The Unknown Rebel
Ryan Edwards
9/8/12
I pledge Veritas
“The Unknown Rebel”
“The Unknown Rebel” by Pico Iyer, shows repetition through imagery. The Unknown Rebel was named the “Tank Man” because he stood in front of eighteen tanks one behind the other. When the tanks swerved left, the tank man went left with it, not getting out of the way of it, hence he got the name “Tank Man”. Nobody knew who he was or ever seen him before. No one knew who he was one hour after the incident. Some people say he was called Wang Weilin and he was a nineteen year old student; others say even that couldn’t be confirmed. He probably did what he did to show that people need to stand up for how they feel. The “Tank Man” was brave because he stood in front of all of those tanks and didn’t get out of the way. He was also courageous because he was just an ordinary person who rose to the occasion and put his life in danger standing in front of a machine that could easily kill him. He probably felt good about himself that he stood up for what he believed in, and didn’t want to be rewarded for it, so he didn’t tell anybody that it was him and he disappeared. Jiang Zemin said, “I think never killed”, meaning that he just walked away unharmed by the tanks. The author of “The Unknown Rebel” repeated the word nobody to emphasize that nobody knew who he was before and after the incident. He also symbolizes the “Tank Man” as normal ordinary people and he was trying to show by symbolizing that is that anyone can be like the “Tank Man” and stand up for what they believe in and that ordinary people can rise to the occasion. Sometimes in life, we have to face our fears and stand up for what we believe in no matter what the consequences are. You don’t have to be famous to be recognized. The “Tank Man” was a nobody until that day and is seen as an inspiration to many people.
9/8/12
I pledge Veritas
“The Unknown Rebel”
“The Unknown Rebel” by Pico Iyer, shows repetition through imagery. The Unknown Rebel was named the “Tank Man” because he stood in front of eighteen tanks one behind the other. When the tanks swerved left, the tank man went left with it, not getting out of the way of it, hence he got the name “Tank Man”. Nobody knew who he was or ever seen him before. No one knew who he was one hour after the incident. Some people say he was called Wang Weilin and he was a nineteen year old student; others say even that couldn’t be confirmed. He probably did what he did to show that people need to stand up for how they feel. The “Tank Man” was brave because he stood in front of all of those tanks and didn’t get out of the way. He was also courageous because he was just an ordinary person who rose to the occasion and put his life in danger standing in front of a machine that could easily kill him. He probably felt good about himself that he stood up for what he believed in, and didn’t want to be rewarded for it, so he didn’t tell anybody that it was him and he disappeared. Jiang Zemin said, “I think never killed”, meaning that he just walked away unharmed by the tanks. The author of “The Unknown Rebel” repeated the word nobody to emphasize that nobody knew who he was before and after the incident. He also symbolizes the “Tank Man” as normal ordinary people and he was trying to show by symbolizing that is that anyone can be like the “Tank Man” and stand up for what they believe in and that ordinary people can rise to the occasion. Sometimes in life, we have to face our fears and stand up for what we believe in no matter what the consequences are. You don’t have to be famous to be recognized. The “Tank Man” was a nobody until that day and is seen as an inspiration to many people.