Would you ever put something you fought for against life itself? A man in China had risked his whole life in front of a giant line of tanks that could easily take him out to show a point to the world. This man was fighting for the peace in his country due to the government and people not seeing eye to eye. As the man stood there, he was not looking for fame in his act, this is known due to him never being known to the public. From this image, we see the theme of morals over life through this man’s actions and meaning behind what he did. He did not have to do this, he may have not wanted to do this but it is the fact that he did and that the image got out to the world that we can see how brave this man is. 

A major cause to this day is getting famous from what you do. As we this picture has seen by many of the world and caused a sense of hope, the man still remains unknown. This really left only the argument of peace and stopping violence out there. To the public, we do not know his views on life or on the problem at hand other than the fact that he tried to stop a violent act. His moral of trying to stop these tanks was to provide peace to his country and to stop the violent acts that were making life worse. The reason for this line of tanks was due to the country wanting to stop the peaceful protests that were occurring inside of the Tiananmen Square, which ironically means the Gateway of Heavenly Peace. 

 A huge idea that pops up from the image is that the man is completely unarmed and facing a line of a fully armed, 62-ton full steel machine to try and stop the violent massacre that is taking place. This is generally showing the war between peace and violence that was going on this short time period but puts it into perspective of how lopsided the advantage of violence has. As this picture is shown around the world, we feel for the man as he is the general “good guy.” This is primarily for the fact that the man has stood up for what he stands for but in a nonviolent peaceful manner. This action makes the feeling of the people towards it more tasteful and gives a sympathetic feeling towards the man. On the other hand, the line of tanks can be referred to as the “bad guys” of the image. When people think of weapons or violence, the term bad or idea of it is usually brought up. This feeling and idea is multiplied many times over due to the man being alone, unarmed and fighting for the cause of peace. 

The first reaction that most have when this is seen, is bravery. Obviously this man is completely brave when trying to into the front line to stop the military from continuing on to the destination. Due to the circumstances that the country has, the man was apprehended and taken into custody, at least that is what many think. The leaders of China at the time were not aware that the picture had been taken and if the information was known, the picture would have been taken down immediately due to the fact that that the country believed it showed weakness by the government. Although the man had been taken, he knew that once he stepped in front of that first tank, that his life was in danger. However, he knew that if he stepped up and did what most would not do, that his fight for peace would be seen and heard by many more people. 

From not knowing past history of the image, we can at least tell that the image is aimed mainly at either the government or military of the country. This is obviously due to the long line of tanks that have the countries sign on the sides of it. As people we look at the image and at the man sort of as a rebellion from the action he is doing. The action is so simple but yet means so much to the people that he is allied with. The point that peace is supposed to outweigh violence is completely overlooked by many people. We feel as though if we want something, we have to take it forcefully. This has been imbedded in our brains from birth due to the way society is now. This idea has been spread through military and protest tactics because many people do not have the actual brain capacity to talk problems out and communicate needs and wants. This man standing so effortlessly should open the eyes to many people and show that one small action of not doing anything other than trying to stop violence can send a message to the world. 

To really think about how this image is considered peaceful or meaningful, we could imagine if the man was armed with a gun. Automatically the viewers mind would look at the man and think that he was trying to cause a riot or hurt another human being. The thought of peace would be immediately kicked out of their minds for the reason that the weapon brings feelings of hurt and death to people’s minds. The main focus of the image is the man. If this main focus were to change by just what he is holding, then the whole meaning of the photo would change. This drastic change from something so simple lets us know how important the point of his moral over life idea. 

All in all, this man defied the normal stereotypical protestor and risked his life just to fight for the peace he wanted in his country. From not caring about fame to being unarmed, this man put his morals completely over his life and made a point to people across the world to show what he wanted by one action. So the next time when you feel for something or really want something, always keep in mind and see if you would risk your life to fight for the cause. 