to become accepted by some, but when he looked at the equation again, Einstein realized that his equation only worked when applied to objects moving in a constant direction at a constant speed and did not allow for change in direction or acceleration. He soon began working to expand his Special Theory of Relativity into a General Theory of Relativity. In the meantime, Einstein went to work to prove that there was no such thing as gravitational pull. He knew that objects moved when they were pushed, not when they were pulled, so there could not be such a thing as gravitational pull. Einstein went on to explain that, rather than gravity pulling you down, malleable layers of space are pushing us down. Finally, in 1911, Einstein was offered a position as a scientist. From there, Einstein was offered- and accepted- a job as a professor at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute. Then, Einstein's plans to prove his Theory of Relativity were interrupted by World War One and poor weather. Einstein was terribly disappointed but did not give up and helped some with the war effort. Though all these theories were invented by Einstein around one hundred years ago, he and his discoveries still continue to amaze us. The fact that Einstein was able to figure out such things while simply thinking is amazing. It is difficult for people today to go through and work out Einstein's theories, let alone figure them out without working with math for days, or even weeks.

All Quiet on the Western Front Reflection- Ashley Walker



Watching the movie All Quiet on the Western Front was an interesting and insightful experience for me. I liked the fact that it showed World War One from a German point of view because they are often blamed for the war and thought of as "the enemy," but there are reasons that each side fights for. While the reasons most likely to be deemed noble and right are the reasons presented by the winning side, this is mostly because history is written by the winners. Therefore, I thought it was interesting to see this point of view in the movie. Also, I enjoyed the fact that it was not all about the casualties and death of war, but rather how war is different than anything that we can imagine. It was nice how the movie showed that the young men went off to war expecting heroism, bravery, courage, adventure, excitement, and glory, but they soon have to face the grim, far-from-glorious reality of modern war. The part of the movie that I felt interested me the most was when Paul (The main character) was in the hole with the French soldier and he realized that, "If you took away the weapons, we could be brothers." The German soldiers were trained to see the French as dangerous killers and the therefore saw only the bayonets and grenades- not the men who were also fighting for a cause they believed was just. All Quiet on the Western Front also made a good point that we, as humans, like to distance ourselves from war. Some of the things that were debuted in World War One were machine guns, airplanes, and poisonous gases, which are all things that help prevent face-to-face combat with "the enemy." It is one thing to kill a person from a distance and an entirely different thing to look them in the eyes as you end their life. In conclusion, I thought that this movie was a comparatively interesting way to show all of these themes of World War One from a unique point of view.



All Quiet on the Western Front Reflection- Abbey Crump

    All Quiet on the Western Front interested me mainly because of its point of view. It shows us a side of the war that most people do not see. The young group of boys were at first expecting an adventure, but then they realize war isn't all it cracked up to be. The hardships of war changed the young men into cautious soldiers. All Quiet on the Western Front is well told and forces people to think deeply about war and all of its consequences. The scene where he had stabbed the French soldier really touched me. Although he stabbed him without even contemplating it, he was hesitant to kill him. Then his conscience tore at him and he tried to help the soldier, and when he couldn't, he offered to write to his family. This scene shows how he had been changed into a killing monster by the war, but then he realized what he was doing and the lack of humanity in it. War only brings unnecessary death to innocent people.

All Quiet on the Western Front Reflection- Maycee Bright

All Quiet on the Western Front, was actually a very interesting movie. At first I didn't think it be interesting or that I would like it. What I liked about the movie the most was how it showed what the war was really like. It didn't make it seem like a joke like everyone thought it would be or even the way they talked about it. The men in the movie thought that the war was a game or something. Then they realized that the war wasn't what they thought it was. I liked the fact that it wasn't all about people getting shot, but it showed what they went through and how bad it actually was. Half way through the movie, I realized that war wasn't what I thought it was. There were many parts of the movie that touched me. The one scene that touched me most, was the part where he stabbed the french soldier. He didn't want to kill the soldier. He tried to help the soldier, but he couldn't help him.

All Quiet on the Western Front Reflection- Anna Cline

The movie, All Quiet In the Western Front, is about the hardships of World War I. It showed a horrifically wonderful example of trench warfare, mainly from the German view point. I learned the simple strategy of trench warfare by observing this movie then being lectured about it. I learned that all the strategy is that one side charges then retreats; the other side charges and retreats. Reading it on paper and it almost sounds methodical. When the men charged they were practically mowed down by the machine guns and barbed wire. However, these inventions were not what killed the most men. Disease was the real murderer. Simple wounds, that could have been healed quite easily, killed. The stopping of the spreading of disease was not helped by the hoards of rats that invaded the trenches. The rats just increased the chances of soldiers catching disease.
These men watched their allies, friends, and enemies get cut down, and they just kept charging, daring death to reach for them. From observing this movie, I don't know if trench warfare brings out the bravery of men, or the foolishness.