Exam #1 Essay Question

In this picture on of the things that is shown is that during the French Revolution all people worked. The women in this picture are using a power loom. In the photo only the women are doing this job. There is no men in this picture which says that women were assigned to do specific jobs. The men would not be using a power loom. That was the job designated to the women. These women are not from the higher class either. You notice that the women are wearing plain dresses with an apron on over them. They are not wearing fancy dresses that would indicate wealthiness. These women also have to be tough and are most likely tired by the end of the day. This is because they are standing on their feet all the time that they are working. Notice that you do not see any stools or chairs for them to sit down. This means that the women have to be tough and good workers.


In this picture King Louis XVI is being executed. This picture gives you an idea that no one was safe when it came to the guillotine and being executed. If the people wanted to overthrow you and kill you they would try and usually succeed. This also shows a person holding up King Louis XVI head and all the crowd rejoicing. This says that the people were sick of the king and were glad to see him go. The man is holding up the king's head as if to say "Here is the man you once called king. He was weak, we overthrew him." Basically what this picture shows is that during this period the people were in rule. The king could try to keep them under control but the people and the mobs dominated. This also shows soldiers around the guillotine. It basically shows that no one dared to try to calm down the mob and stop them from doing this to people. Even the soldiers who were supposed to be loyal to their king stood guard and did nothing while their king was murdered. This is a perfect example of how badly things were out of control.



This photo is showing the Fall of the Bastille. The Bastille was a huge prison that was suspected to torture their prisoners. In this photo you can see that the common people are helping knock down the prison. Some of the people who are running the cannons aimed at the Bastille are commoners who have joined in the downfall. This proves that the people were so fed up with the king that they would join in to try to knock down one of the biggest buildings in the city. This photo also shows some of the people on the ground shooting at the building on the right. This demonstrates how the people and soldiers of the town were not putting up with any problems with anyone. They were taking matters into their own hands and they were not afraid to shoot people of their own. In this picture you also notice how large the building is. You can see that the people have not gotten very much of the Bastille to fall. This demonstrates the determination of the people to prove a point that they need to be heard. They obviously put a lot of effort into getting the Bastille to fall which demonstrates that nothing is going to stop these people.

In conclusion these photos give a peek at the big picture of the French Revolution. The people were hard workers and they had great determination. Nothing was going to stop them and they were a force to be reckoned with. They had no fear of great obstacles and they would deal with them when they came. These photos also show that the people were tough and they would not let a minor obstacle or obstruction stand in their way. Basically the people got what they wanted when they wanted it and if anyone was going to stop them they had to be strong. These people were looking for any way for the violence and madness to stop. If it meant killing the king then they were going to do it if it gave them any hope of freedom and peace.