“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” -Albert Einstein
This quote relates to the novel Forbidden City and how the main character, Alex Jackson, changed through his experiences. He then used how he changed to his advantage and changed the world around him. Before his trip to China, Alex is arrogant about war and critical when it comes to politics. In China, he begins to change through experiences and realizations. After being in China, Alex is more wise and open-minded regarding the truth behind war and politics. He develops and matures significantly throughout the novel.
Before visiting China, Alex was arrogant about war and critical when it came to politics. He was interested in military history and thought of it as a game. This is evident when he says, “it isn’t the killing that interests me, it’s the strategy like chess.” (Bell 11) Alex compared war to a common game centered around strategies and planning. …show more content…
He hated it so much that he destroyed all reminders of war he kept in his house. This included his planes, trophies, action figures, etc. This is described as follows, “I went to the Xi’an display and gathered up a handful of the new two-thousand-year-old soldiers… I carried them to the hot plate and dropped them into the pot. The paint smoked and burned as the soldiers began to melt.” (Bell 196) This was the moment Alex finally unwound. He wanted to destroy that part of his life and any memory of the trauma he had endured in China. Alex risked his life to get tapes of what was happening in China outside of the country because he believed that was the right thing to do. Alex’s mindset had changed drastically from before he went to China to after he returned home. He went from a war enthusiast who thought nothing of politics, to an activist that wanted nothing to do with
This quote relates to the novel Forbidden City and how the main character, Alex Jackson, changed through his experiences. He then used how he changed to his advantage and changed the world around him. Before his trip to China, Alex is arrogant about war and critical when it comes to politics. In China, he begins to change through experiences and realizations. After being in China, Alex is more wise and open-minded regarding the truth behind war and politics. He develops and matures significantly throughout the novel.
Before visiting China, Alex was arrogant about war and critical when it came to politics. He was interested in military history and thought of it as a game. This is evident when he says, “it isn’t the killing that interests me, it’s the strategy like chess.” (Bell 11) Alex compared war to a common game centered around strategies and planning. …show more content…
He hated it so much that he destroyed all reminders of war he kept in his house. This included his planes, trophies, action figures, etc. This is described as follows, “I went to the Xi’an display and gathered up a handful of the new two-thousand-year-old soldiers… I carried them to the hot plate and dropped them into the pot. The paint smoked and burned as the soldiers began to melt.” (Bell 196) This was the moment Alex finally unwound. He wanted to destroy that part of his life and any memory of the trauma he had endured in China. Alex risked his life to get tapes of what was happening in China outside of the country because he believed that was the right thing to do. Alex’s mindset had changed drastically from before he went to China to after he returned home. He went from a war enthusiast who thought nothing of politics, to an activist that wanted nothing to do with