Foolish Decision by Prince of Troy Leads to Fall of the Great Trojan City

Reporter: Justine Weitrologa

Trojan Herald

1180 BC

    Fallen City of Troy - As of last week, the Greek forces employed the devious, yet brilliant tactic of what is now known to civilized world as using a Trojan Horse, and overran our brave, but caught-off-guard Trojan warriors. Most of our loyal Trojan readers already know that the Trojan Horse was just a gift for us that a single Greek said was a gift from Athena, but instead carried a number of seasoned Greek warriors in its intricately made torso. Since then, many of our Trojan citizens have been slaughtered. As far as we know, the Trojan Herald is the last newspaper written by the people of Troy. We feel that it is our duty to inform our remaining citizens of why this bloody war even had to occur. After interviewing a couple of surviving Trojan veterans, and a few Greek heroes (including Odysseus and Menelaus) who were willing to shed some light onto this conflict, our staff was able to discover the true story behind the war that sucked both us and the Greeks dry.

    The whole conflict started with the marriage of Peleus and Thetis, a sea nymph and one of the fifty Nereids of the ancient sea god Nereus. At the wedding, all of our gods were invited to the celebration except one, Eris, goddess of discord. The goddess was “enraged at her exclusion” and “threw a golden apple among the guests, with the inscription, ‘For the fairest.’” Everyone wanted the golden apple, but the competition was slimmed down to three choices:  Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. No one wanted to decide who was the fairest, for fear of provoking the two goddesses who weren’t chosen, not even Zeus. Instead, a prince of Troy called Paris, was given the task of deciding who the apple was for. When the goddesses’ appearances weren’t enough for Paris to reach a decision, they each offered Paris a glorious bribe. In the end, Paris accepted the bribe of Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, who promised him the love of the most beautiful woman in marriage. He was immediately led away by the goddess to meet his future wife after the golden apple was presented to her.

    When Paris saw the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen, he instantly fell in love with her, and convinced her to go with Paris to Troy, aided by Aphrodite. However, Helen was already married to Menelaus, king of Sparta, and when he found out, he declared war against Troy in order to regain his lovely wife. This, citizens of Troy, is the reason why our once glorious city is now lying in ashes. Because our lovestruck, selfish prince made the decision to fall in love with a queen of Sparta, our once powerful civilization exists no more. This whole war was fought for the love of one woman: Helen of Sparta.

    Menelaus knew that his Spartan forces wasn’t enough to take on Troy, so he called upon

“brother chieftains of Greece to fulfil their pledge, and join him in his efforts to recover his wife.” After spending almost two years in preparation, in which the warriors of Greece were hindered mainly by reluctant chieftains and heroes, like Achilles, son of Peleus and Thetis, and Ulysses of Ithaca. Finally, the colossal armies of Greece assembled in the port of Aulis in Boeotia. After a slight delay in which the commander-in-chief, Agamemnon, offended the goddess Diana, and a near sacrifice of Agamemnon’s daughter was made to appease the goddess, the Greek attack force was on their way to our homeland, Troy.

    One of the first casualties of war thankfully wasn’t a Trojan loss, but a Greek chieftain by the name of Protesilaus. His entire fleet was decimated by none other than Trojan King Priam’s strong right-hand man, Hector. This early war casualty goes to show the resistance that Trojans put up, despite the Greeks’ large numbers.

After almost nine years of indecisive siege and war, a conflict between Agamemnon and Achilles that was almost fatal to the Greeks’ effort of recovering Helen of Sparta. Agamemnon chose a concubine from the spoils through taking down other cities near Troy called Chryseis. She turned out to be the daughter of Chryses, priest of Apollo. When Agamemnon refuse to return Chryseis to her father, Apollo struck out at the Greek camp, forcing the commander to return Chryseis. For losing his original concubine, Agamemnon asked for another from Achilles share of the spoils, a maiden called Briseis. Achilles consented, but didn’t want to take part in the war anymore, and withdrew from the Greek camp, taking his forces with him, intending on going back to Greece.

This was a turning point in the war for Trojan forces. The Greek had lost their most iconic warrior, and the Trojans fought a successful battle against the dispirited Greeks. Even though Hector and Ajax, a huge but dim-witted Greek warrior, fought, with Ajax holding the upper hand, Hector was only stunned by the boulder Ajax threw, and was safely carried off the battlefield.

The Greeks knew that they were going to lose this cause without the motivation of Achilles, but the hero wouldn’t agree to help the cause. In the end, Patroclus, Achilles’s dear friend, asked to borrow Achilles’s armor in order to lead the Greek armies in his place. Achilles agreed, and allowed Patroclus to lead his Myrmidons (name given to Achilles’s forces) into battle too. In battle, the plan was perfect. The Greeks cheered and fought with renewed strength, and Achilles’s all-too-familiar armor struck terror into our Trojan warriors. Finally, after killing dozens of Trojan warriors and scattering countless more in Achilles’s chariot, Patroclus met his challenge: Hector. After a quick fight in which Patroclus was overwhelmed by a couple of surrounding Trojans, and then being mortally wounded by Hector while he was distracted by the Trojans, Hector took the armor from Patroclus’s expired body and returned to the fight.

When Achilles received news of his friend’s death by the hands of the warrior Hector, he was consumed by grief, and set out to avenge Patroclus’s death, but not before his mother brought him a suit of armor forged by Hephaestus. Everything was customized to Achilles, and was made of the impenetrable temper. He immediately charged into battle, and after forcing his way through numerous Trojans without so much as a challenge, Achilles stood before an outmatched Hector. Both warriors threw their spears with great aim, but as Achilles’s shield was the work of Hephaestus, Hector’s spear bounced off. Poseidon, taking pity on Hector, floated him away from Achilles before the Greek hero could kill him. After pursuing Hector further, Achilles killed the great and noble Trojan with his spear. Achilles’s hate for Hector was so total that he removed the armor from Hector’s dead body, and dragged him around behind his chariot just to disfigure him further. King Priam brought along many of his most treasured riches to ransom for his son. What he said to Achilles during the negotiation moved the hero greatly, and he agreed to return Hector’s body.

When Achilles’s mother dipped him into the River Styx, she held him by the heel, so his whole body was invulnerable except at his heel. Paris, now the husband of Helen, used this to his advantage, and, guided by Apollo (god of archery) shot a poisoned arrow at Achilles’s ankle. Achilles’s body was rescued by Ajax and Ulysses of Ithaca. Achilles’s celestial armor was passed on to Ulysses, for his wisdom rather than valour. The Greeks’ last resort of taking Troy by force was through the arrows of Hercules. The arrow were with Philoctetes, who immediately agreed to join the Grecian campaign. Even these legendary arrows were not enough, although they did avenge Achilles’s death by killing Paris.

The Greek chieftains finally gave up taking Troy by force. By following advice from Ulysses, the Greeks built an enormous war horse which they pretended was an offering to Athena for the Trojans, and seemingly abandoned the effort. Our Trojans pulled the beautifully made horse into the city, and celebrated as most of us remember was only a week ago.

Every Trojan knows the rest of the story now. Of how the devious yet shrewd Greeks had hidden seasoned warriors inside the horse, and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek forces, which had only been hiding out behind some islands offshore. Our beloved city was demolished in one night by the Greeks.

This is the story of the Trojan War. It is the story of one foolish Trojan prince who decided to fall in love with a queen of Sparta, and led to the downfall of Troy. This is the war for love that bled both civilizations dry.

Works Cited:

"CHAPTER XXVII. The Trojan War." Sacred Texts. N.p., n.d. Web.

<http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/bulf/bulf26.htm>.

Joe, Jimmy. "Trojan War." Timeless Myths. N.p., n.d. Web.

<http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/trojanwar.html>.

"Thetis." Thetis. N.p., n.d. Web.

<http://public.wsu.edu/~hughesc/thetis.htm>.

"Apollo." Greek Mythology. N.p., n.d. Web.

<http://www.greekmythology.com/Olympians/Apollo/apollo.html>.

This I Believe

 

Usually, the passing of a loved one is seen only as a tragic occasion; however, I believe for my family, my great grandpa’s death three years ago was an event of great importance that brought us closer together physically and metaphorically. Ever since I was born, I felt disconnected from all of my extended family, since we all lived in various parts of the globe: Claremont, Atlanta, Taiwan, Xi’an, Shanghai and other obscure villages throughout China. But after my great grandpa, the oldest member of the family, suffered a fall, things started to go downhill, and we all flew in to give him support and keep him company. Every member of the family contributed however they could. The wealthy and influential people in the family spent large amounts of money to buy rare medication for him, and the others, including me, spent lots of time to be with him and to cook some of his favorite dishes. It was then that I realized the true meaning of family love, as well as the values that all Chinese families live by, like filial obedience, respect, care, and devotion to each other. Not only were we there for my great grandpa in the summer of 2013, we also needed each other’s support through these difficult times.

Our family, like most others, had many ongoing feuds between members prior to this instance. For example, certain members of the family would take advantage of others, especially in financial cases, and sparks flew every time they touched the topic. However, when my great grandpa’s body functions started deteriorating, we were all able to put aside previous family arguments to embrace each other. During that summer, all our feuds seemed insignificant and irrelevant, so we forgot about them and cherished the family we had. Great grandpa was a great man and everyone in the family loved him, wished for his health to improve, and didn’t want to spend our last moments with him biting each other’s heads off. As my great grandpa slowly slipped away from us, I was torn between sorrow and gratefulness. As I looked around at all the people in the room that I had grown so close to, I couldn’t imagine going through this ordeal alone. My great grandpa smiled during his last moments, and I think he was ready to face his death with the entire family around, and was glad that our family’s bonds were strengthened through this affair. Losing my great grandpa made me cherish my loved ones that much more, and even now, we keep in touch as often as possible, whether it’s through a phone call, Skype, or a visit. As strong as these bonds are, they can and will always need to be reinforced by events such as this. I believe that death, however tragic, will always be there to strengthen the love of the living.

Teenage Social Media: Blessing or a Curse?

 

    One may wonder when the last time one actually read an entire privacy agreement before clicking agree. Today’s teenagers usually have more than just one or two social media accounts, and that is another part of the reason why the privacy agreements that include critical safety policies are left unread. Teens do not place enough emphasis on the privacy issues of internet safety, which has become a critical issue due to the high usage of social media in this age group.

    Everyone that has at least one social media account has posted a picture some time in their life. Photos are the most common things shared in social media like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter. People love posting pictures of themselves and their loved ones on their social media accounts. A frightening statistic shows that “91% [of teenagers] post[ed] a photo of themselves” on Facebook in 2012 (Madden). This creates an easy source of private information for potentially dangerous social media predators to obtain pictures of young teens that they find attractive. If one accesses Instagram on a computer, one would see that the site even has a button to save a picture that someone posted, leaving supposedly personal image exposed. If one were to imagine people downloading one’s pictures every time one posts on a social media account, one might become more aware of what pictures should be posted.

    Snapchat is another trending social media app that many teens use, yet its privacy issues are extremely abundant. In Snapchat, a prominent feature is one in which the pictures one sends can be viewed for only a certain amount of seconds after a viewer opens it; however, screenshotting still works on the app, and one is definitely able to obtain a permanent copy of a picture that the owner did not want to be saved. Another scary fact is that there are many apps that have the capability to intentionally hack into a user’s account in order to be able to view all of the user’s friends’ posts for as long as he or she wants, and allows for a “save to camera roll” option as well. One of the most notable apps for this function is a one dollar app called SnapHack, which was created by Darren Jones, to overcome the limiting capabilities of the app without the sender becoming aware (Cade). Now the entire purpose of the Snapchat app has been reduced to nothing, because the supposed disappearance of the post after a certain amount of time can easily be overridden. A large security risk comes up, especially for teens, when things they post might contain private information. The owners of the posts might think that this is safe because the posts are should be deleted in a matter of seconds, but viewers accessing Snapchat through apps like Snaphack will have unlimited access to their private information. The details in the post could very likely allow other users to stalk, cyber bully, blackmail, or even hack the owner’s account. Although apps like Snaphack will very likely be taken down by Snapchat, or maybe Apple, there will always be similar types of apps to meet the demand of the social media market. A much better solution to social media safety for teens is to let teenagers learn a proper restraint of posts on all types of social media, even self deleting ones like Snapchat that have too high of a security risk.

Another unconscious action that many teens do on social media is tagging the exact location of the place where a picture was taken. This is especially common on Instagram, where the location of the image is shown right below one’s username. The location can even direct a user to a page that displays the location on a map, which will display all the pictures taken that were tagged at that location. These almost instinctive actions of sharing location not only allows for potential social media predators to stalk the account’s owner and know exactly where the owner is at the time, but also give a list of locations that the owner visits frequently. There is a fact that teens with larger friend networks are “more likely to automatically include their location in updates” (Lenhart). In other words, the more followers or friends that one has on a social networking site, the more likely one is going to share information, such as one’s location. This data can gives other users a perfect source to create a profile of the owner.

An Instagram setting that proves many teens do not take the security of their social media accounts seriously is the capability of making one’s account either private or public. Even though most celebrities leave their personal social media accounts in public mode for anyone to follow them, it does not matter that much to them because the majority of their social lives is already public to the world. From perusing Instagram accounts, one is able to tell that between public and private accounts, public accounts always have more followers. It is common knowledge that many teens purposely make their personal Instagram accounts public in order to gain more follower, despite the fact that they are often accepting follower requests from users they do not know. It is a great way to make one seem more popular at school or boost one’s self-esteem, but it also strips one of the power to control who gets to view one’s personal pictures. Most teens are smart enough to figure this out, but they just do not take this issue seriously, and still take the risk of gaining unsafe followers in order appear more accepted. Leaving one’s account on public allows potential stalkers or predators to get an easy access into one’s account. This could as yet another security risk, especially if images of oneself and one’s loved ones is on the account. If teens took social media security a bit more seriously and prioritized that over short term esteem boosts or happiness, they could easily protect themselves against security issues.

A password is the most important firewall in protecting one’s social media from others. Having a strong password that is difficult to guess makes the job harder for any potential hacker. However, many teens place little stress on making original passwords, leaving their accounts seriously vulnerable. “21 percent of people use passwords that were created more than 10 years ago”, including adults too, who are supposed to be more knowledgeable at securing their numerous accounts (Morrison). Just imagine the number of teens’ social media accounts that are exposed due to feeble passwords. These worthless and unoriginal passwords are likely the reason why “two out of five people have had a password stolen, an account hacked, or received notification that their personal information had been compromised” every year (Morrison). Once again, the importance of putting emphasis on keeping teens’ privacy issues secret cannot be more safely secured by just putting some thought into a good reliable password.

Social networking sites are a trend that seems to have started with recent generations, as communication switched from a more interpersonal one to an online one. Professor of Communication at the Rochester Institute of Technology Susan B. Barnes writes that “social networking sites create a central repository of personal information”, and that is a point that many teenagers do not realize every time they upload pictures or personal information that everything uploaded to the web always can never fully be deleted. Data in today’s age is one that is so vast and uncontrollable, due to the vast capabilities of technology in the modern age. There is more information being shared by teens than adults due to the difference in how social media is used, too. For teens, social media is often used as “a platform for self-expression” as well as a method to “gain acceptance from their peers” (Swayne). A 2005 study by Lenhart and Madden found that 87% of teens used the internet daily, and that number has definitely grown in the past decade. The difference between an adult and teenager’s social media account is very clear, and it is apparent that teenagers spend a lot more time. It is crucial that teenagers take control of their accounts and privacy, especially when so many of them are using social media as a place to express private information that should’ve been left personal.  

For the most part, security in social media for teens is limited, and maybe is overlooked altogether sometimes. On every type of social media, more than three quarters of social media users post at least one picture of themselves, allowing others, whether harmless or dangerous, match a face with a name. Snapchat’s supposed self destruction ability on posts can be easily overridden simply by clicking the Install button for apps like Snaphack, leaving a viewer with a permanent copy of a possible embarrassing or personal post that the owner did not want to be viewed for more than a couple seconds. The unconscious habit of tagging places and people provide a database of one’s frequently visited places and loved ones for possible predators. A public account might be fine for a celebrity, but for any teenager, that means one less defense against potentially dangerous followers or friends. Lastly, teens complain when their accounts get hacked, and wish for the security on the social media to be tighter. But more often than not, it is because the password one uses was too simple and made it an easy target for a cybercriminal. It is true that the security of every social media is not perfect, but there are simple ways for teens to be protected on social media. Teens slack off when it comes to being safe on apps like Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, but only a little effort and some common sense on what one posts can shelter one’s private information almost as well as any encryption.

Works Cited

Barnes, Susan B. "A Privacy Paradox: Social Networking in the United States." First Monday.

N.p., 4 Sept. 2006. Web. 01 May 2016.

Cade, DL. "SnapHack Permanently Saves All of Your Snapchats, No More Disappearing Pics."

PetaPixel. N.p., 14 Oct. 2013. Web. 23 Apr. 2016.

Lewis, Kevin, Jason Kaufman, and Nicholas Christakis. "The Taste for Privacy." Wiley Online

Library. N.p., n.d. Web.

Madden, Mary, and Amanda Lenhart. "Teens, Social Media, and Privacy." (n.d.): n. pag. Pew

Research Center. The Berkman Center for Internet & Society, 21 May 2013. Web. 23

Apr. 2016.

Morrison, Kimberlee. "People Are Still the Weak Link in the Password System [Infographic]."

SocialTimes. N.p., 3 June 2015. Web. 01 May 2016.

Swayne, Matt. "Teens' Approach to Social Media Risk Is Different from Adults'" Penn State

News. Penn State University, 17 Mar. 2015. Web. 01 May 2016.

Oedipus the Tragic King

The inability to see the truth no matter how transparent or opaque it is, is extremely unlucky and leads to the demise of Oedipus. Sophocles’ Oedipus the King is a tragic play set in Thebes in front of the royal palace steps. During the entire play, the tragic truth of Oedipus’s past slowly unravels in front of him, eventually destroying his very person from within. In the play Oedipus the King, the titular character is the perfect example of a tragic hero, because despite his positive traits, his firm determination to find the truth combined with the presence of Apollo’s prophecy as well as his fatal flaw, was the cause of his own fall in the end.

Oedipus was a man of many admirable qualities, which makes him an extraordinary character, and one of noble stature. Of the many praiseworthy traits that Oedipus possesses, determination eclipses them all. His determination, although misdirected, is obvious after he learns of a murderer who is the cause of his beloved city’s plague. Oedipus vows that “no man, no place, nothing will escape [his] gaze”, and that he “will not stop until [he] knows it all…” and is able to finally “expose the killer” and “reveal him to the light” (Sophocles, 363). The irony here is tragic as Oedipus’s nobleness and good intentions are wasted because he is essentially fighting so hard for nothing. He is determined to solve the mystery throughout the entire play but in reality, he cursed himself with his own righteousness, ultimately becoming a disgraced figure and ruining his own life.

Even though he was a noble figure, Oedipus had many inherent fatal flaws that contributed to his destruction. Oedipus’ main tragic flaw among many is his hubris, or overly prideful nature, which is best seen after he pesters Teiresias to tell him the truth about his ancestry, but then angrily begins denying the blind prophet’s accusations. Though Teiresias is actually a wise and knowledgeable figure, Oedipus calls him an “old fool” and claims he should have “thought twice before asking [him] to come if [he] had known [Teiresias] would spew out such idiocy” (Sophocles 596). Oedipus prides himself in being virtuous inside and out, and that causes him to be completely blind to the truth. Oedipus was proud, excessively so, and brought about his own fall, thus reversing his fortune. Had he not succumbed to his fatal pride, he would have been able to quietly expect the truth and protect himself out of self-preservation. The audience in turn pities Oedipus, for they know a character of such caliber is heading down a bleak road, and are unable to help.

In the end, it was a combination of his most dominant characteristics, along with the presence of the prophecy, that put Oedipus on the path to utter downfall, though he might have did nothing morally wrong to deserve his unfortunate ending. Despite his outstanding qualities, Oedipus’ attempts to escape his fate were nullified by a mixture of his greatness and hamartia. As the play progresses, the actions of Oedipus illuminate more of his past, and he finally becomes aware of the truth, all the while plunging his sanity into a deep, dark hole. After everyone had left, the chorus outlined the miserable fate of the great Oedipus in a few simple lines by asserting that “all men gazed on his fortunate life, all men envied him”, but that ultimately “all he had, all this was, pulled down and swallowed by the storm of his own life, and by the gods” (Sophocles 1980). Peripeteia is evident here, and was brought about by his own pride to uphold justice. Even though Oedipus fought bravely for a greater good, his undeserved destruction was still brought about by his own choices and predestined fate.

Throughout the play, Oedipus’s greatness coexisting with his greatest hamartia in an attempt to leave Apollo's prophecy unsatisfied, and to learn the truth of his past, lead to his eventual ruination. Regardless of his fine qualities and noble stature, his excessive pride in upholding justice, along with his underserved damnation due to his own free choice, sets in stone the fact that Oedipus is truly a tragic hero. The overarching theme of blindness through the play represents the tragic hero’s inability to “see” the situation clearly, and though it seems like Oedipus did not deserve his fate, it acts as a lesson to be wary of the truth.

 

 

Works Cited

Sophocles, Stephen Berg, and Diskin Clay. Oedipus the King. New York:

Oxford UP, 1978. Print.                         

Mapo Tofu Goes Vegetarian

    After reading an article in New York Times about mapo tofu (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/22/dining/mapo-tofu-goes-vegetarian.html?rref=dining&module=Ribbon&version=origin&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Food&pgtype=article), a classic Chinese dish involving tofu and meat, becoming vegetarian, I have to say, my mouth started watering. I totally agree, even if you switch out the beef or pork for shiitake mushrooms, the dish will still keep you satisfied. With the rich black bean paste flavoring up the tofu, highlighting the natural taste, it is something that almost everyone will like. But as good as it is, I don’t think mapo tofu is not the ever healthy dish that New York Times hints it might be, vegetarian or not. It basically taking salad (tofu), a healthy ingredient, and adding fattening ranch(black bean paste) to it, leaving a concern about how good this dish is to your body.

    After combining my personal knowledge of Chinese condiments with a bit of research, I figured out that Doubanjiang, or bean paste is “naturally” made through a process of fermentation, something that takes about six months to happen. But if the process takes that long to happen, then why is the sauce essential to Mapo Tofu found almost anywhere? I really don’t believe that all those little plastic packets of Pre-mixed Mapo Tofu sauce is made through half a year of hard work.

    A little more research revealed that the sauce is now rarely made naturally, but by adding little bit of this chemical to make mold grow faster, and a little bit of that chemical to make some decomposing bacteria working faster, and even more bits of chemicals into the sauce to keep it from spoiling. All this adds up to a recipe that takes less than a day to finish, giving the customers an affordable but loaded with scary chemicals that does who knows what to your body. Even through natural processes, it’s a product with high sodium, and puts a lot of stress on human kidney, and also increases some people’s high blood pressure. If it’s that bad even through natural and traditional ways, then can you imagine how many times worse the chemically enhanced one will be? It definitely won’t kill you if you eat some once a month, which was probably what NY times was talking about doing, but this dish is not as healthy as you think it is. Then, on the package, the company puts the label “Fermented Black Bean Paste,” making customers believe that this fermented product will last forever, because it’s technically made from decomposed material. But it’s not true. MSG is usually added to the unstable bacteria, along with some other flavors and even artificial additives, which makes the paste stable, but actually makes it deteriorate faster. Not a lot of people know this, though, and end up eating bad bean paste that been sitting in the back of the fridges for years.

    From the moment I finished reading this article, I thought I just had to tell some people the truth about Mapo Tofu, vegetarian or regular. Although a great Chinese dish for the whole family, it still is not the most healthy choice. So everytime you might want some Mapo Tofu, just keep the true nature of Doubanjiang in mind and eat wisely.

Letter of Civil War(Fictional)

Remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms and rights that we enjoy on this Memorial Day weekend!

July 12, 1861

Dear Mom,

It’s been so long since I’ve heard from you, all the way in California. I hope you and dad are still healthy and kicking butt. Thanks a lot for the that huge yellow scarf you got me. I had no need for it back at home, but here, up North, it’s one of my top ten most needed items. Try to say hi to our neighbors for me if you can. You know, like old Kingsley, Ms. Patty...... and the dog, Bonny. I miss everything there.

You know about the war that’s brewing, right? Everyone’s taking sides, North or South. I am supporting the North, just like you told me. Now I see the sense in your reasons about not helping slavery continue. I mean, African American people are still people. We can’t just let them continue to be treated like animals. I have a new friend, Billy, who’s from a rich South Carolina plantation family. He and one of his brothers came up to support the North, and he’s told me the truth about the slavery in the South. Billy says that his dad is a harsh man, and deaths among the South’s slaves were common. As far as Billy could remember, six slaves have died on his family’s plantation, four from infections due to beating, and two from disease. I know this isn’t happy talk, but I just thought you’d like to know that I am more assured about the choice we made in this war.

For the past six months, I have been working at the main telegraph station where President Lincoln and his advisors send messages to the Union’s field commanders. Usually, the messages are about the overall strategies of which towns to take and things like that. President Lincoln seems like a nice enough man, although he always has a lot of information for us to tell the field commanders, keeping us working most of the time. The amount of work pressed upon us was to the #1 reason I couldn’t write to you sooner. But still, the pay is surprisingly good, as I am one of the primary telegraphers, and the load has slackened, as the oncoming battle is Bull Run, one that every Union general thinks is going to be an easy victory. By the time you receive this letter, Bull Run will most likely have been already won.

I am feeling conflicted about joining the Army. I have seen many headstrong, impulsive young men charge off into war, swayed by experienced officers’ speeches. The speeches talk about none of war’s bloodiness, pain, and discomfort. They only talk about killing successfully, hardening your personality, and getting educated about “important things.” But even though these inspiring speeches got my spirits pumped up, my feelings toward war changed after the excitement of the speech subsided. I think about peaceful debates between the North and South, instead of solving problems by going onto the battlefield. Why does everyone have to go for a violent approach when people disagree on something? But even though all my instincts and common sense tell me not to embrace the unorthodox method of war, the idea of signing up to be a soldier has its merits. Almost all my friends have signed up except for Joe, only because he was too fat to join. And shouldn’t I support my side by bearing up arms too? I know that telegraphing for President Lincoln and the Union Army is a good, non-violent way of serving the North already; it just does not seem to be exciting enough for me to see myself as patriotic. I am struggling over this hard decision. I hope you can give me some help on this issue, Mom.

I really hope that this war won’t be long and bloody, and that it will blow over soon. I just want the Union to get a swift victory over the Rebels and end slavery once and for all. This war definitely seems easy for us, don’t you think, Mom? I mean, the Union’s got the numbers and the equipment. Well, enough of this war talk. It’s almost time to fill in the shift for my fellow telegrapher, who is in bed with a bad cold. Hopefully I can get you guys to move over here to the East when this hostility is over. I can’t wait to see you and dad again!

Love,

Charles

Jobs Gates

    Of all the rich people on this Earth, the two billionaires that interest me the most are Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Jobs, a rich man who didn’t live a very long life, and came from a poor family, versus Gates, an even richer man who donates to charity regularly, and had a very supportive family.

    Steve Jobs was born in February of 1955. Roughly eight months later, Bill Gates was born, in October of 1955. Whereas Jobs was born in San Francisco, California, Gates was born in Seattle, Washington. But in the same year, two billionaires had been born on the West Coast.

    These two people’s family backgrounds couldn’t have been more dissimilar. Steve Jobs is the biological son of John Jandali and Joanne Schieble, who gave Jobs up for adoption the moment he was born. Jobs was then adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs, a nice couple who worked as mechanic and accountant. At school, Jobs did so well that his teachers recommended that he skip two grades. Even though his grades suggested that Jobs was a hardworking student, he constantly played tricks and practical jokes on other students.

    On the other hand, Gates was raised by his biological parents, William and Mary Gates, and had a happy normal childhood. He was the third child out of four, and had regular problems with his annoying siblings. Like Jobs, he did well in school but did not play tricks on other students. Gates showed a natural interest in tinkering with computer programs, becoming so talented with computer codes that he modified the school’s schedule so that he could be placed in classes with "a disproportionate number of interesting girls”(Wikipedia).

    Although Jobs’s SAT score is a big mystery, it is well known that Bill Gates’s SAT score was 1590 out of 1600, a very good result at the time. Both men were accepted into good colleges, and both dropped out of college, but for different reasons. Jobs dropped out of Reed College after six months because the tuition was expensive, and his adoptive parents could not pay for it. Gates dropped out of Harvard College, not because he couldn’t afford it, but because he and his business partner had found the perfect opportunity to start a company. After hearing how much Gates wanted to have his own business, his parents gave him their full approval to drop out of Harvard.

    Jobs and Gates had careers that were both similar and different. Although both worked with technology, Jobs had a pretty turbulent early career, with many rises and dips. He started off as a partially successful video game producer, not earning much, but working a stable job. But that was not good enough for Jobs. He gathered a couple of his video game-producing friends and started Apple Computers in 1976, inside his parents’ garage. Even after a couple rough years of hard work, this company had not grown much. Again, Jobs resigned, and bought an animated filmmaking shop, Pixar, that did pretty well, producing about half a dozen animated films, starting with Toy Story. Jobs returned to a slightly better Apple, and sold Pixar to Disney in order to support Apple. There, he introduced the successful iPhone series, along with a whole bunch of other iThings. This was when he finally came into prominence, and his name became more well known. He served as the CEO of Apple until the day before he died, on October 5, 2011, at 56 years of age.

    Bill Gates had a much more stable career with his partner Paul Allen. Together, they formed the computer software company, Microsoft, and Gates stayed with the company throughout his adult life. He was satisfied with Microsoft, and didn’t jump around like Jobs, searching and searching for another better occupation. Something that Gates targeted was work specified to software, while Jobs liked to do business where both hardware and software were designed by him and his company. After a slight hiccup with another tech company, MITS, in which MITS took Gates’s basic design of the microcomputer without paying a continual fee for its constant use of the design, Gate’s Microsoft made a deal with IBM, and had much more success. In a few years, the partnership with IBM started to deteriorate, and these two huge tech companies began to head down different paths. But. Gates was now experienced in keeping his business successful, and aggressively broadened the company’s range of products, including the famous Microsoft Windows. Now he has stepped down from the Chair of Microsoft to being one of its Technical Advisors.

    Even though both were rich businessmen that were able to give to to charity, why did only one of them actually show real support to non-profit organizations? Why is only Bill Gates well known for donating to charity and even starting his own organization, the Gates Foundation, when Steve Jobs had the ability to do the same thing but chose not to? No one will ever know, because that died with Jobs. After my research revealed no solid evidence of Steve Jobs ever donating to the public, my opinion of Jobs went down pretty significantly. I think that no matter how big the difference between these two successful men’s families or salaries, the factor that sets them apart the most is the kindness in their hearts.

    Steve Jobs, the maker of almost all the iDevices, changed the way people consume and produce entertainment, allowing us to have more ways of enjoying ourselves through iPhones, iPads, and iMuch more. However, Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, changed the world through technology and charity. His Windows program brought personal computers to homes and families, making the world a more efficient work force. And charity? Well, let’s just say that the $40 billion he’s donated since 2007 has been put to good use around the world. To cap it off, Gates has definitely changed the world more than Jobs, made more money, and given more of it away.

    Oh yes, there was one last thing that I got from these two people. I figured out that no matter how rich you are, the most important thing is to stay healthy and alive. As a 59-year-old billionaire, Gates is still alive and healthy, and is still enjoying his 66,000-square-foot estate with his wife, while Jobs is not. Both men chased their dreams and both achieved them , but without the healthy body and mind to enjoy the reward after working so hard, Jobs “lost the one before all those zeroes that gave them any value”(Fiona Wei, my mom).