Mulan an Inspiration?

Carly H., student writer

     Many people know Mulan from the movies that were made about her. However many do not know that she was a real person and that the movie was based upon events in her life and her actions. There are many differences between the movie and her life but the basic story is the same. Mulan is an inspiration to many young girls everywhere. She took up a sword to protect her father and fought for many years without being discovered as a woman. Mulan is an inspiration because she stood up for what she believes in. Mulan protects the people she loves and that also makes her an inspiration.

     Mulan's father was a retired war general who was quite old. Her father taught her how to fight. The emperor needed warriors to fight against Mongols and nomadic attacks so he sent out lists to every village telling which men where to fight automatically. Mulan knew that her father would not be able to fight but his name was on the list. There was no male child in her family and women are not expected to fight. However, this did not stop Mulan from dressing as a man and taking her father's place. She signed up at the age of eighteen. This inspires people to stand up for people they love and what they believe in. Mulan did not let anything stand in her way. Even though many people did not believe that women could fight, Mulan still fought because she loved her father and she did not want him to die. She stood up for her father's life. Mulan believed that her father had fought enough because he was a retired general. This also made her fight in her father's place. With her courage to take her father's place she inspires many people.

     Another aspect of her life was that she fought for ten years This inspires many people to continue doing something that she believed in. She believed that if she went home, her father would eventually have to fight again. However, if she stayed she would protect her father's life. This inspires people to stick up for the people they care about because she risked her life for her father. This was an extreme case of sticking up for people others care about but that makes the message more clear and inspires people even more. Mulan is inspiring because she protected the people she loved and stood up for what she believed in.

Here is a short video that I recommend you watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=AARl1cMxS9w

http://ancientstandard.com/2011/06/17/the-real-story-of-mulan/

http://china.mrdonn.org/mulan.html