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 Laura Wronowski

Odysseus and President Sebastian Pinera

 The Odyssey is a story that involves a leader named Odysseus who has many responsibilities to own up to.  Sometimes these responsibilities involved making decisions that were not always beneficial for everyone. In Book 12 of The Odyssey, the goddess Circe warns Odysseus that he will have a hard decision to make while heading back to Ithaca. It was either have six men eaten by the monster Scylla or lose the whole ship by the deadly Charybdis gulping Odysseus and his crew down. Both of these scenarios are not pleasant but as leader, Odysseus knew he was forced to chose one. Circe explained to Odysseus that “No, hug Scylla’s crag—sail on past her—top speed! Better by far to lose six men and keep your ship than lose your entire crew.” (A434)

 A similar story to Book 12 of The Odyssey is found in the NY Times. “Trapped 68 Days, First Chilean Miners Taste Freedom” (NY Times) resembles how the President of Chile, Sebastian Pinera, demonstrated the same responsibility of tough decision making that Odysseus had to make. For months Chilean miners were trapped underground. It was on August 5^th when this horrible accident occurred and Mr. Pinera was forced to decide the next step. The choices were spend millions of dollars of the countries money to try and rescue the miners (even though they were not 100% sure there were any survivors) or not try to rescue them and possibly lose the next election vote due to wasting money. Similarly, these were very hard to chose from but Mr. Pinera chose to rescue the miners, regardless of the spending that was necessary. The article mentions that “It has involved untold millions of dollars, specialists from NASA and drilling experts from a dozen or so countries…” The equipment and strategic planning involved were very costly to Chile as well.

 The best result for everyone is the most important decision to choose. Regardless of the consequences, Odysseus and Mr. Pinera ultimately knew what choice to make and this illustrated a true quality in their leadership.

Works Cited

 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/14/world/americas/14chile.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

 Barrionuevo, Alexei; Romero Simon. “Trapped 68 Days, First Chilean Miners   Taste Freedom”. New York Times 13 October 2010, New York ed.: The New York Times International A1 and A8. Print.

An article in the New York Time called “Germany, Unscathed, Remains a Hub of Terrorism Scare” shows a resemblance to the Odyssey. In the article, Germany is basically showing how great of a nation it is and downplaying the negative things in the country. For example, the article states “This wealthy port city advertises its bustling canals and bridges and its towering 19^th century churches to draw visitors from around the world. It is less interested in drawing more attention to Al Quds Mosque, where the Sept. 11 hijacker Mohamed Atta prayed and which has become a destination for jihadi tourism.” Germany makes it seem as if the area is a great place to reside, however, they downplay the potential danger the area has. In the Odyssey a similar situation occurs, when Odysseus is leading a group of crew members and they are placed in a difficult situation. Odysseus leads them towards Scylla a six-headed monster instead of Charybdis, a giant whirlpool and is shown when Odysseus shouts

‘You helmsman, here’s your order- burn it in your mind- the steering oar of our             rolling ship is in your hands. Keep her clear of that smoke and surging breakers,             head for those crags or she’ll catch you off guard, she’ll yaw over there- you’ll                 plunge us all in ruin!’ So [He] shout[s].” (A, 405-406)

Odysseus order shows how he downplays the path towards Scylla by not mentioning how dangerous Scylla is and only mentions how dangerous Charydbis is. The article and the Odyssey show how in both scenario, leaders deceive the ones they lead because the leaders believe it would cause more harm. The leader in the article would be Germany leading its citizens and the leader in the Odyssey is Odysseus leading his crew members.

Slackman, Michael. “Germany, Unscathed, Remains a Hub of the Terrorism Scare.” New York Times. 13 Oct 2010.

Link:

“On Aug. 5, 2010, a gold and copper mine near the northern city of Copiapó, Chile caved in, trapping 33 miners in a chamber about 2,300 feet below the surface.”  There was no word of their survival for quite some time and so it was believed that none of the miners had survived.  But miraculously when communication was established, all the miners were alive and well.  The only problem was trying to rescue them.  On October 12, the first of the miners were rescued and so the process of rescuing the miners began.  As the miners came out, family welcomed them however they were taken away for medical treatment.  Experts say that the miners will still face obstacles such as post dramatic reactions that can last a couple months.

This article is similar to the story of Odysseus in The Odyssey.  Odysseus is being held against his will by Calypso on an island where he is unable to escape.  His family, just like the families of the miners are anxiously awaiting for his return. Penelope says, “How I long for my husband-alive in memory, always, the great man whose fame resounds through Hellas right to the depth of Argos.” (Page 268 line 394) It would be a miracle for Odysseus to return back to Ithaca just like the miners to be alive and well after being trapped for so long.  However, in the case of the miners and Odysseus, they both survive their hardships and return back to their family.  When Odysseus returns he is skeptical about what is going to happen upon his return so he disguises himself until he finds out more information.  This is an example of a post dramatic reaction which is also what experts say is an obstacle that the miners will have to face.

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/chile_mining_accident_2010/index.html?scp=4&sq=miners%20trapped%20underground&st=cse

God is love,

-Sajjad Ali

An article written in the New York Times called, “Floating at the Edge of a Dream” and Odysseus has uncanny characteristics. “Floating at the Edge of a Dream” is a feature story about a promising athlete, Erick De Leon. He is one of the top amateur boxers in America, and a 2012 Olympic hopeful. De Leon faces a major problem. He has not yet acquired a U.S citizenship. He needs a citizenship in order to represent America in the 2012 Olympics. The title of this article, along with De Leon’s endless desire to compete, relates to Odysseus.  These men have a tough road ahead. For De Leon, he must acquire a U.S citizenship and win his matches to qualify for the Olympics. Similarly, Odysseus has an arduous road ahead before he will home and unite with his family. Both of these men share the same fighting spirit though, as said by Eurylochus; “You’re a hard man, Odysseus. Your fighting spirit’s stronger than ours, your stamina never fails. You must be made of iron head to foot.” (A, 407) These men share the same character traits. Neither De Leon nor Odysseus will ever quit. Their toughness and drive as fighters and love for their family is unprecedented. Odysseus motivation is to make it home and unite with his wife and son. De Leon seeks inspiration from his father, a construction man. “Construction — it’s too hard, and I feel bad for him. I wish I could just make him stop working. So every time I see him working, I got to work hard, too.”  Both of these man will accomplish their objectives because of their persistence and determination.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/11/sports/11boxer.html?pagewanted=print

The Odyssey narrates the days of the king of Ithaca, the great hero Odysseus. In the story Odysseus is kept captive and away from his home for many years. Odysseus endures a really long journey and he has to survive endless ordeals in order to return home to his waiting wife, Penelope, and his son Telemachus;     “Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twist and turns driven time and again off course, […] many pains he suffered, heartsick on the open sea, fighting to save his life and bring his comrades home. […] But one man alone… his heart set on his wife and his return.” (A, 259)

            Similar to the ordeals Odysseus suffers, are the ordeals encounter by the 33 miners trap for more than two months beneath the earth in Chile. These miners are kept away from home and their love ones enduring a physical and mental challenge by being trap beneath the earth with little room, air and food. Like Odysseus, these miners are setting their hearts to overcome and do everything they can to make sure they come back home with their families;              “There have been hard moments, beautiful moments, sad moments, moments filled with happiness, nights where we were cold here,” said Juan Sánchez, 48, the father of Jimmy Sánchez, the youngest of the trapped miners. “But we just kept going, trusting in God that this would all work out. Right now all I feel is happiness; it’s like calm has come over us.” (The New York Times)

Alexei Barrio Nuevo and Christine Hauser.  “Drill Reaches Miners in Chile, but Risks Remain.” The New York Times. Web October 09, 2010. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/10/world/americas/10chile.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=miners&st=cse>

In the recent years there have been many scientific movement that have evolved the way we live today. One that has been show great results but mostly banned is the research of using stem cells. Stem cells can benefit areas as in diabetes and Parkinsons. In the New York Times article “Stem Cells in Court, Scientists Fear for Careers” shows stem cell researchers have all the abilities to practice the trades taken away during the Bush Administration and regains them very briefly as soon as President Obama is put into office. Recently the Federal District Court has ruled differently from President Obama and has made it difficult to tell the future of stem cell research. Similar to the tale of Job, an honest man who has so much and thanks God for all of his success, but through no fault of his own is stripped of all his goods. The main similarities between Job and the Stem Cell researchers is the lack of fault, they are both subject to the rule of higher powers.

Another comparison is the people suffering from the lose of others. When God chooses to take everything from Job, not only does Job suffer but his family also is put through misery as can be seen  in Chapter 2  when Job’s wife is tired of what is going on and tells Job to “curse God and die” (P.127). Compared to the Times article the future researches that are coming into the field were threatened that they would have no career when they get out of college. Their lives would not have the same purpose in helping other find cures for people. The New York Times reports “Junior scientists like Dr. Spence, poised to start their own laboratories, are caught in limbo. Senior scientists like Dr. Wells are torn between pursuing research they believe in and protecting students from staking their job prospects on projects they may never be able to complete.” a clear example careers  and lives are at stake.

The Book of Job strongly relates to a recent New York Times article called “Suicides Put Light on Pressures of Gay Teenagers” where the protagonists are in a dilemma. As a result, the protagonists Job and Seth Walsh are both suffering. In addition, both of them are the characters or persons being attacked by an attacker who is the opposing force. Job is being attacked by God who places several obstacles before Job by basically cursing his fortune he has. Job is cursed in several ways, for example, “the fire of god fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them” (126) in which the fire god annihilated Job’s sheep and servants as a result of God’s curse. In the New York Times article, Seth Walsh is being abused for being gay, “Seth went into the backyard of his home in the desert town of Tehachapi, Calif., and hanged himself, apparently unable to bear a relentless barrage of taunting, bullying and other abuses at the hands of his peers.” They are both in a sense, helpless because Job is a mortal, and Seth Walsh is only part of a small community.

Although there are similarities between Job’s story and the New York Times article, there are also differences. In Job’s case God’s curse on Job can not be comprehended by mortals. In Seth Walsh case, he was abused because the teens wanted to taunt and bully him out of pure enjoyment. Secondly, the end result of both stories is different because although Job and Seth Walsh cursed their lives, Job did not commit suicide, but Seth did. Lastly, Job was actually rewarded by God after the trials he faced, but Seth doesn’t seem be even remotely rewarded.

McKinley, Jesse. “Suicides Put Light on Pressures of Gay Teenagers.” New York Times 4 Oct. 2010, New York ed.: A9. Print.

A major theme in the Book of Job is trying to understand why an all-powerful God allows good people to suffer. In the article “U.S. Apologizes for Syphilis Tests in Guatemala it states that, “from 1946 to 1948, American public health doctors deliberately infected nearly 700 Guatemalan prisoners…with venereal diseases in what was meant as an effort to test the effectiveness of penicillin.”  At first doctors used prostitutes to spread the diseases but when that did not work, they forcefully poured or injected bacteria into the prisoners. After all was said and done, there were no results. Susan M. Reverby said, “whether everyone was then cured is not clear.”

These tests were inhumane and cruel to the prisoners.  Although the prisoners were not innocent like Job, these tests were not a part of their jail sentence.  These tests can be related to the punishments given to Job.  It seemed as if God and Satan were having a competition to see if Job was really a God fearing man. So first Job receives news that his livestock, and children have died.  Job mourns but still blesses God and does not curse him. When this did not work, Satan appears in heaven again, and God grants him another chance to test Job. Satan says “touch his bone and flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.” (pg127) This time, Satan afflicted Job with boils on his face.  Again Job does not curse God.  In end result, Job passes the test but is forced to suffer for no given reason.

To these Guatemalan prisoners, the American doctors were God like figures because they were the ones who pulled the strings in the prison.  They were able to do whatever tests they wished for their own gain and at the expense of the prisoners. In the instance of Job, he was like the prisoners.

-Sajjad Ali

              In a time of tragedy, one always questions if they deserve it. We are always taught that good things happen to good people but when something bad happens to a good person it blows us away. In The Book of Job, we see just that. Despite Job being a truly pious man who was admired by all, he suffered a string of misfortune caused by Satan. Satan was determined to prove to God that Job wasn’t as wise as he led on. First, Job’s children were killed and then Job himself became ill. None of Job’s friends could understand the reasoning behind what was happening. On page 131, line 8, Job’s friends asked him, “is not your wickedness great?” The only rational explanation they could come up with, was that he must’ve betrayed God. Job knew that he was innocent and never turned his back on God regardless of all the misfortune that came his way.  Job’s fear of God superseded his fear of Satan and as a result he was given back all that was lost.

               In the New York Times article “Defendant Ignited Fire, Cheshire Prosecutors Tells Jury”, Dr. William Petit Jr. was the sole survivor of a horrific event that killed his wife and his children.  Dr. William Petit Jr. and his family were robbed by two men. After they ransacked the house, the burglars raped and killed his wife, tied down his children, doused them in gasoline and lit the house ablaze. Now the two killers involved are facing trial. One man is being tried this year and may face the death penalty, while the other man’s trial is next year. When reading the article and seeing pictures of the victims, you have to question why this would happen to Dr. Petit and his family. What did they do to deserve this? Unfortunately there is no accurate answer to this question, everyone has their own perspective and we must accept that. The story of Job teaches us that we cannot judge or understand Gods plan, only God can see the big picture and we should not try to figure it out ourselves.

The Book of Job asks the question, “Why does God permit human suffering?” (A,125). There is no one person, man or woman, no matter how morally conscious, who is exemt from suffering. In the Book of Job, the main character, Job, has a blessed life. He has health, family, and holds a prestigious position in society. Job does not take his life for granted. He is sure to thank God every morning, and apoligize on his childrens behalf “if they have sinned, or cursed God in their hearts.” (A, 126.)
In the New York Times, Nicole John, 17 year old daughter to the U.S Ambassador of Thailand, Eric G. John, had a very similar life. She was beautiful, intelligent, rich, and among the elite status in society. She had all the oppurtunity to live a very fulfilling and joyous life. Although Nicole and Job shared similar material assets, Nicole was far more reckless. She was well aware of her privelaged lifestyle and lived as if she were to die tomorrow. 
In the Book of Job, the devil hints to God that Job would betray God if God had not blessed his life so much. The devil challenges God to make Job suffer, and see how Job responds. The Lord finally said to Satan “Behold, he is in your power; only spare his life.” The devil takes everything from Job; yet Job remains steadfast and stays loyal to God. He even cursed the day of his birth. “Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the nght which said, ‘A man-child is concieved.'”
Nicole John was never challenged. She had everything at her fingertips. On August 27, 2010, after a night of partying, Nicole fell to her death. No matter the circumstances with her lifestyle, no one could ever predict that she would pass away so abubtly.
Nicole John’s death was a tragedy. It goes back to the initial question of “Why does God permit human suffering?” Nicole John was a beloved daughter, a sibling, and her family’s life is changed forever. There is no definitive answer to the question, but the book of Job’s lessons and themes still apply to everyday life.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/27/ambassadors-daughter-falls-to-death/?scp=1&sq=nicole%20john&st=cse