Summary Of The Wheels Of Freedom: Bicycles In China

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In many lives, change is constantly happening. The economics, cultural values, and social ideals are different today from many years ago. For example, men many years ago rely on literature, libraries, and endless hours of searching for sources in order to make speeches and write stories, and they also had different modes of transportations such as trains. On the other hand, in today’s society, it is easier to find sources and to do research because of the advanced technology, and it is also unchallenging to travel due to the innovations of cars and airplanes. With this being said, it is idealistic that change has a positive impact on society due to the advancement of technology and new methods of transportations, and those changes attribute …show more content…

Later on, the author sees that the “Beijing television proudly [shows]…an image of a pile of crumpled bicycles” instead of “citizens trying to stop tanks by shoving bicycles at them, flatbed tricycles turned into ambulances for slaughtered children.” (Strebeigh) Therefore, the author uses the bicycles to represent the lost freedom of China’s citizens, and he also shows that the government uses that scene purposely to show crushed freedom. Bicycles should represent simplicity and freedom to go anywhere, but China does not allow that and gives stricter regulations on its people. Strebeigh shares this story because he wants to show that even the most simple objects can violate freedom, and the government uses certain images and events to brainwash the people that everything may seem fine even though most of the time, it is not moral and …show more content…

Many years ago, people saw the wilderness as a savage wasteland, but today, it is viewed as “the last remaining place where civilization, that all too human disease, has not fully infected the earth.” (Cronon) He discusses this changed point of view by stating the difficulties that society will have rectifying environmental ailments if it stops viewing wilderness as “a dualistic picture in which the human is completely outside the nature.” (Cronon) This is understandable because humans rely on others to create opinions, and they do not know how to form their own thoughts and solutions to issues such as environmental ones. Therefore, it is with great importance that humans begin to learn how to formulate their own thoughts and share those personal thoughts with others, such as sharing solutions about environmental

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