<p>Assignment : Do you need knowledge of the past to fully understand the present ?</p>
<p>My Essay -
A Knowledge of the past is a necessary part of everyone's lives as it influences our actions today in every way possible . Evidence of this can be seen in literature as well as history</p>
<p>In Terry Pratchett's " Making Money ", Moist Von Lipwig is a former conman who has been assigned the role of bank manager of the Royal Mint by the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork .Despite his relinquishment of his former ways and his succes as post master general , the patrician notices that during a meeting with him , Moist still steals his secretary's pencil . Character is something that is built over time , and here it is seen that despite his fame and success , he still feels empowered in deception . Another point to support this is that Moist utilizes his eloquence and conniving behavior in gaining success in his new job , in a similar way to how he conned money off people in the past .</p>
<p>Another example is that of Arthur Dent in the book "So long ... And thanks for the fish" . In this book , Arthur is back on earth after many perilous escapades across the galaxy which he unwillingly endured . He now wishes to forget the past eight years of his life in the galaxy and resume his normal uneventful life at home . Yet he feels haunted by his memories of his travels and cannot get it out of his mind , no matter how hard he tries ,and ends up going on yet another adventure across the galaxy .</p>
<p>In the book " The Lord of The Rings " , Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who , after many years of peace in the Shire decides to go on a final journey to Rivendell . In the previous book he was a nonchalant person who did not have any problem staying in Rivendell for the rest of his life . But such a glorious and breathtaking adventure ,which he participated in , had a massive effect on Bilbo ,who now has no regrets and wants to go back and do it all over again.</p>
<p>Even in today's society , our cultures and people are highly influenced by our past . The caste system in India is a scar in its rich history and its effects are stil felt today . With this information , it can be understood why discrimination and honour killings are still rampant in modern India . </p>
<p>From the examples in literature and that of the caste system ,it is seen that knowledge of the past is indeed necessary to understand the present.</p>