William Wallace (Braveheart)

Class 5,
Sorry about the confusion on the other forum. This topic will take the place of both weeks forum questions and should be replied to with a minimum of 75 words.

Part 1 William Wallace had to face a lot of tragedies at an early age. After his father died in war, he wanted to get revenge on Edward the Longshanks, but his uncle told him that he had to learn to use his brain before the using the sword. His father told him, "But its our wits that makes us men?" Explain what you think this men were teaching him, and do you agree with their advice to William?

Part 2 After watching this movie, How did you feel about William Wallace love for Scotland, the betrayal of Robert the Bruce, and lastly the sacrifice of his life for freedom? Was it forth it? What were your thoughts on the movie? would you recommend it? To whom? and Why?

Part 1
“It is our wits that make us men.”

During the long course of evolution, the human race proved the only species with highly developed intelligence. It is our wits that have brought us to the top of food links, wiped out the savage part of our characters and accordingly, made us civilized.

In the movie, the comparatively skinny hero outmaneuvered his tough and giant-like buddy by using a tiny piece of stone. The playful yet implicit plot echoed this remark mentioned at the beginning of the movie and suggested that the coming story was going to be “full of wits” and strategies， not merely bleeding bodies and exclaiming warriors.

When it comes to the game of thrones, the law “it is our wits that make us men” stands equally valid. However crucial physical advantages might be in the battles in primitive culture, it is no longer a determining factor once wits are introduced.
Part 2
William Wallace’s love for his motherland was profound and touching. All wars require sacrifice and history will prove to us if it’s worth it. As for the battles in this movie, the Scottish warriors were fighting for freedom, the freedom for themselves, the freedom for their future generations, and the freedom for Scotland as a sovereign country. History and their descendents both have acknowledged and honored what they have done.
I think I would recommend this movie to everybody who’s above 18. First of all, I have to say it is quite hardcore, thronged with brutal and bloody scenes. Second of all, it’s really an amazing movie about love, the striving for freedom, and defying the tyranny.

I agree with what his father and uncle said. we are human ,and the difference between us and other animals is that we can think. if we just use our strength then we are the same with other animals. what Willam did when he came back has proved that he learned to use his wits and this skill made him win the strong man. This just reminds me of thinking carefully before whatever I want to do.

I really want to say something about the betrayal of Robert the Bruce. It’s hard to say whose fault it is, is it because Willam believed him and didn’t suspect him, or is it because Robert the Bruce didn’t make decisions himself and didn’t follow his heart, or is it because his father put their own benefits at the first place and pushed his son to do so,too? One point to be sure, this is really a tragedy for them both.

Part 1
Yes, I have to say, I totally agree with him. The biggest distinct point between human and animals, is the highly-evolved intelligence of human. The distinguishing mark of human behaviors is using thinking not mere force. In history, almost every famous battle was due to good stratagem. Many excellent militarists can gave us evidence, such as Napoleon, and countless Chinese great names in history. So I just say the man speaks out the truth.

Part 2
As for William Wallace love for his motherland, it is really impressive, touching. And I do believe that freedom is worth a big cost. In China, there is an old saying, "Give me liberty, or give me death." At the first time I saw the film, I didn't like it, because of so many scenes of cruelty and violence. But now, watching it together with my classmates, I somewhat fall in love with the great leader. But I won't recommend it. I don't want to pass the sadness to my friends.

Part 1

“It is our wits that make us men.”

I agree with this opinion. For human, we should know that wisdom goes beyond strength. In China, there are also lots of peasants uprising, while, only few of them win. Why? Why just few win? This is a good question for us to consider. In my opinion, the reason is that peasants seldom use their brain and they are not uniting enough. Like the Longshanks, when the royal try to protect their territory and sovereign rights, they will have lots of schemes in their mind. If the peasants like William Wallace want to win and reduce casualty, he must use his brain to find the best way to solve problem. Just courage is not enough. William must think and then prevent falling into the traps. They would overcome difficulty with their wits.

In a word, I agree with this sentence“It is our wits that make us men.”

Part2

William Wallace really loves his motherland. He not only fights for himself but also for all the Scottish. His aim is that everyone in Scotland gets freedom, the freedom for themselves and their generations. He hopes Scottish trade freely without unfair treatment. He hopes Scottish will live freely. There must be lots of sacrifice in the war, which is not meaningless. People will get more in future. The history will prove their value.
As for the betrayal of Robert the Bruce, it is hard to judge him wrong or right. He considers for his country and Scottish. William Wallace is also Scottish and he believes Bruce, but Bruce chooses to sacrifice William Wallace to get short peace. He is contradictory. On one hand, he follows the idea what his father teaches him, on the other hand, he wants to pursue freedom like William.

I may recommend this movie to my friends, because this is really a good movie. Although it has bloody scenes, it tells us a period of history and the importance of belief in people’s heart. It is our belief to make us pursue without fear.

Part 1 "But its our wits that makes us men."
I quite agree with this idea.
In a broad sense, wits symbolizes well-developed human beings. men are born innocent like other animals but the difference lies in that we can be taught to be men. It is the intelligence we acquire gradually from life and study that makes us men. The term of "Human being" more or less indicates the ability to think, through which problems can be solved and thus we ourselves get evolved. In a narrow sense, wits is opposite to brute courage, which is far beyond simple-minded pushing forward . Maybe brute courage can boost your morale but wits is the only access to ultimate success, which finally makes you a real man.
Part 2 I belive his love for Scotland mainly originates from a strong sense of belonging. He has embeded his blood,his love and everything he owns into this land and also the people inhabiting there, which his fighting for freedom is based on. In this sense, it is worth fighting for freedom on behalf of Scotland and all the compatriots he loves.
I would like to recommend this film to my friends who is suffering failure. Because everytime I watch this film, I am deeply encouraged by the spirit and courage of the Scots. Although they are suffering the repression of freedom, they are optimistic to fight. So why cannot we continue fighting to overcome that temporary setback? Come on, my dear friend!

of course, it is our wits that make us a real men. it fits for a individual as well as human beings.
through the history, we can see that those who are successful have wisdom. for example, in the movie,we can not deny that the Edward I is a man full of wits, but he couldn't use it in a proper way.
The great mind in the historyare good at using wisdom.

for the human beings, our civilization is the best proof of the sentence. taking the pyramid for example,so far, the scientists cannot find out how our ancestors completes so amazing project. especially at that time, technology is not developed. our ancestor use their wits to leave us a precious cultural heritage.

part2 there is no doubt that william wallace loves his scotland. Since the beginning of the rebellion against Edward I, william wallace are full of passion. he dovote his life to the war for the freedom of scotland.

About the betrayal of Bruce, wallace are desperared. he is deep in trust with him, howerver, the people he trusts most betray him. it is a big shock to him. Bruce is in guilty for what he did. i think what wallace did for the freedom is worth.just like his speech before the scots. we prefer dying for freedom to live everyday with suppression.

i would like to recommend it to my friend who lose hope for the future. the fighting spitit of wallace and his fellow would help them to find the courage to go forward. it is no more than a good film that make us rich in the innner world.

As a little child,wallace may not know how to revenge with the best ways. his uncle told him only braveness or sword is not enough to fight against strong enemy. the wit is also a kind of weapons, even more effective way to win. I agree with his uncle. his words can reduce some bewilderments of wallace's revenge.

At last , Robert the Bruce betrayed him .but he still insisted his conviction till his death. I was touched by his high spirit and braveness. he loves his mothercountry Scoltland, but he knows little about the conflicts and benefits within the noble circles. he still lacks wit in many problems.
on the whole, the movie is a meaningful and splendent story concering the war, the patriotic,the history.hero,freedom and love. but some sences are really cruel and bloody. most of the plots are filled with the battle and kill. it is not mystyle . i prefer to comedy.

1. His father and uncle both taught that he should use his wise to solve the problem no matter what he faces. Wise is more useful than using the sword. And it is better to find a mean without war before bring a war. And they advise him to take care of the other ones’ stratagems. But in my opinion, he didn’t follow their advices so that he fails to take back his mother land.
2. I think William love Scotland very much. He wants his sisters and brothers to live freely. He rises up to lead his country to fight for freedom. Nothing could equal to the freedom of the country. It is worth and right. I will recommend it to the youth because I want to wake up their love of the country.

Yes, I agree with them. William’s father and uncle were trying to teach him how to be a man. At that time, he was too young to do any meaningful things, especially to revenge his father or other people who died in the battle against the English. What he should do was to study and learn more things to make himself wise and full of wits. They all thought William was brave , but sometimes courage in excess becomes foolhardiness.

Question 1: They were teaching William to gain more knowledge and learn to use his intelligence to solve problems, including fighting against the Englishmen. Wit is the vrey thing that distinct humanbeings from the other animals. With the wits of survival, human could defeat the beasts that are much bigger and stronger than themselves and make tools to produce food, clothes and shelters in the primitive time; with the wits of military people were able to fight for their freedom and justice; with the wits of science and technology the world becomes the way it is. So I totally agree with Williams' father and uncle: only with physical force the Scots are too weak to drive the Englishmen out, so thay can only resort to wits to win.

I really admire William's love for Scotland. All fights for freedom and against tyranny, insult and injustice are all worth being highly spoken of. Though he finally died and Scotland finally became a part of England, his striving for freedom and dignity is always inspiring. Actually it is not only one's wits, but also his spirit makes him a man. Every attempt for chasing freedom and justice is worth it.
The betrayal of Robert the Bruce is actually in anticipation. After all he had the vested interests if the Englishmen keep ruling Scotland. He just lost his most valuable thing as a humanbeing-the spirit.
I appreciate this movie very much. I would recommend it to the teenagers because the core value of the movie is something gradually being forgotten in this time. I hope the youth can regain this spirit and live it to the fullest.

Yes, I agree on his uncle’s idea about wit. We know that knowledge is power. We can fight against our enemies with our brain rather than our fists. I can understand his hatred towards Edward the Longshanks. if I were him, I would be more impetuous to take the revenge. But William has such a wise uncle. He knows how to fight. If one wants to get revenge on somebody, he should know what the opponent’s advantages and shortcomings. He must have the ability to revenge. So it’s important to learn something to meet the need beforehand. So the brain is the most powerful tool to fight.

Brain is more useful and practical than sword. We see animals fighting by their paws and teeth. They have the most backward and primitive method in battles. But what makes us different from animals is that we human beings have brains. We can think, we can choose better ways to deal with the enemies. We can see the qualities of William from the movie when he uses his head to fight the enemies.
From the movie, we know his uncle taught him many different languages and wrestling, and so on. So he builds his strong body and clever mind, and so he has the capability to face amounts of soldiers from the enemies. On top of it, he understands how to make strategies in wars.

I was deeply moved by the movie Brave Heart, especially the hero William, his persisting love for Scotland. He was born in the piece of land, loving his people, having the judgment on the right and wrong. All his life was fighting for the freedom, justice and love. I regard him as the greatest hero in history.
However, the betrayal of his friend really gave him a blow. We know the most painful thing is nothing more than the betrayal of the closest people. I feel sorry for him. He trusted people too easily so he was easily to be cheated by others.

About the sacrifice, I think it was worthy. If he wanted to success in the war of freedom, he must make scarifications. His men might die, of course. Moreover, we can see, William uses the strategy. Using a part of his men as baits, makes the enemy loosen their guard. Only in this way William could win in the battle with fewer people against more. William won in the war at last. Even though they sacrificed a great number of men, they won.

I think the advice is correct. First we should use our own brains to make us strong and have to face our hearts. we should learn to face our heart and follow our heart to do what we want to do. and first we should make us learnful and know how to fight back the enemies. then we can hold the weapons to protect our lands.

I think as a man we all should love our own country and if our country is invaded, we should use our passion and courage and love to fight back the enemies. but the betrayl of his friend is too let people angry. and i think that the fight is worth and he has to fight for his own country. if i recommend the movie, i will commend it to the school. even though it has many violent scenes, it can teach us to love our country.

Braveheart was a huge deal when it first came out. I never really watched the film properly until recently. As a frequent cinema-goer since my youth I was not a part of the mid-nineties cultural phenomenon that was Braveheart's release in Scotland.


Wallace's revolution was set in motion, with great obstacles from his countrymen... Many Scottish nobles lent him only grudging support as most of them were more concerned with wealth and titles than the freedom of the country... In fact, the Scottish leaders are in favor of revolt-or not-depending on English bribes... Wallace, by comparison, is a man of honor, incorruptible and righteous... He was knighted and proclaimed 'guardian and high protector of Scotland,' but as much as he railed against the Scottish nobles, submitted to Edward I, King of England, he was astonished and in shock to discover the treachery of the leading Scot contender for the throne—Robert, the Earl of Bruce—to whom he confided , 'The people would follow you, if you would only lead them.' Sophie Marceau is exquisite as the distressed princess Isabella of France who ends up falling in love with Wallace, warning him out of several traps.

Braveheart was a huge deal when it first came out. I never really watched the film properly until recently. As a frequent cinema-goer since my youth I was not a part of the mid-nineties cultural phenomenon that was Braveheart's release in Scotland.


Wallace's revolution was set in motion, with great obstacles from his countrymen... Many Scottish nobles lent him only grudging support as most of them were more concerned with wealth and titles than the freedom of the country... In fact, the Scottish leaders are in favor of revolt-or not-depending on English bribes... Wallace, by comparison, is a man of honor, incorruptible and righteous... He was knighted and proclaimed 'guardian and high protector of Scotland,' but as much as he railed against the Scottish nobles, submitted to Edward I, King of England, he was astonished and in shock to discover the treachery of the leading Scot contender for the throne—Robert, the Earl of Bruce—to whom he confided , 'The people would follow you, if you would only lead them.' Sophie Marceau is exquisite as the distressed princess Isabella of France who ends up falling in love with Wallace, warning him out of several traps.

I think his father and uncle is very wise to teach Wallice like this. Even though Wallice has great strength, he cannot beat enemies in that situation. Wits mean calmness and reasonable thinking faced with a rather complicated situation. Wits are owned only by human beings. It plays a very important role in human history, especially in battles. In China's history or foreign history, there are so many examples using wits to defeat ennemies. It turned out that Walllice actually used his brain to fight for freedom in his battle life. As the name of the movie suggests, Braveheart means physical bravery and power of wisdom.

Part 1: This men told William to become a man who is not only brave in physics but also wise in brain. Under that circumstance it is difficult to fight successful with the enemy, the king. We know that William will die if he goes to the king directly. I agree with their advice to William completely. They know that only use wits that they can defeat the king. In my opinion they are wise men. They know the king better after so many things.

Part 2: For Scotland, I think that is a kind of belongings. It is not just his home, but the root of his heart. For the first betrayal of Robert the Bruce, I can see the desperate in his eyes when he finds the truth. I can feel the helpless and sorrow in his position. The second time I believe that he is forced by father. For the sacrifice of his life for freedom, I think it is great, it is forth it. I think the movie is great, I like it. I would like to recommend it to the people who are in trouble, because it can make people strong, positive.