Diary+Entry+2+Peter+Kim

(I didn't have anyone to interact with, because I was absent on November 29th A Block class! I just wrote it only about my character.)

January 21st, 1793

Dear Diary,

Wow. I can't believe this is happening. Our king actually got beheaded! This is insane. Not that I was really against this event, but the fact that our king, Louis XVI, being executed is just mind blowing. I thought I would feel extremely pleased and excited after he got executed, but strangely this one part in my heart feels a bit empty. This is a weird feeling... It feels like the revolution went too far, and we did something we should not have done. The elder people of the village are worried that with no symbolic leader, there will be more insanity and violence all over the land.

The villagers of Neulliy sur Seine had been aware of Louis XVI and his family being chased around by the rebels. However, all of us thought that the rebels would simply keep family under their control, not execute them. And as soon as the news of execution arrived to the town, the whole village was in a frenzy. Some said it was a lie of rival countries trying to undermine the people of France. Some said that it was a deed that had to be done. Some said this whole revolution was going too far.

Some of my friends decided to go see the execution. I was right in the crowd, witnessing this galvanizing event. I saw him walk up, lie down on the guillotine, and being executed. It all happened in such a short amount of time. I think taking one's life seems to be easier that it looks. I think I wouldn't have the courage to lie down on the guillotine, and wait till the blade drops down, killing me. Right after Louis XVI's head dropped off, there was this weird silence. Everyone was shocked at what they were witnessing. And then, this man next to me started shouting that the criminal was now dead. People started to shout out words about the revolution. I came back home, still overwhelmed by the execution.

So much happened for the last few years. Who would have even expected all these series of events to happen? The citizens bursted the gates of Bastille open, executed numerous nobles and clergy, and a continuous battle had been going on ever since. Our blacksmith workshop did support the revolution by supplying weapons and ironwork for war, but I didn't really participate due to my parent's wills. They did want change in the society, but they didn't want to get me or the family in trouble in the future. At the beginning of the revolution, the people of our village were all full of zeal and fervor. When some of the men of our village heard stories about brutal battles of the revolutionary soldiers, they set off to join the forces. I wondered if I should go or not, but again, my parents stopped me.

The nation of France is quite chaotic these days. There are bullets and cannonballs flying everywhere, and the blood spilt are creating pools. I wonder what happened to Sir Lafite. After the revolution started, he hired mercenaries and locked his family and himself in his house. I started to get quite tired of news of deaths of friends and relatives in the battles. All I hear are bloody, ruthless news about battles and wars.

The ironic thing is that nothing much has happened to our living quality and financial status despite how much people the rebels kill, and how much castles they dominate. I wonder what France will turn out to be in a few years.... All I can do is stay alive, and wait.