How a Memorial Differs From a Textbooks Story

     Recently I began questioning what separates the story a memorial tells from that of a textbook. 


    When learning about historical events like 9/11, The Vietnam War, or even The Korean War a historical textbook is very effective in providing you the facts. Textbooks nowadays provide information about before the event, during it, and even the aftermath. They even discuss the countries emotional state during that time; in short, textbooks teach you everything about said historical event.


    So why are memorials important you may ask. Well, there is no short answer. Memorials provide a place for grief and mourning, especially for the people affected. Memorials symbolize the weight and impact that people made on others. Memorials make one feel emotion in a way that isn't possible from reading a textbook, they use features such as empty space, engravings, and size to name a few and they all work together to symbolize history.  


    When I first learned about The Vietnam War, it was through textbooks. I learned about how American public was set against getting involved and fighting this war, I learned about the heartbreak 2.2 million people went through when they got drafted, I learned about how many families never saw their loved ones again. But nothing compares to when I saw the memorial with my own eyes. I saw the sunset in the mirror-like surface of the black marble and that is when it hit me: these soldiers fought in that war to help the world, to help others see the beauty that the world has to offer.



Vietnam Veterans Memorial


Comments

  1. Ayaan DeolSeptember 8, 2024 at 4:27 PM

    I agree with your reasoning. I also like how you formatted your blog. You explained how a textbook gives information, and then compared that idea to the experience a memorial gives. At the end of the last paragraph, your personal experience made the idea feel more powerful and meaningful.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Avi CherukuriSeptember 8, 2024 at 6:59 PM

    When I was reading your piece I really enjoyed how easy it was to follow and how each paragraph flowed with one another. The first paragraph was all about facts with textbooks and then the next flowed into talking about memorials and their impacts. After that you went into your personal experience on both of them and used that to connect with the audience even more and add some personal touch to the piece which was impactful.

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