Throughout "Diary of A Madman", the "madman" always thought the excuses for people were "Just because its always been that way" (1926) and that the kids' parents had taught them that, do you think these are legitimate excuses to accept?
In "Diary of A Madman,' he thought the children who were "talking about him" were only doing that because they're parents had taught them that. I know at a young age that children basically only know what their parents teach them, like if a parent teaches their child that the color green is yellow and that the color yellow is green. The child is going to be in a world of hurt in kindergarten because they were taught the wrong thing for so long. I think this excuse kind of refers to the overall meaning about the attempt to conformity by the new Chinese government. Since Chinese children only grow up in China, and China censors what news, websites, TV shows, etc. that citizens see, Chinese children may think that no other society is different and just always do what they are taught. So, I do believe that this excuse is a legitimate excuse for the madman to make for the children. As for the "just because its always been that way" excuse, I think people try and make this excuse all the time. Like when you see on the news and you see fighting African tribes, most of the American people don't really care because a) its not in America/directly involving Americans and b) its always been that way. If something has always been that way people don't really try and change anything With that said, if something is terrible I believe something should be done and excuses shouldn't be made. In the madman's case he seriously thought people were cannibals and tried to convince people that they needed to do something about it such as on page 1926. When the madman mentioned the recent cannibalistic event that happened in the Wolf Cub Village and the man said, "Maybe they are, but it's always been that way, it's --." I think the madman really wanted to make people see that cannibalism was wrong, but then when people blew him off and saw him as crazy he disillusioend them to being a cannibal.
What is the point or importance of the last line "save the children" (1929)?
The author of the diary thoroughly believed that children will usually always believe and follow what their parents have taught and told them, which is generally true because its their parents. I think the last line is meant to mean that in order to get away from the negative actions happening now, the children need to be shown the beliefs that will give a positive influence so they can be sure to make the "right" decisions. Also, the future of any country/community starts with the children. That's why people such as Hitler preached early to children so they would believe and grow up and carry on his legacy of the Nazi society. So in order to save the children from the oppressive, Chinese society, you need to start talking with the children about what is right/wrong in order to help save their futures and adult lives and their children's. In summary, I think what is truly supposed to come from this line is instead of pushing your views and beliefs on children, teach them right from wrong, and then let them form their own opinions on issues/dilemmas that way they become their own person and can make effective decisions.
You have some great thoughts here, but very little specific references to the text. Since a large part of my reason for having the class write these is to make sure they are reading and because good writing needs specifics, I need to see specific references to the text to go with each sub-point.
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