Gre analytical Writing issue essay Topic 101

GRE Analytical Writing ISSUE Essay Topic - 109 
"The greatness of individuals can be decided only by those who live after them, not by their 
contemporaries." 
GRE AWA Analytical Writing ISSUE Essay Sample 
Solution - 109 
How does one decide the greatness of a person? It would be unjust to claim that that the people 
who live after that person are the only ones who can pass a judgment on his greatness. The 
people who have lived with him are equally responsible for elevating the person's status to that 
of a great personality. Therefore, a person's greatness can be evaluated not only by the people 
who live after him, but also by the people who belong to the same generation and are his 
contemporaries. 
The effects of a person's actions may be seen years after his death. The history of man is full of 
the works of such persons who were scorned by their contemporaries for putting forth ideas that 
were opposed by the societies of those times. For instance, the society could not accept the 
theory of evolution put forth by Charles Darwin as he related the evolution of man to that of the 
apes. However, years after his death, people have elevated the status of Charles Darwin from a 
common scientist to that of a great man. This is because he had been successful in putting forth 
the theory that has been scientifically proven to be true years after his death. Galileo Galilei, 
Copernicus and Kepler all stood by the theory that the Earth is not static and it is not at the center 
of the universe and their theory was not accepted by their contemporaries. Galileo was even 
charged with blasphemy by the Pope. However, today we all know that the earth revolves around 
the sun and these scientists have found their way into our history books as great men. 
On the contrary, if one considers the works of artists and writers, it is seen that most of these 
people were given due credit for their work by their contemporaries. Writers like Shakespeare, 
Mark Twain, Robert Frost etc, were held in high regard by their contemporaries and these good 
reviews helped in making these writers great in their field of work. Painters and musicians like 
Leonardo DaVinci, Mozart and Beethoven were all admired by their contemporaries for their 
immeasurable talent. Even today, these writers and artists are accepted as great people because of 
the appreciation that they had earned centuries ago. 
The efforts of freedom fighters can be appreciated by their contemporaries to a great extent 
because they have lived to see the effects of being under foreign rule and they have also seen the 
effort and dedication put in by the freedom fighters to free their nation. Hence, they will be in a 
better position to decide the greatness of freedom fighters as compared to the future generations 
who do not know the ill effects of being under a foreign rule. Therefore, the people who live 
after the freedom fighters have long gone will probably not be able to appreciate their greatness 
as they will not be able to identify themselves with the situation that existed long before they 
were born. 

---

A careful study of the examples quoted above clearly establishes the fact that it is not necessary 
that the greatness of men can be decided by the people who live after them. There are numerous 
instances when the greatness of men has been established during their lifetimes by their 
contemporaries. Therefore, great men have been given their due by both their contemporaries 
and by the people who lived after them.