Dbq Memorialization

People cope with tragedies in many ways. Some people try their best to forget, while others work to make sure the tragedy is never forgotten. The most constructive attitude towards memorials is sanctification.

     The spirit and values of a nation are reflected in the nation’s heroes. Christopher Columbus has been regarded as an American hero since 1792. Every year Columbus Day is held on the second Monday in October to honor the man and his legacy. However, many people debate whether or not Columbus Day should be celebrated. I believe that Columbus Day should be celebrated in the United States because he opened up the New World to Europe, inspired a spirit of exploration and adventure that still lasts today, and he showed the importance of diversity and understanding of different cultures.

After many centuries, a lot of controversy still surrounds Christopher Columbus. He remains to be a strange figure in history regarded as a famous explorer and a great mariner who made many discoveries in his days. Other people still regard him as a visionary and a national hero while others chose to remember him as a brutal and greedy person who used the rest of the humanity for his own selfish gains. Despite the fact that there have been protests in his being honored through a holiday referred to as the Columbus Day, he still deserves recognition and acknowledgement as a historical figure performed a great role in the making of the modern world.

We celebrate Columbus Day every year since 1937. He traveled from Spain to North America trying to find the Northwest passage on August 3rd, 1492. He failed to find the passage ,but instead he found new land. People think as him as a hero ,but most people haveńt heard of the things he had done. People now of today are still debating whether or not if he should have a holiday. Celebrating Columbus Day shouldn't happen. He did horrible things to the natives, children, and countless other people. He shouldn’t have a holiday as it will be shown multiple times and again.

Take “The Maine Lobsterman” for example, H. Elroy Johnson was not a major historical figure—compared to those such as Christopher Columbus or Trajan—but he was dedicated a sculpture nonetheless (Source F). However, the difference between the Lobsterman and something akin to the statue of Christopher Columbus is the Lobsterman was forgotten for a period of time. Due to the fact this statue did not commemorate something more well known: “[n]o one seemed to want the man and his lobster,” causing it to be forgotten for decades (Source F). Though there is now a cast of the Lobsterman, it is more of a roadside attraction than a true monument, the statue is viewed as an amusing tale rather than an important

Everyone deals with certain situations differently. In reality, we should all deal with situations the same. We should all believe in sanctification because it teaches a lesson and allows the mourning span to be dealt with easier. Let's say someone was dealing with a tragedy, the person may choose to forget the tragedy while their neighbor may choose to remember.

Statues are typically large and may cover a fair amount of space, plaques are small-scaled, even though they are not as big as statues they still achieve their purpose which is to make people see it and remember. In the making of a memorial agencies should work with the space they have and not try to overpower it. As Maya Lin said, “I wanted my design to work with the land, to make something with the site, not to fight it or dominate it” (Source G). The memorial should stand out but not overshadow the setting.

A monument is an solid, carved in statue that is an representation of a person or event that has made an remarkable time in the past. However, there are many different ways to remember a person or event. Memorializing an person or event is a great way to preserve history; because everyone agrees to enormous expensive statue is more entertaining than reading a boring textbook about the person or event. As a matter of fact, every person in American can not remember every person or event in history because there isn’t enough time and space for that. Therefore, a group or agency should consider the three main factors, size, location, and materials when planning or creating an memorial monument of an important person or event.

many people create meaningless buildings and sculptures just to please the eye which is why they need to people need to identify reasons a memorial would benefit them.

Lately, there have been some questions to whether or not Columbus Day should be celebrated. This question is highly debateable, but the accomplishments of Columbus overcome any doubt to whether he should be celebrated. Columbus is one of the most recognized explorers ever, he was ambitious, intelligent, and dedicated. Columbus should have a day commemorating him, and that is self evident.

Columbus Day should not be abolished as a national holiday, because Columbus overcame obstacles to arrive in America (Document E). To begin with, Columbus sailed over an unknown sea, without knowing what was on the other side. If it wasn’t for Columbus’ bravery, America would still be unknown to most of us. Second, he made a great proficiency in geography, astronomy, and drawing, as they were necessary to his favorite pursuit of navigation (Document B). Finally, Columbus was the greatest, because he accomplished the most against the highest odds (Document E). In conclusion Columbus overcame obstacles to find America, so we have to show Columbus some appreciation.

Christopher Columbus is not a hero and does not deserve a holiday honoring his name. He was not a good man or an honest one at that in fact he was quite greedy, which can be noticed through his works in discovering the Americas and the natives. Christopher Columbus was seeking two things: gold and glory, but along the way he adds slaves to the mix. “The Columbus Day holiday is the only national holiday that is overtly insulting to millions of Americans” (Petition to Abolish Columbus Day). Columbus Day is insulting to every American as well as the Indians. When Americans celebrate Columbus Day they are also celebrating what he did and that is insulting to the Indians. Columbus took slaves, used them for labor, impossible tasks,

When I was younger, my impression of Columbus was very good, until I learned the truth about him. I was taught that he discovered the New World and was a man worth honoring because of that discovery. Yet, he did not find the New World. The Indians were already there so technically, the Natives found the New World and settled there before Columbus ever showed up. America only celebrate Columbus Day because it is the Day our world was discovered by someone of “importance”.

Perhaps the real problem is that monuments themselves may be an outdated concept. The world is changing so fast that trying to memorialize someone or some group is mute because there will always be another person or group coming after them doing something more. No matter where, how, or why you build it, time buffers people's’ feelings toward the

“Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.” His full length portrait is carved into the Stone of Hope as the stone itself is emerging from two boulders known as the Mountain of Despair. These powerful words were derived from the side of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial that was created to represent his soul-rousing “I Have A Dream” speech. The memorialization of MLK and this event’s significance and impact on history was exquisitely executed, in my opinion. If you had to take the responsibility of memorializing someone or a noteworthy event, how would you go about doing so? Creating a monument takes time, hard work, and good reasoning. There are many factors to