EXAMPLES OF ESSAY PROMPTS

1 Following the crowd/public/society

A Do people need to compare themselves with others in order to appreciate what
they have?
Yes:
We tend to take what we have for granted. Comparisons with others help us
appreciate what we have and sympathize with the less fortunate. Siddhrtha Gautama
was a spiritual teacher from ancient India who founded Buddhism. At the age of 29,
Siddhartha left his palace to meet his subjects. Despite his father's efforts to hide from
him the sick, aged and suffering, Siddhartha was said to have seen an old man. When his
charioteer Channa explained to him that all people grew old, the prince went on further
trips beyond the palace. On these he encountered a diseased man, a decaying corpse, and
an ascetic. These depressed him, and he strove to overcome ageing, sickness, and death
by living the life of an ascetic.
No:
The first reason to avoid comparing yourself with others is that there will be
always someone better than you. Our personal achievement will never be truly
satisfactory if it has to be put into and justified by comparison with others, since there is
always someone out there who is simply more lucky, if not more capable, than we are.
Even the champion will inevitably be surpassed by the next champion. Yes Bobby Fisher,
Kasparov, Spassky were all the undisputed greatest world chess champions ever, yet they
all eventually were defeated by something that is so unexpected but unavoidable a
computer, which is designed by mere engineers who know nothing more than digits like 0
or 1s.
The second reason to elude this kind of comparison is that you will always
find someone worse than you, but as opposed to the first reason, this can make you
feel better than the others, and this feeling can turn into a horrible pride. During the
American Revolution War, the British seemed unbeatable. During the previous 100 years,
the British had enjoyed triumph after triumph over nations as powerful as France and
Spain. At first glance, the odds were clearly against the Americans. Britain's military was
the best in the world. Their soldiers were well equipped, well disciplined, well paid, and
well fed. The British navy dominated the seas. Funds were much more easily raised by
the Empire than by the Continental Congress. The Americans had tremendous difficulty
raising enough funds to purchase basic supplies for their troops, including shoes and
blankets. But the over-confidence of the British side led to its quick defeat.
B Are widely held views often wrong, or are such views more likely to be
correct?
Yes:
Although not all of the widely held views are true, most of them are both
correct and useful. The MMR vaccine controversy refers to the claims that autism
spectrum disorders can be caused by the MMR vaccine, an immunization against
measles, mumps and rubella. Before these claims were made, MMR vaccine was widely
believed to be totally safe. Claims of a connection between the vaccine and autism were
raised in a 1998 paper in The Lancet, a respected British medical journal. Investigation

by Sunday Times journalist Brian Deer discovered that the lead author of the article,
Andrew Wakefield, had multiple undeclared conflicts of interest, had manipulated
evidence, and had broken other ethical codes. The Lancet paper was retracted, and
Wakefield was found guilty by the General Medical Council of serious professional
misconduct in May 2010 and was struck off the Medical Register, meaning he could no
longer practice as a doctor.
Long before the scientists could give any evidence to support the claim, smoking
was widely believed to cause cancer. This affected the policies of many countries
regarding the regulation of tobacco consumption. Later on, scientists successfully proved
that tobacco smoke contains at least 80 different cancer-causing substances. When you
inhale smoke, these chemicals enter your lungs and spread around the rest of your body.
Scientists have shown that these chemicals can damage DNA and change important
genes. This causes cancer by making your cells grow and multiply out of control.
No:
Widely held views are usually incorrect due to false or weak justification.
Slave trade gained increasing popularity throughout the 18th and 19th century, but by the
21st century was viewed as immoral, showing that ubiquitous ideas are usually wrong. At
the beginning of the 18th century only 15% of the plantations across America used slave
labor; however, by the start of the 19th century over 95% of the plantations in America
used slave labor. The justification for the slave trade was that the dark skin of the
Africans was a sign of inferiority sent by God. The idea of slavery became so prevalent
across the world that in 1778 over 123 countries were practicing some sort of slavery.
The view that slavery was morally justified was expressed all throughout the world
during the time of the slave trade. However, Lincoln abolished slavery and in a recent
poll taken in 2003 99.2% of all responses said that slavery was immoral and unjust.
In the novel Hamlet by Shakespeare, Hamlet sets of on a quest to denounce the
widely held belief that his fathers death was a suicide. When King Hamlet was murdered
by Claudius, a wide spread belief formed stating that the king had committed suicide.
However, the ghost of the dead king told Hamlet that contrary to the widespread belief,
he was actually murdered by Claudius. Hamlet then sets off on a mission in order to
disprove the incorrect idea that his father had committed suicide which had marred the
Hamlet name. In the end, Hamlet causes Claudius himself to admit to the murder and the
entire country of Denmark realizes that the prevalent belief of the kings suicide had been
based of erroneous information. Hence, the quickly popularized belief that King Hamlet
had committed suicide which nearly everyone in Denmark believed except Hamlet was
debunked. This proves that one should check the basis and facts of a widely held view
before joining in belief.
C Is there any value for people to belong only to a group or groups with which
they have something in common?
Yes:
The identification of oneself as a member of a group makes them feel secure
and motivates them to fight against discrimination.
The Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) was a grassroots anti-Apartheid
activist movement that emerged in South Africa in the mid-1960s out of the political
vacuum created by the jailing and banning of the African National Congress and Pan
Africanist Congress leadership after the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960. The BCM

represented a social movement for political consciousness. The BCM attacked what they
saw as traditional white values, especially the 'condescending' values of white people of
liberal opinion. They refused to engage white liberal opinion on the pros and cons of
black consciousness, and emphasized the rejection of white monopoly on truth as a
central tenet of their movement. While this philosophy at first generated disagreement
amongst black anti-Apartheid activists within South Africa, it was soon adopted by most
as a positive development. As a result, there emerged a greater cohesiveness and
solidarity amongst black groups in general, which in turn brought black consciousness to
the forefront of the anti-Apartheid struggle within South Africa.
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and
defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women.
Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights. Feminism is mainly focused on
women's issues, but because feminism seeks gender equality, some feminists argue that
men's liberation is therefore a necessary part of feminism, and that men are also harmed
by sexism and gender roles. Feminists are "person[s] whose beliefs and behavior[s] are
based on feminism." Feminist activists have campaigned for women's rightssuch as in
contract, property, and voting while also promoting women's rights to bodily integrity
and autonomy and reproductive rights. They have opposed domestic violence, sexual
harassment, and sexual assault. In economics, they have advocated for workplace rights,
including equal pay and opportunities for careers and to start businesses.
No:
People think of themselves as belonging to families, nations, cultures, and
generationsor as belonging to smaller groups whose members share ideas, views,
or common experiences. All of these kinds of groups may offer people a feeling of
security but also prevent them from learning or experiencing anything new, as well
as limiting their perspectives.
Following a peaceful march on 6 August 2011 in relation to the police response to
the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan by Metropolitan Police Service firearms officers on 4
August 2011, a riot began in Tottenham, North London. In the following days, rioting
spread to several London boroughs and districts and eventually to some other areas of
England, with the most severe disturbances outside of London occurring in Bristol and
cities in the Midlands and North West of England. The riots were characterised by
rampant looting and arson attacks of unprecedented levels. Five people died and at least
16 others were injured as a direct result of related violent acts. An estimated 200 million
worth of property damage was incurred, and local economic activity was significantly
compromised.
Al-Qaeda is a global militant Sunni Islamist group founded by Osama bin Laden
sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a
multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global
Jihad. Al-Qaeda has attacked civilian and military targets in various countries, such as the
September 11 attacks, 1998 US embassy bombings and 2002 Bali bombings. The US
government responded by launching the War on Terror. Al-Qaeda has continued to exist
and grew through the decade from 2001 to 2011. Al-Qaeda is also responsible for
instigating sectarian violence among Muslims.
D Is it always best to determine one's own views of right and wrong, or can we
benefit from following the crowd?

Yes
It is always important to determine ones own views and question the validity
of public beliefs. Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 April 4, 1968) was an
American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights
Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights
in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the
teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. King is often presented as a heroic leader in the history of
modern American liberalism. A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early
in his career. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president. King's efforts led
to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.
There, he expanded American values to include the vision of a color blind society, and
established his reputation as one of the greatest orators in American history.
While going along with the crowd may be the easiest path in life, that does not
necessarily make it the best, especially not when it comes to ethics and morality. The
novel To Kill a Mockingbird is set in a racist, southern town by the name of Maycomb.
Atticus Finch, a lawyer, is presented with a case that entails defending the innocence of a
black man accused of raping a white woman. Surely his social status would plummet, and
there was almost no chance of his winning the case, but that did not stop him. He braced
himself and his children for the wrath of the townspeople that would undoubtedly be
incurred. It is because of people like him that America today has seen such tremendous
changes in racial equality. Had he just followed society's norms, prejudice would never
be overcome.
No
We can benefit from following the crowd.
According to three professors at the London Business School (LBS), you're better
off being greedy when others are greedy that is, you should buy the most popular stocks
and sell the least popular. Their study looked at the 100 largest UK stocks from 1900.
They looked at the return generated from buying the 20 best performers over the previous
12 months, holding them and then adjusting the portfolio every month. The results are
pretty conclusive. The strategy produced an annual average return 10.3% higher than a
strategy built around buying the worst performers of the last 12 months.
The Arab Spring is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring
in the Arab world. Since 18 December 2010 there have been revolutions in Tunisia and
Egypt; a civil war in Libya; civil uprisings in Bahrain, Syria, and Yemen; major protests
in Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, and Oman, and minor protests in Kuwait, Lebanon,
Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Western Sahara. The protests have shared
techniques of civil resistance in sustained campaigns involving strikes, demonstrations,
marches and rallies, as well as the use of social media, such as Facebook, Twitter,
YouTube, and Skype, to organize, communicate, and raise awareness in the face of state
attempts at repression and internet censorship. The most important achievements of the
revolutions Arab spring, is to remove the nightmares of fear from the minds of the
peoples of the region, and then intimidate the referees and the threat of accountability and
public trials.
E Is it more valuable for people to fit in than to be unique and different?
Yes

Fitting into a circle simply means assimilating one into a specific

circumstance, which can be a workplaces culture, a races tradition or even a
nations mission. It is vital for the people to possess this incorporation nature as it
brings fruition of success. One of the renowned companies in employing the technique
of fitting in would be Google Inc., the world largest online search engine company. Every
job applicant is talented and unique on his own, however, the Google only shortlists those
talents that can actually fit into their companys culture and mission. The same theory
applies to the admission guide of a prominent university. Instead of enrolling student who
is distinct yet unable to fit into the school culture, the admission dean will definitely
prefer the students who can contribute to the school that is able to fit into their school
mission.
No
To achieve great things, one needs to have unique perspectives. Frederick
Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1818[2] February 20,
1895) was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from
slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling
oratory and incisive antislavery writing. He stood as a living counter-example to
slaveholders' arguments that slaves did not have the intellectual capacity to function as
independent American citizens. Many Northerners also found it hard to believe that such
a great orator had been a slave. Douglass wrote several autobiographies, eloquently
describing his life as a slave, and his struggles to be free. After the Civil War, Douglass
remained active in the United States' struggle to reach its potential as a "land of the free".
Douglass actively supported women's suffrage. Following the war, he worked on behalf
of equal rights for freedmen, and held multiple public offices.
F Are people more likely to be productive and successful when they ignore the
opinions of others?
Yes
Sometimes one has to fight against the opinions of others in order to become
successful. William Harvey (1 April 1578 3 June 1657) was an English physician who
was the first person to describe completely and in detail the systemic circulation and
properties of blood being pumped to the body by the heart. At the time of Harvey's
publication of circulation of the blood, Claudius Galen had been an influential medical
authority for several centuries. The works of Galen were widely taught and remain
accepted within context in western and eastern medical encyclopedic references. Harvey's
discoveries inevitably and famously came into conflict with Galen's teachings and the
publication of his treatise incited considerable controversy. Some doctors affirmed they
would "rather err with Galen than proclaim the truth with Harvey." Enmity towards
Harvey grew among some doctors in the seventeenth century. But it was his book that
made him an important figure in both the history of medicine and of human. Despite the
initial hostility, Harveys work has now been widely recognized.
Einstein said: "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from
mediocre minds."
No
In the highly competitive environment we live in today, only those individuals
with a strong personal point of view and persistence in following the path they have
chosen for themselves manage to rise to the top. However, even these strong-minded

individuals would not hesitate to attribute some of their success to the advice and
opinions of others, for without learning from others experiences and insights, we
risk becoming narrow-minded and isolated. A perfect example of a man who ignored
the opinions of others and thus contributed to his own downfall can be found in
Shakespeares play, Julius Caesar. After having successfully carried out their plan to
assassinate Caesar and end tyranny, Cassius urges Brutus to kill off Antony, Caesars
loyal friend, as well. He advises Brutus against allowing Antony to speak at Caesars
funeral, and in the battle against Antony, counsels Brutus to keep his armies at Camp
Sardis rather than advance to Philippi. Brutus ignores Cassius advice on all three
occasions, and his obduracy, though based on his lofty principles and self-proclaimed
moral integrity, is to his detriment: Antony survives, riles up the Romans against Brutus
and Cassius using emotionally manipulative rhetoric, and eventually defeats Brutus army
at Philippi.
Jo, heroine of Louisa May Alcotts Little Women manages to avoid making
Brutus mistake. Her prowess as a writer evident from an early age, she decides to turn
her literary skills towards churning out short stories, each more sensational than the
previous; she smothers any guilt she may feel about writing on such lurid subject matters
by reminding herself that each paycheck for each story goes towards paying her familys
debts. However, her father and Professor Bhaer, the two men she esteems the most, both
tell her that she can do better, and heeding their advice, Jo finally pens a story which,
though it brings her no pecuniary income, satisfies her family, her friends and her own
soul to the brim.
G Should people take more responsibility for solving problems that affect their
communities or the nation in general?
Yes
Sometimes when people depend too much on their government, it leads to
dire consequences. In 1789, France was on the verge of a revolution because the
government in Paris was too harsh on the citizens. Hunger, disease, and death had
become norms of the community. Therefore, the people attacked the Bastille, and decided
to take the matter into their own hands. As a result, Napolean became emperor of France
and grabbed the reins of the countrys status because the people wanted him to. In the
following years France reached the apex of its territorial conquests and secured a very
powerful status in Europe.
No
Most of the time, intervention from people leads to devastating consequences
to the economy and politics of a country. Since 2008, there has been an ongoing
political crisis in Thailand in form of a conflict between the People's Alliance for
Democracy (PAD) and the People's Power Party (PPP) governments of Prime Ministers
Somchai Wongsawat and Samak Sundaravej, respectively, and later between the
Democrat Party government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and the National United
Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD). It is a continuation of the 20052006
political crisis, wherein the PAD protested against the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party
government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. As the crisis is ongoing and fluid, the
final economic consequences of the crisis are as yet unclear. After a state of emergency
was declared on 2 September 2008, the SET Index reached its lowest point since January
2007. The baht hit a one-year low of 34.52 per US dollar, prompting the Bank of

Thailand to intervene. The PAD seizure of Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi Airports is
estimated to have cost the Thai economy at least three billion Baht (approximately
US$100 million) a day in lost shipment value and opportunities. As of 1 December 2008,
the number of stranded passengers was estimated at anywhere from over 100,000 to
350,000. The April 2009 unrest was reported to have caused nearly 10 million Baht
(approximately 300,000 USD).

2 Following authority/government
A Should we pay more attention to people who are older and more experienced
than we are?
Yes
We should pay more attention to people who are older and more experienced
than we are. They tend to have more perspicacity about things that the younger lack
and therefore, the older can provide vital guidance that can help the young succeed
in ways unimaginable. During the harsh winter of 1824, the Sioux tribe was at war with
a neighboring tribe. Chief Blackheart of the Sioux tribe understood that it was too cold to
be attacking the Chippewa tribe, but the tribal members pushed him to take advantage of
the unforgiving weather and wage a surprise attack on the naive and unsuspecting
members of the Chippewa tribe. After pondering the possible consequences of either
decision, Chief Blackheart consulted a few tribal elders. The elders unanimously decided
from past experience that it would be more advantageous to not attack in such cold
conditions. Later that spring, Chief Blackheart was able to lead the Sioux tribe to victory
because his tribal members were well-rested and uninjured. Had they attempted the
surprise attack, several crucial members would have been weak and injured. The elders'
experiences proved to be correct.
No
We should always seek out something new. The Frontier Thesis, also referred to
as the Turner Thesis, is the argument advanced by historian Frederick Jackson Turner in
1893 that the origin of the distinctive egalitarian, democratic, aggressive, and innovative
features of the American character has been the American frontier experience. He
stressed the processthe moving frontier lineand the impact it had on pioneers going
through the process. In the thesis, the frontier created freedom, by "breaking the bonds of
custom, offering new experiences, and calling out new institutions and activities." Turner
first announced his thesis in a paper entitled "The Significance of the Frontier in
American History", delivered to the American Historical Association in 1893 at the
World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
B Should society limit people's exposure to some kinds of information or forms
of expression?
Yes:
Censorship is necessary to the stability and peace of the society. The
dangerous pursuit of knowledge is at the heart of Frankenstein, as Victor attempts to
surge beyond accepted human limits and access the secret of life. Likewise, Robert
Walton attempts to surpass previous human explorations by endeavoring to reach the
North Pole. This ruthless pursuit of knowledge, of the light, proves dangerous, as Victors
act of creation eventually results in the destruction of everyone dear to him, and Walton
finds himself perilously trapped between sheets of ice. Whereas Victors obsessive hatred

of the monster drives him to his death, Walton ultimately pulls back from his treacherous
mission, having learned from Victors example how destructive the thirst for knowledge
can be.
No:
A society is only able to progress if all citizens have access to all kinds of
information and hence, the ability to make the best decisions. This ability is only
available in a society free of censorship. 1984 is a political novel written with the
purpose of warning readers in the West of the dangers of totalitarian government. Having
witnessed firsthand the horrific lengths to which totalitarian governments in Spain and
Russia would go in order to sustain and increase their power, Orwell designed 1984 to
sound the alarm in Western nations still unsure about how to approach the rise of
communism. Orwell was deeply disturbed by the widespread cruelties and oppressions he
observed in communist countries, and seems to have been particularly concerned by the
role of technology in enabling oppressive governments to monitor and control their
citizens. In 1984, Orwell portrays the perfect totalitarian society, the most extreme
realization imaginable of a modern-day government with absolute power. The title of the
novel was meant to indicate to its readers in 1949 that the story represented a real
possibility for the near future: if totalitarianism were not opposed, the title suggested,
some variation of the world described in the novel could become a reality in only thirtyfive years. Orwell portrays a state in which government monitors and controls every
aspect of human life to the extent that even having a disloyal thought is against the law.
As the novel progresses, the timidly rebellious Winston Smith sets out to challenge the
limits of the Partys power, only to discover that its ability to control and enslave its
subjects dwarfs even his most paranoid conceptions of its reach.
C Can a group of people function effectively without someone being in charge?
Yes:
There are many examples in which a group of people function effectively
without anyone being the leader. Self-managed teams have proven to be a success and
an important element of learning organization. These teams are group of employees who
work together on their own ways towards a common goal determined by the team. The
team also takes the responsibility of training, safety, scheduling etc. Each team member is
given the skills, information, tools, motivation, and authority to make decisions central to
the teams performance and to respond creatively and flexibly to new challenges. An
example of such team is ALPHA team of James River Corporations Kendallville Plant
where this team made boxes of cardboards as defined by top executives and the team is
responsible for their training, scheduling, recognition and rewards etc.
No:
Forming a group is in the human nature; humans tend to select exemplary
leaders to take care of them and to make important decisions. These leaders inspire
each individual to try his best to achieve his goal. In the movie Avatar, Jake Sully
comes to a planet away from the Earth. He receives a mission to befriend the Naviis and
to convince them so that the humans can attain the valuable resources. However, Jake
soon falls in love with the leader of the Naviis' daughter and decides to protect the
natives. Overpowered by the technological development of the humans, the natives were
about to give up and hide. Jake Sully, then, made a speech that inspires the Naviis and the
other Navii tribes to fight for their planet. With the lead of Jake, the Naviis gathered up

all of their military arms, and defeated the humans. Thus, Jake stood up to lead the
Naviis, who were about to give in, and lead them to victory.
The needs and interests of the individuals who make up any group are too
varied for its members to operate as a unit without having someone to make the
final decisions. Somebody has to be in charge; somebody has to be ultimately
responsible. Martin Luther King Jr. led the African Americans to fight for their rights.
While they were subjects of segregation and racial prejudice, no one had yet attempted to
question the authority. However, when Martin Luther King rose up to right for the Civil
Rights, the African Americans succeeded in witnessing the repealing of the segregation of
the bus by boycotting for 15 months with the lead of MLK and Rosa Parks. The African
Americans would have disseminated during the Civil Rights Movement (if they had even
started one) without a prominent leader like MLK. Luther, therefore, united the African
Americans and succeeded in achieving their goal.
D Is it important to question the ideas and decisions of people in positions of
authority?
Yes:
If one does not question authority, the people of the in no positions of
authority would become mindless slaves to tyrants and despots. During ancient
Greece in the 200 BCEs, modern logical thinking began to see its birth. The man known
for coalescing book smart and common sense was Socrates. Perhaps his most important
contribution to Western thought is his dialectic method of inquiry, known as the Socratic
method or method of "elenchus", which he largely applied to the examination of key
moral concepts such as the Good and Justice. To solve a problem, it would be broken
down into a series of questions, the answers to which gradually distill the answer a person
would seek. Socrates taught his students to always ask the question why. No matter
what an authority said, Socrates told his students to always ask the reasoning behind it.
The leaders of Classical Greece feared the new power that had been enthralled in the
educated mass and persecuted Socrates. Even though Socrates was charged for
corrupting the youth, his concepts of questioning authority lived on to his disciples
(Plato). If the Greeks did not follow Socratess lead, the democratic government of
Classical Greece would have never been an archetype of successful government.
No:
It is more important to create a harmony between the ruler and the ruled.
Loyalty is an important element of Confucianism. It is particularly relevant for the social
class to which most of Confucius' students belonged, because the only way for an
ambitious young scholar to make his way in the Confucian Chinese world was to enter a
ruler's civil service. Confucius had advocated a sensitivity to the realpolitik of the class
relations in his time; he did not propose that "might makes right", but that a superior who
had received the "Mandate of Heaven" should be obeyed because of his moral rectitude.
He believed that it was more important to create a harmony in the society, a harmony that
benefitted in the development and prosperity of China throughout the Medieval Era.
E Is education primarily the result of influences other than school?
Yes:
Education is not simply and intellectual ability that one achieves at school; it
incorporates every facet of one's life that occupies any significant amount of time or
importance. Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist born in Dole. He is

remembered for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and preventions of diseases.
He was only twenty-six years old when Pasteur solved a problem that had been puzzling
the great chemists of the day. However, Pasteur did not do very well in elementary
school, preferring instead to go fishing and paint. His headmaster, however, spotted
potential in Pasteur and encouraged him to go to Paris to study. So, aged fifteen Pasteur
set off for Paris hoping to study for his entrance exams. Unfortunately, the young Pasteur
was so homesick that his father had to travel to Paris to bring him home.
No:
Even though the education experience goes far beyond the realms of the
classroom, a good school or college gives students not only the foundation for their
academic and career future, but also a mind of their own. "Bill" Gates is an American
business magnate, philanthropist, author and chairman of Microsoft, the software
company he founded with Paul Allen. Gates is one of the best-known entrepreneurs of the
personal computer revolution. Gates graduated from Lakeside School in 1973. He scored
1590 out of 1600 on the SAT and enrolled at Harvard College in the autumn of
1973.While at Harvard, he met Steve Ballmer, who later succeeded Gates as CEO of
Microsoft. He dropped out of school before the completion of his degree because he
wanted to start a company. Had Microsoft's chairman and chief executive officer stayed
in school, he would have learned why monopolistic practices that limit customer choice
like predatory pricing, bundling, and exclusionary contracts are illegal. If Bill Gates
hadn't dropped out of Harvard University, Microsoft Corp. might have avoided the
antitrust problems it's facing today.
F Should schools help students understand moral choices and social issues?
Yes:
A good morality within the citizens is the key to a healthy society. Moralities
can be taught just like knowledge. Since the day we were born, our parents have been
teaching us what are the rights and wrongs. It is important to keep up this education
because as we grow up, our mind becomes more complex. When we reach teenage, we
are facing many difficult choices like studying, relationships, and drugs. If we make a
wrong decision, the result will most likely to be on the street or become part of the gang
violence, which destroys the moral of our society. Without a good morality in society, our
life would be very insecure. I recall having learnt about the diseases associated with
smoking and drugs when I was in grade 6 at elementary school. The presenter displayed
many astonishing facts and personal experiences. For example, up to ninety percent of all
male drugs abusing students in high schools will be involved in street gang violence.
Moreover, these students life span will be shortened by at least thirty percent due to the
diseases and violence associated. Despite these fearful facts, there are many nave
teenagers who think of smoking and drugs are cool. These students are wrong to ignore
the guidance of their teachers and parents. In Canada, all high schools are required to
have a planning class that will guide students through their early adulthood after
graduating. In this class, students must learn about how to get the most suitable job, how
to spend budget wisely, and the harmfulness of different drugs.
Almost 2500 years ago, the philosopher Socrates debated the question with his
fellow Athenians. Socrates' position was clear: Ethics consists of knowing what we ought
to do, and such knowledge can be taught.
No:

Moralities and social issues can only be explored in real life. The moral theme
of Great Expectations is quite simple: affection, loyalty, and conscience are more
important than social advancement, wealth, and class. Dickens establishes the theme and
shows Pip learning this lesson, largely by exploring ideas of ambition and selfimprovementideas that quickly become both the thematic center of the novel and the
psychological mechanism that encourages much of Pips development. First, Pip desires
moral self-improvement. He is extremely hard on himself when he acts immorally and
feels powerful guilt that spurs him to act better in the future. When he leaves for London,
for instance, he torments himself about having behaved so wretchedly toward Joe and
Biddy. Second, Pip desires social self-improvement. In love with Estella, he longs to
become a member of her social class, and, encouraged by Mrs. Joe and Pumblechook, he
entertains fantasies of becoming a gentleman. The working out of this fantasy forms the
basic plot of the novel; it provides Dickens the opportunity to gently satirize the class
system of his era and to make a point about its capricious nature. Significantly, Pips life
as a gentleman is no more satisfyingand certainly no more moralthan his previous
life as a blacksmiths apprentice. Third, Pip desires educational improvement. This desire
is deeply connected to his social ambition and longing to marry Estella: a full education
is a requirement of being a gentleman. As long as he is an ignorant country boy, he has no
hope of social advancement. Pip understands this fact as a child, when he learns to read at
Mr. Wopsles aunts school, and as a young man, when he takes lessons from Matthew
Pocket. Ultimately, through the examples of Joe, Biddy, and Magwitch, Pip learns that
social and educational improvement are irrelevant to ones real worth and that conscience
and affection are to be valued above erudition and social standing.

3 Following creativity and the arts

A Is it always better to be original than to imitate or use the ideas of others?
Yes:
Only through originality can one stand out. William Shakespeare was an
English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English
language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national
poet and the "Bard of Avon. His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist
of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His
plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more
often than those of any other playwright. His writing style is unique he coined many
new words and many phrases that later on became popular in real life, such as Come
what come may ("come what may") (Macbeth), What's done is done (Macbeth), etc.
Language was truly a vehicle of expression for him, as he developed new ways of using it
to his advantage. He is also credited with inventing the form of the Shakespearean (also
called the "English") sonnet. It differs from the earlier Petrarchan sonnet form in rhyme
scheme and stanza construction.
No:
Originality is difficult to maintain, in fact some say its impossible. It is not
fine to be original in that originality doesn't necessarily mean good or success. The
technology of todays society is clearly ever-changing and is where new machines come
to the market almost every second. And none of these items are completely original, yet
they may be very useful and significant. For example, lets take the ordinary sedan; the

Toyota Camry is the most popular car in America. But the present 2010 version has been
preceded by hundreds of models of other cars. This doesnt make the Toyota Camry
insignificant or a mere imitation because the car is used by millions of people and will be
used as a blueprint for future cars. Merely copying a design doesnt make the new design
less valuable, but more valuable because it may provide later generations with new
innovations. One of the most innovative and creative companies existing today is
Nintendo. The multi-billion company created one of the most innovative pieces of
technology in 2006; the product was called the Wii, and it revolutionized gaming. It
featured a remote that required the player to move their hands and arms to play the game.
This technology opened a doorway to video gaming that has produced many more
gaming ideas. Without a doubt the Wii is valuable and successful, and it actually isnt
original. The Power Glove was a gaming technology that was released in 1989 that
featured the same technology as the Wii. The Power Glove was copied as merely an
inspiration, and use of the technology did not reduce the Wiis significance or value.
B Is it better for a society when people act as individuals rather than copying the
ideas and opinions of others?
Yes:
Without individualism, a uniform society has no momentum to move
forward. Society functions quite well when every citizen heeds the law. However, as
individuals, society is filled with unique people who all draw upon their quirks and
idiosyncrasies from one source or another. History has even shown this type of uniform
society before through World War II. Hitler and his Nazi regime controlled the minds of
German society, resulting in all of the same type of thinking, attitude, and hatred towards
the Jewish race. When everyone put all their eggs into one basket, no one could really
veer off track to realize that Hitler was being incredibly vile and ridiculous by trying to
exterminate the Jews. Hitler almost succeeded, too, if it wasnt for others who had
stepped in to intervene and had other ways of thinking.
No:
Individualism may lead to alienation. Throughout the novel The Catcher in the
Rye, Holden seems to be excluded from and victimized by the world around him. As he
says to Mr. Spencer, he feels trapped on the other side of life, and he continually
attempts to find his way in a world in which he feels he doesnt belong. As the novel
progresses, we begin to perceive that Holdens alienation is his way of protecting himself.
Just as he wears his hunting hat to advertise his uniqueness, he uses his isolation as proof
that he is better than everyone else around him and therefore above interacting with them.
The truth is that interactions with other people usually confuse and overwhelm him, and
his cynical sense of superiority serves as a type of self-protection. Thus, Holdens
alienation is the source of what little stability he has in his life. As readers, we can see
that Holdens alienation is the cause of most of his pain. He never addresses his own
emotions directly, nor does he attempt to discover the source of his troubles. He
desperately needs human contact and love, but his protective wall of bitterness prevents
him from looking for such interaction. Alienation is both the source of Holdens strength
and the source of his problems. For example, his loneliness propels him into his date with
Sally Hayes, but his need for isolation causes him to insult her and drive her away.
Similarly, he longs for the meaningful connection he once had with Jane Gallagher, but

he is too frightened to make any real effort to contact her. He depends upon his
alienation, but it destroys him.
C Is creativity needed more than ever in the world today?
Yes:
Creativity is the key factor to succeed. Google Inc., the popular Internet search
engine, is an example of creativity in the internet world. Google has succeeded by
innovating its technology and business model. It has a creative idea to identify and solve
the problem of assessing the quality of search results by using the number of links
pointing to a page as an indicator of the number of people who find the page valuable.
Therefore, Google's search results became far more accurate and reliable than those from
other companies, and now Google's dominance in the field of Internet search is almost
absolute. Creativity also brings about flexibility, which is very important in the trend of
globalization.
No:
People can achieve nothing with only creativity. They cannot make objects into
immediate practical application by create them in their mind. It is the practical work and
execute their design that would make sense. Edison, the notable American inventor,
served as an excellent example. It is widely known that Edison had finished over
thousands of inventions throughout his life. Among them is one of the famous story about
light bulb. It is said that when Edison planned to invent a light bulb, he did not know
which material is the most apposite one. Therefore, he had to do experiments and to test
each chosen materials. When Thomas Edison was interviewed by a young reporter who
boldly asked Mr. Edison if he felt like a failure and if he thought he should just give up
by now. Perplexed, Edison replied, "Young man, why would I feel like a failure? And
why would I ever give up? I now know definitively over 9,000 ways that an electric light
bulb will not work. Success is almost in my grasp." And shortly after that, and over
10,000 attempts, Edison invented the light bulb. The number of his experiment may have
astounded people and not anybody can evaluate the amount of work that Edison had to
do. He may be creative enough, which can be demonstrated by numerous far-reaching
inventions, while we can see that diligent is the crucial element to his success and maybe,
more important than creativity.
D Can people ever be truly original?
Yes
Merely copying something is much easier than creating a new idea. But not
everyone takes the easy way out. Although it is an arduous task, being truly original is
possible, and Emily Dickinson exemplifies this ideal. Emily Elizabeth Dickinson
(December 10, 1830 May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Born in Amherst,
Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly
introverted and reclusive life. After she studied at the Amherst Academy for seven years
in her youth, she spent a short time at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary before returning
to her family's house in Amherst. Thought of as an eccentric by the locals, she became
known for her penchant for white clothing and her reluctance to greet guests or, later in
life, even leave her room. Most of her friendships were therefore carried out by
correspondence. Although Dickinson was a prolific private poet, fewer than a dozen of
her nearly eighteen hundred poems were published during her lifetime. Dickinson's
aberrant lifestyle was also reflected by her poetry. She did not follow the rules of

traditional iambic pentameter Shakesperian sonnets. Instead, she did as she pleased. Her
peculiar grammar, syntax, and diction contributed to her deviating style. She had no
regard for meter and rhyme. Dickinson created the slant rhyme and her poems were in
misshapen four line stanzas. Moreover, the controversial topics of death, love, and
immortality all contributed to Dickinson's originality. Although many people copy her,
Emily Dickinson is regarded as one of the best American poets because she was truly
original.
No:
The truth is, for many different respects of art, a tried and tested formula has
already been created. Straying away from that conventional formula will only cause a
decrease in audience and will not increase originality. Take song-writing, for example.
Nearly every single song on the radio today follows the strict intro-verse-chorus-verseoutro structure. Using this structure is the only way musical artists can engage awareness
without boring them with, for instance, a really long verse or confusing them with an out
of place chorus. The topics that most songs cover in their lyrics are also very similar:
love, relationships, and break-ups. Any new song that is made is just another set of notes
and words that fit the template that is prescribed for all modern-day musicians, at least for
the ones that aspire to be famous and successful.
E Do we put too much value on the ideas or actions of individual people?
Yes:
Overvaluing the ideas or actions of some individuals may have devastating
effects. Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the
National Socialist German Workers Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche
Arbeiterpartei, abbreviated NSDAP, commonly known as the Nazi Party). He was
Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state (as Fhrer und
Reichskanzler) from 1934 to 1945. Hitler is most well known for his central leadership
role in the rise of fascism in Europe, World War II and the Holocaust. Hitler's policies and
orders resulted in the death of approximately 40 million people, including about 27
million in the Soviet Union. The actions of Hitler, and of the Hitler's ideology, Nazism,
are almost universally regarded as gravely immoral. Historians, philosophers, and
politicians have often applied the word evil to describe Hitler's ideology and its
outcomes. Historical and cultural portrayals of Hitler in the west are overwhelmingly
condemnatory. For example, the denial of the Holocaust along with the display of Nazi
symbols such as swastikas, is prohibited by law in Germany and Austria.
No:
Throughout history, prominent figures have made important decisions that
have monumental effects. Surely such individuals should be celebrated and valued.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the
United States (19331945) and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th
century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world
war. The only American president elected to more than two terms, he facilitated a durable
coalition that realigned American politics for decades. FDR's persistent optimism and
activism contributed to a renewal of the national spirit. He worked closely with Winston
Churchill and Joseph Stalin in leading the Allies against Germany and Japan in World
War II, but died just as victory was in sight. The rapid expansion of government programs
that occurred during Roosevelt's term redefined the role of the government in the United

States, and Roosevelt's advocacy of government social programs was instrumental in

redefining liberalism for coming generations. Roosevelt firmly established the United
States' leadership role on the world stage, with pronouncements such as his Four
Freedoms speech, forming a basis for the active role of the United States in the war and
beyond. Reflecting on Roosevelt's presidency, "which brought the United States through
the Great Depression and World War II to a prosperous future", said FDR's biographer
Jean Edward Smith in 2007, "He lifted himself from a wheelchair to lift the nation from
its knees.
F Does planning interfere with creativity?
Yes:
Too much planning can lead people to follow the same predetermined course
of action, to do things the same way they were done before. Creative thinking is about
breaking free from the way that things have always been. That is why it is vital for people
to know the difference between good planning and too much planning. Dan Browns
books are, though well planned, often criticized for being repetitive. The same formula is
used in all of his books: a brilliant and funny protagonist must unlock some secret code
with the help of an equally brilliant and funny romantic interest, and also ally him or
herself with a third character at some point in the story. Then, the third character will
invariably turn out to be evil and betray the first two. It could be that before The Da Vinci
Code, Brown was not a household name, and chances are he just guessed that if you were
reading one of his books, you probably hadnt read any of the others, so he was safe.
Obviously, thats no longer the case, so if Brown is half as clever as his characters, hell
abandon this hackneyed, paint-by-numbers approach to plot and really give us something
original.
No:
What may apparently seem creative and capricious at first may, in fact, be
partially planned. In the piece wirtten for the piano called "Rondo Cappricioso in E
Major", by Mendelssohn, the music weaves through a series of fantastic melodies filled
with a surplus of brilliant scales and concordant chords. One can most definitely label
this piece as creative. But just because it was creative does not necessarily mean it was
unplanned. In fact, the opposite is true. In Mendelssohn's biography, he notes that for
every piece he composed, some form of planning was put into it. In particular, for the
"Rondo Cappricioso in E Major," he had to take care not to let the piece suddenly jump
into an odd key, such as f sharp minor. Furthermore, he had to take care that one of the
themes was constantly maintained. So even though at superficial appearance this creative
work of art seems unplanned, it was actually carefully planned. Moreover, as seen in
Georgia O'Keefe's work of arts, planning most definitely does not interfere with the
creativity in painting either. Although many laud her work as exemplary and full of every
kind of creativity possible, O'Keefe admits that she, too, planned her work. Oftentimes, at
her home in the Southwest, she would sit outside on her porch and decide to pain the
beautiful scenery out there. In addition, she would plan her artwork so that there might be
a child holding a flower here or a nonexistent tree over there. Clearly, O'Keefe also
planned her artwork, but she expertly did not let it interfere with her creativity.
Sometimes she was compelled to paint at a moment's notice, but never did she not plan
out first what she was going to paint.
G Is the main value of the arts to teach us about the world around us?

Yes
Art is a reflection of the time they were created: the joy or angst of people in
a particular point in time. A historical analysis of fine arts, for example, will surely
reveal how people have reacted to the world around them. Following the disasters of
so called human rationality in World War One, artists of the time reflected their shock,
despair and emotion towards the events surrounding them. They reacted against human
"rationality" and created works which seemed highly irrational, such as the trend of
surrealist painters and cubists like Picasso, who in his famous work "Guernica,"
represented his horrow towards the events surrounding the war in his homeland Spain.
The artists who spearheaded the Surrealist movement, creating works like 'Guernica',
exposed the horrors of war, which they experienced first-hand, to the masses. Shocking
and absurd pieces of art forced the public to learn how cruel and ruthless Man can be
when given enough power over others. Those who learned of the lows to which man can
plummet also found surrealist art to be a venue for emotional/spiritual education and
growth, a lens through which to begin to make sense of an increasingly chaotic world.
A closer analysis of some modernist works would reveal how well they attempted
to embed real world scientific trends in the form and style of their writing. Influenced by
the works of Sigmund Freud, writers like Virginia Woolf and William Faulkner pioneered
the technique of stream of consciousness. Stream of consciousness, in its extreme form
apparent in Faulkner's The Sound and The Fury, attempted to reflect the reality of the
human thought process, incorporating long strings of broken sentences and "subliminal"
words into the text to reflect the stream of thoughts of the character.
No
Art should only be treated as the expression of imagination. "Jupiter's eagle
[as an example of art] is not, like logical (aesthetic) attributes of an object, the concept of
the sublimity and majesty of creation, but rather something else something that gives
the imagination an incentive to spread its flight over a whole host of kindred
representations that provoke more thought than admits of expression in a concept
determined by words. They furnish an aesthetic idea, which serves the above rational idea
as a substitute for logical presentation, but with the proper function, however, of
animating the mind by opening out for it a prospect into a field of kindred representations
stretching beyond its ken." -Immanuel Kant
4

Motivation and success

a Hardships and mishaps leading to success
A Do people truly benefit from hardship and misfortune?
Yes
People truly benefit from hardship and misfortune due to the adaptability of
facing these heartbreaking moments. Though difficulties often topple assiduous
workers to stray from overcoming arduous times, these experiences amass confidence in
future approach. Steve Jobs endurance with Apple and Gandhi epitomize the thesis.
Steve Jobs ability to overcome the hardship in the beginning to present Apple
aided in forming Apple to become the most illustrious technological company worldwide.
Though one of the three founders of Apple, John, had sold portion of stocks for a minute
amount of money, the two Steves managed to encounter the bountiful problems during
their escalation of popularity. For instance before the presentation of iPods, the

aggressive entrepreneur borrowed the ideas from renowned companies such as Microsoft
and Iriver to bring perfection in the Apple products. Thus having rivals with these
companies, Apple was not abased to learn from others globally-leading companies and
eschew the mistakes avidly. Also recently after the proposal of Iphone 4G, Apple was
criticized of its malfunctioning product in stock. With haughty attitude, initiative Steve
Jobs ignored the problem of reception of the network; however, with constant malicious
comments regarding the new phone, Steve has decided to sell supplemental products to
appease the disgruntled consumers. If Steve Jobs had not vied against these multiple
aspects of hardships, would Apple have become a comely and canonical company that it
has become today?
Mohandas Gandhi, an Indian civil rights leader, bore the struggles to lead the
Indian denizens with an unpopular belief of peaceful protest, thus achieving global
spiritual leadership and independence of India. While some citizens desired violent action
toward the British Empire in India, Gandhi fervently encouraged the grassroots to
practice nonviolent activities with his demonstration of patience against the adversary.
For instance, when the residents sought non-peaceful act, Gandhi fasted for an indefinite
amount of time (He conducted fasting for 21 days). Also he led the Great Salt March
which was the cornerstone of the liberty of India. In this movement, his advocates and he
endured hits from British soldiers with patience. If Gandhi had not encouraged the
Indians to follow his lead even in hardships initially, would India have been able to
endure the cruelty yet to come before the liberation of India?
No:
Some hardship is fine, but people who are repressed and abused their whole
life don't end up brilliant or better off for it. How much innovation and heroism have
we seen coming out of Rwanda, Darfur or North Korea? They wouldn't tell you that their
hunger and misfortune benefit them. The North Korean famine (also known as the
Arduous March or the March of Tribulation) was a famine in North Korea which began
in the early 1990s. Estimates state that, from a population of approximately 22 million,
between 900,000 and 3.5 million people died from starvation or hunger-related illnesses,
with the deaths peaking in 1997. In the 1980s and 1990s, the North Korean economy
relied heavily upon favorable trading terms with the Soviet Union; following the
dissolution of the Soviet Union, North Korea entered a period of internal industrial
decline,[6][7] from which it has yet to fully recover. This meant that North Korea was
unable to continue to fuel its input-heavy agricultural system, and food production went
into decline. North Korea also experienced severe flooding, meaning much of the
country's limited farmland was unusable. Due to the country's reclusive nature, it simply
did not have the foreign currency reserves necessary to supplement domestic food
production with imports. North Korea has not yet resumed its food self-sufficiency and
relies on external food aid from China, Pakistan, Japan, South Korea and the United
States.
B Do we really benefit from every event or experience in some way
Yes:
We learn from every event in our life. Nelson Mandela served as President of
South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in
a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an antiapartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African

National Congress (ANC). In 1962 he was arrested and convicted of sabotage and other
charges, and sentenced to life in prison. Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island
where he remained for the next eighteen of his twenty-seven years in prison. While in
jail, his reputation grew and he became widely known as the most significant black leader
in South Africa. On the island, he and others performed hard labour in a lime quarry.
Whilst in prison Mandela undertook study with the University of London by
correspondence through its External Programme and received the degree of Bachelor of
Laws. He was subsequently nominated for the position of Chancellor of the University of
London in the 1981 election, but lost to Princess Anne.
The assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995 was one of the
most tumultuous events in Israeli history, yet it served as an important lesson that protects
and unites Israeli citizens to this day. In November 4th 1995, Yigal Amir, an Israeli rightwing radical, murdered one of Israel's most revered Prime Ministers in front of the whole
nation on live television. The assassination resulted in a pandemonium which' uproar still
echoes in the Israeli political arena. However, the grief over Yitzhak Rabin's death united
the Israeli citizens and the occurrence itself caused a vast improvement in security
measures taken around the country. Hence, a horrendous event that shocked a whole
nation still caused an improvement in national security and brought the people of Israel
together: two things Israeli citizens benefit from to this day.
No:
Not all of the events that happen to us are beneficial. Amy Jade Winehouse (14
September 1983 23 July 2011) was an English singer-songwriter known for her
powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B,
soul and jazz. Amy had a stormy marriage to Blake Fielder-Civil who himself admitted
that he introduced Amy to heroin and cocaine. In 2007, Fielder-Civil reported that Amy
went into seizures and stopped breathing after a three-day celebratory bender on alcohol,
heroin and cocaine. Winehouse was found dead on 23 July 2011, at her home in London.
C Do people place too much emphasis on winning?
Yes:
Winning is a sensation that attracts reverence from other professionals and
outsiders alike. Winning is glorified and winners are worshipped. Although people who
win do deserve to be rewarded, todays society places too much importance on being
number one. This distorts our image of the losers, who may actually also be
winners in their own right. In a hundred years time, people will remember the 2008
presidential election for Barack Obama. They will remember Obama in the same way that
we remember George Washington, Thomas Jefferson or James Madison. John McCain
will probably be relegated to a footnote. People only remember those who win. Political
commentators will spend most of their time scrutinizing the presidency of Barack
Obama, not the Senate career of John McCain. Decades from now, school children will
learn how Obama became the first African-American president; it is doubtful that they
will know who John McCain was. Historians will write volumes of books about Obama
and his presidency. But, there will be a paucity of scholarly research about McCain. It
will seem like that McCain never existed. The difference in treatment of winners and
losers demonstrates the stress on winning in our society. The winner, literally, takes all.
No:

Winning drives people to achieve new heights and accomplish feats never
before done. Michael Fred Phelps (born June 30, 1985) is an American swimmer who
has, overall, won 16 Olympic medalssix gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and
eight gold at Beijing in 2008, becoming the most successful athlete at both of these
Olympic Games editions. In doing so he has twice equaled the record eight medals of any
type at a single Olympics achieved by Soviet gymnast Alexander Dityatin at the 1980
Moscow Summer Games. His five golds in individual events tied the single Games
record set by compatriot Eric Heiden in the 1980 Winter Olympics and equaled by Vitaly
Scherbo at the 1992 Summer Games. Phelps holds the record for the most gold medals
won in a single Olympics; his eight at the 2008 Beijing Games surpassed American
swimmer Mark Spitz's seven-gold performance at Munich in 1972. Phelps' Olympic
medal total is second only to the 18 Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina won over three
Olympics, including nine gold. Furthermore, he holds the all-time record for most
individual gold Olympic medals, at nine. Phelps's international titles and record breaking
performances have earned him the World Swimmer of the Year Award six times and
American Swimmer of the Year Award eight times. He has won a total of sixty-six medals
in major international competition, fifty-four gold, nine silver, and three bronze spanning
the Olympics, the World, and the Pan Pacific Championships. His unprecedented
Olympic success in 2008 earned Phelps Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the
Year award.
D Do people learn more from losing than from winning?
Yes:
Loss invites reflection and a change of strategies. In the process of recovering
from your losses, you learn how to avoid them the next time. In MY LOSING
SEASON, Conroy takes the reader through his last year playing basketball, as point
guard and captain of the Citadel Bulldogs. Flashing back constantly to the drama of his
coming of age, he presents all the conflict and love that have been at the core of his
novels. Conroy vividly recreates his senior year at that now-famous military college in
Charleston, South Carolina, but he also tells the story of his heartbreaking childhood and
of the wonderful series of events that conspired to rescue his spirit. In the 1966-67
season, the Citadel basketball team enjoyed a few victories and suffered a string of
defeats, but their true triumphs came when the team pulled together and played the kind
of joyous basketball that exceeded the sum of the players' individual talents. And their
true humiliations came at the hands of their disciplinarian coach, who counted on the fear
and cowering obedience he inspired in his young players to carry the day on the court. In
young Conroy, the coach's intimidations also inspired an odd, crouching form of love that
echoed his relationship with his own fearsome father.
No:
Athletes learn more from winning than losing. Andy Murray, the Scottish
tennis player, has made three Grand Slam finals (US Open 2008, Australian Open in 2010
and 2011) and, in them, lost nine straight sets. Murray has been criticised for his
generally passive style of play and lack of offensive weapons, prompting some to call
him a pusher. Does his desire have as much to do with getting to the finals as then
collapsing in them?
E Does true learning only occur when we experience difficulties?
Yes:

True learning only occurs when we face adversities because by facing such
wall of hardship, one can have an opportunity to look back on one's life and fix any
former misconceptions. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the 1969 autobiography
about the early years of an African-American writer and poet Maya Angelou. The first in
a six-volume series, it is a coming-of-age story that illustrates how strength of character
and a love of literature can help overcome racism and trauma. The book begins when
three-year-old Maya and her older brother are sent to Stamps, Arkansas, to live with their
grandmother and ends when Maya becomes a mother at the age of 17. In the course of
Caged Bird, Maya transforms from a victim of racism with an inferiority complex into a
self-possessed, dignified young woman capable of responding to prejudice.
No:
We learn from all the events in our life, not only from the difficulties that we
face. Comparisons with others also motivate us to improve ourselves. In Great
Expectations, Dickens shows Pip exploring ideas of ambition and self-improvement
through comparisons with others. At heart, Pip is an idealist; whenever he can conceive
of something that is better than what he already has, he immediately desires to obtain the
improvement. When he sees Satis House, he longs to be a wealthy gentleman; when he
thinks of his moral shortcomings, he longs to be good; when he realizes that he cannot
read, he longs to learn how. Pips desire for self-improvement is the main source of the
novels title: because he believes in the possibility of advancement in life, he has great
expectations about his future.
F Does being ethical make it hard to be successful?
Yes:
Being ethical can make it hard to become successful. Robert James "Bobby"
Fischer (March 9, 1943 January 17, 2008) was an American chess Grandmaster and the
11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of
all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author. Widely considered a "chess legend",
at age 13 Fischer won a "brilliancy" that became known as The Game of the Century.
However, he was known for having made numerous hateful anti-Jewish statements and
professed a general hatred for Jews. He had no friends, and didn't care what it took for
him to win. He was also demanding everything to how he wanted for a chess game, eg.
lighting, how many people in the crowd and how far they where away, type of board, etc.
No:
One can always achieve a high degree of success while maintaining an
impeccable ethical standard. Dorothea Lynde Dix (April 4, 1802 July 17, 1887) was
an American activist on behalf of the indigent insane who, through a vigorous program of
lobbying state legislatures and the United States Congress, created the first generation of
American mental asylums. After she returned to America, in 1840-41, Dix conducted a
statewide investigation of how her home state of Massachusetts cared for the insane poor.
In most cases, towns contracted with local individuals to care for people with mental
disorders who could not care for themselves, and who lacked family and friends to
provide for them. Unregulated and underfunded, this system produced widespread abuse.
After her survey, Dix published the results in a fiery report, a Memorial, to the state
legislature. "I proceed, Gentlemen, briefly to call your attention to the present state of
Insane Persons confined within this Commonwealth, in cages, stalls, pens! Chained,
naked, beaten with rods, and lashed into obedience. The outcome of her lobbying was a

bill to expand the state's mental hospital in Worcester. During the Civil War, she served as
Superintendent of Army Nurses.
G Can knowledge be a burden rather than a benefit?
Yes:
Knowledge, in the wrong hands, spells out a recipe for disaster, that is, it will
be more of a burden than a benefit. The dropping of atom bombs on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki in World War II is a prime example of how the ill-usage of knowledge can be a
huge burden and lead to tragedy. During this period, scientists had just realized the
incredible potential of uranium and plutonium; they also realized that if improperly used,
it could lead to devastating consequences. In the final stages of World War II in 1945, the
United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945 and the second on August 9, 1945. Within
the first two to four months of the bombings, the acute effects killed 90,000166,000
people in Hiroshima and 60,00080,000 in Nagasaki, with roughly half of the deaths in
each city occurring on the first day. During the following months, large numbers died
from the effect of burns, radiation sickness, and other injuries, compounded by illness. In
a US estimate of the total immediate and short term cause of death, 1520% died from
radiation sickness, 2030% from flash burns, and 5060% from other injuries,
compounded by illness. In both cities, most of the dead were civilians.
No:
Knowledge is what one makes of it. Knowledge alone cannot be a burden or a
benefit. It is simply a piece of information that anticipates human interpretation. Henry
Alfred Kissinger served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary
of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. After his
term, his opinion was still sought by many following presidents and many world leaders.
A proponent of Realpolitik, Kissinger played a dominant role in United States foreign
policy between 1969 and 1977. During this period, he negotiated the Paris Peace
Accords, ending American involvement in the Vietnam War. Kissinger says that "In
August 1965... [Henry Cabot Lodge], an old friend serving as Ambassador to Saigon, had
asked me to visit Vietnam as his consultant. I toured Vietnam first for two weeks in
October and November 1965, again for about ten days in July 1966, and a third time for a
few days in October 1966... Lodge gave me a free hand to look into any subject of my
choice". He became convinced of the meaninglessness of military victories in Vietnam,
"...unless they brought about a political reality that could survive our ultimate
withdrawal." Along with North Vietnamese Politburo Member Le Duc Tho, Kissinger
was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 1973, for their work in negotiating
the ceasefires contained in the Paris Peace Accords on "Ending the War and Restoring
Peace in Vietnam,"
H Is persistence more important than ability in determining a person's
success?
Yes:
Ability is useless unless one has a drive to be successful. As the Civil War
neared, many Northerners feared the Confederate Souths military leaders. Led by
famous Stonewall Jackson, the South thought that they had the edge in the war because
of their genius tactics. The North, however, was fueled with passion. They strived for a
free nation and this was their chance. The North succeeded in winning many battles, but

was aided even more after Lincolns Gettysburg Address. His passionate speech forced
the Northern army to become even more persistent in their battles. Their victory in the
Civil War demonstrated that persistence has a more powerful effect than sheer skill.
No:
It is the ability that decides whether people could solve the problem or not. If
people do not have the ability to think out the solution, they will be stuck with their
troubles, no matter how long it takes. It is not rare that there are exercises that one could
not solve in spite of spending his whole life, but the other one could within 1 month, for
instance. Or in high jump, an athlete could try his best to jump up to about 1,5 meter.
Nevertheless, because he has reached his maximum of his ability, so however hardtraining he is, he would not be able to get over that limitation, or in other words, he does
not have the ability to jump higher. So, without the ability, the patience or persistence
would not help people to succeed in any difficulty.
I Is the effort involved in pursuing any goal valuable, even if the goal is
not reached?
Yes:
First, the process of doing something is more enjoyable than the outcome.
This can be proven by the example of Thomas Edison. He was by nature an inquisitive
person. The idea of generating an incandescent lamp flashed into his mind when he was
observing fireflies shining bioluminescently in his garden. Since then, Edison spent many
nights observing fireflies and at the same time, worked on the miracle lighting system.
After many years having spent more than $40,000 and upon failing for more than 1000
times, with a thin piece of carbon filament, several strips of grass, Edison had managed to
produce a man-made firefly, i.e. an incandescent lamp that could last for approximately
48 hours, and this was the foundation of our lighting system today. What you can do and
what you want to do is possible, I may have given birth to an amazing lighting system for
mankind and people are satisfied with that, but I believe the process of creating the lamps
are far more enjoyable, Edison once said.
b Self-confidence and self-determination
A Is identity something people are born with or given, or is it something
people create for themselves?
Scientists have successfully shown that there is a connection between genes
and personality. Everyone has a copy of the GTF2I gene, which controls the activity of
many other genes. But children born with a one of the variants of the GTF2I gene have a
strong desire to make eye contact and seek social interactions. Scientists speculate that
GTF2I "might regulate signal pathways determining the structure and function of the
brain or the production of neurohormones".
While some people consider identity as coming from the way people are
raised and the environment people are brought up with, others believe identity is
rendered through a humans own conscience and his or her choice of being. Well
known as a civil rights activist and preacher, Martin Luther King Jr.s identity has been
greatly molded through individual development and self-conscience. Raised in Atlanta,
Georgia among the harshly punished black community, Martin refused to take up the role
as a worthless being given by the high socialite white community. Initially, Martin
managed to graduate college with a degree in theology and also become the president of
the black communitys Christian Leadership Conference. Trough years of vigorous work

and travels past societies hardship, Martin gained the identity as a figure who refused to
be defined under societys law, later even gaining the Nobel Peace Prize.
Mahatma Gandhi was not the spiritual, pacifist that we know him to be since birth
but only developed such ways after cementing values that he chose to live and lead his
country by. Gandi came to India as a bright scholar from England in search of
discovering his true homeland that he had not seen much of as a child. In part, his journey
was a way to discover his roots and, in turn, his identity formed. Gandhi saw that a storm
was brewing in India and the violence with which the British were ruling India with.
Such experiences caused Gandhi to form antipodal values and resulted in him leading a
non-violent revolt after he climbed up the leadership ladder in India. The gruesome
torture and violence exhibited by the British caused Gandhi to abide by his values and
'ahimsa', fasting to draw attention to his cause of non-violence. Thus, Gandhi developed
his identity due to experiences, values, and experience and not through innate means as
he led India to independence, cementing his identity forever as the Father of
Independence and as the ultimate pacifist.
B Is it best for people to accept who they are and what they have, or
should people always strive to better themselves?
Yes:
People should learn to accept who they are and what they have. Happiness
and self-fulfillment do not come from always striving for what you don't have. Ludwig
Mies van der Rohe (March 27, 1886 August 17, 1969) was a German architect. Ludwig
Mies van der Rohe, along with Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier, is widely regarded as
one of the pioneering masters of Modern architecture. Mies, like many of his post World
War I contemporaries, sought to establish a new architectural style that could represent
modern times just as Classical and Gothic did for their own eras. He created an influential
20th century architectural style, stated with extreme clarity and simplicity. His mature
buildings made use of modern materials such as industrial steel and plate glass to define
interior spaces. He strived towards an architecture with a minimal framework of
structural order balanced against the implied freedom of free-flowing open space. He
called his buildings "skin and bones" architecture. He sought a rational approach that
would guide the creative process of architectural design. He is often associated with the
aphorisms "less is more" and "God is in the details". By getting rid of all that was
ornamental and superficial he pioneered a new path to beauty and to modern living.
No:
To be satisfied is to be stagnant. Getting the most out of life means having the
most opportunities. History gives us plenty of examples of people who had a positive
impact on the world and on themselves by striving to reach for better things. Vclav
Havel (born 5 October 1936 in Czechoslovakia) is a Czech playwright, essayist, poet,
dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia (198992)
and the first President of the Czech Republic (19932003). He has written over twenty
plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally. He has received the US
Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Philadelphia Liberty Medal, the Order of Canada, the
freedom medal of the Four Freedoms Award, and the Ambassador of Conscience Award.
He was also voted 4th in Prospect Magazine's 2005 global poll of the world's top 100
intellectuals. He is a founding signatory of the Prague Declaration on European
Conscience and Communism. Beginning in the 1960s, his work turned to focus on the

politics of Czechoslovakia. Not satisfied with the communist regime in his country of
Czechoslovakia, he wrote essays denouncing the ruling regime and organized others to do
the same. His unceasing efforts and his refusal to be satisfied with the way things were
led to his becoming president of his country and led also to the freedom of his people.
After the Prague Spring, he became increasingly active. In 1977, his involvement with
the human rights manifesto Charter 77 brought him international fame as the leader of the
opposition in Czechoslovakia; it also led to his imprisonment. The 1989 "Velvet
Revolution" launched Havel into the presidency. In this role he led Czechoslovakia and
later the Czech Republic to multi-party democracy. His thirteen years in office saw
radical change in his nation, including its split with Slovakia, which Havel opposed, its
accession into NATO and start of the negotiations for membership in the European
Union, which was attained in 2004.
C Do success and happiness depend on the choices people make rather
than on factors beyond their control?
A persons success and happiness in life is very much determined based on
their own choices. In One Hundred Years of Solitude, Amaranta is the third child of
Jos Arcadio Buenda. She never marries and spends most of her life consumed in
personal bitterness towards Rebeca, who first gained the attentions of Pietro Crespi.
Amaranta eventually drives Pietro Crespi to suicide and wears a black bandage for the
rest of her life in contrition. Lonely all her life, she has relationships with her nephew and
great-great-nephew that are tinged with incestuous feelings. She receives a preminition of
death many years before and dies perfectly prepared and perfectly at peace. Amaranta
spends her entire life alone because of her choices to distance herself from her family and
friends. Her own decisions stop her from being able to live a prosperous or joyous life.
Another example is the many people from impoverished backgrounds who
became successful later in life. One cannot choose how they are born, whether that is in
terms of family status, financial status, or other factors. Many American presidents came
from humble backgrounds. Abraham Lincoln and George Washington both never
received formal instruction, but were self-taught and able to converse and debate with the
most well-educated people. They implemented extremely successful policies, with
Washington starting a new country that would become a superpower, and Lincoln
keeping that country together through a civil war. Washington and Lincoln both actions
led them to both become immensely successful despite their immutable humble roots.
D Are people more likely to be happy if they focus on goals other than
their own happiness?
Yes:
Fulfilling ones goal can make them feel happy. Mother Teresa focused her time
and efforts on bettering the lives of the less fortunate, rather than her own happiness. At
the age of eighteen she left her parental home in Skopje and joined the Sisters of Loreto,
an Irish community of nuns with missions in India. After a few months' training in Dublin
she was sent to India, where on May 24, 1931, she took her initial vows as a nun. From
1931 to 1948 Mother Teresa taught at St. Mary's High School in Calcutta, but the
suffering and poverty she glimpsed outside the convent walls made such a deep
impression on her that in 1948 she received permission from her superiors to leave the
convent school and devote herself to working among the poorest of the poor in the slums
of Calcutta. Although she had no funds, she depended on Divine Providence, and started

an open-air school for slum children. Soon she was joined by voluntary helpers, and
financial support was also forthcoming. This made it possible for her to extend the scope
of her work. The Society of Missionaries has spread all over the world, including the
former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. They provide effective help to the
poorest of the poor in a number of countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and they
undertake relief work in the wake of natural catastrophes such as floods, epidemics, and
famine, and for refugees. The order also has houses in North America, Europe and
Australia, where they take care of the shut-ins, alcoholics, homeless, and AIDS sufferers.
The Missionaries of Charity throughout the world are aided and assisted by Co-Workers
who became an official International Association on March 29, 1969. By the 1990s there
were over one million Co-Workers in more than 40 countries. Along with the CoWorkers, the lay Missionaries of Charity try to follow Mother Teresa's spirit and charism
in their families. Mother Teresa's work has been recognised and acclaimed throughout the
world and she has received a number of awards and distinctions, including the Pope John
XXIII Peace Prize (1971) and the Nehru Prize for her promotion of international peace
and understanding (1972). She also received the Balzan Prize (1979) and the Templeton
and Magsaysay awards.
.
E Is it more important to do work that one finds fulfilling or work that
pays well?
F Do people achieve greatness only by finding out what they are
especially good at and developing that attribute above all else?
Vincent Van Gogh the dutch artist known for his famous paintings the sunflowers and
starry night didn't realize he was into painting until his late twenties. He first worked as a
store clerk and a missionary. Not until his early thirties did van gogh hold a brush. He
later drew around 4000 paintings but ironicly sold only one for profit. Van Gogh wasn't
an appreciated artist at his time, but got famous after his death. Vincent illusrates the
image of a man who didn't really knew what did he want, but ended up as one of the
greatest artist of his time and ours' as well. This shows that people can achieve greatness
without planning for it.
c Self-expectation leading to success
A Do highly accomplished people achieve more than others mainly
because they expect more of themselves?
People with more successful accomplishments often expect more of themselves. It
is a well known fact that hard working hard and higher standards will lead to success,
which is true for everyone. However, many people underestimate their own abilities.
This results in them giving up instead of working hard. Louis Braille and Tsar Nickolas II
are the perfect examples to illustrate this
It is necessary to expect more of ourselves in order to be successful. Louis Braille
invented the language Braille so that the blind people can read. Braille was blind since he
was twelve years old. From that day on, he promised his family members and friends that
he would invent a new language for the blind people like himself. He never gave up his
dreams and finally invented the language Braille which is the official reading language
for the blind today. During his invention, he expected himself to work hard and did not
give up. This attitude was the main reason why he succeeded. Napoleon once said Effort

only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit. Braille received his reward of
fame and appreciation from the blind people even today. Without Braille, blind people
can never enjoy the convenience to read a book. From this example, we can clearly see
that efforts and expectations for ourselves are vital for us to become successful.
More expectations will lead to success, while underestimating oneself can lead to
failure. Nicolas II was the last Tsar of Russia. He doubted his own ability of ruling and he
was overthrown by the people. Even though he was wise and quick thinking, his
inconfidence led him to failure. Many of his decisions were made by his greedy ministers
because Nicolas was unable to decide due to his underestimation of himself. Finally, on
March 1917, he was overthrown by the democratic parties. According to many historians,
if Nicholas II was able to be confident and use his wisdom, he could have become one of
the greatest Tsars. This example tells us that we cannot underestimate ourselves. It is
important to know what we are capable of and work hard to achieve our goals.
B Can people achieve success only if they aim to be perfect?
C Is it best to have low expectations and to set goals we are sure of
achieving?
It is important to set goals that reside above and beyond one's level of
comfort, such that one can discover true potential.
Take the example of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was born to a family of clerks in
Illinois. He led a humble childhood in a small, one room cabin. Despite of these modest
conditions, Lincoln wanted his political thought to be known and expressed to the rest of
the nation. Consequently, he set a rather high goal- becoming the President of the United
States. Through determination and applying the principle of honesty towards his work,
Lincoln eventually achieved his dream. Although Lincoln came from a modest
background, he didn't hesitate to set goals beyond what he considered as his limits. This
suggests that the only way to become successful is through the process of setting and
attaining high goals.
The Apollo Project, initiated by NASA fosters a similar situation. During the
Soviet-American space race of the 1950s, NASA declared its intentions to send
astronauts to the moon. Most of the American people scoffed at the idea. The USSR was
ahead of the USA in terms of aerospace technology, and the goal itself seemed unfeasible.
Moon missions could only be encompassed within the pages of science fiction novels.
Despite of discouraging remarks from the public, the Apollo team was able to send men
to the moon via Apollo 11 in 1969. By setting a goal that seemed out of reach, NASA
achieved an aerospace feat that is yet to be duplicated by other nations. The Apollo
project is regarded as the hallmark of NASA's creations.
d Collaboration leading to success
A Is it necessary for people to combine their efforts with those of others
in order to be most effective?
It is necessary for people to combine their efforts with those of others in
order to be most effective. Robin Hood is a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly
skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the
poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally
Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes. The origin of the

legend is claimed by some to have stemmed from actual outlaws, or from ballads or tales
of outlaws
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill
Finger. Batman's secret identity is Bruce Wayne, an American millionaire (later
billionaire) playboy, industrialist, and philanthropist. Having witnessed the murder of his
parents as a child, he swore revenge on crime, an oath tempered with the greater ideal of
justice. Wayne trains himself both physically and intellectually and dons a bat-themed
costume in order to fight crime. Batman operates in the fictional American Gotham City,
assisted by various supporting characters including his crime-fighting partner, Robin, his
butler Alfred Pennyworth, the police commissioner Jim Gordon, and occasionally the
heroine Batgirl. He fights an assortment of villains such as the Joker, the Riddler, the
Penguin, Two-Face, Poison Ivy and Catwoman. Unlike most superheroes, he does not
possess any superpowers; he makes use of intellect, detective skills, science and
technology, wealth, physical prowess, martial arts skills, an indomitable will, fear, and
intimidation in his continuous war on crime.
B Are organizations or groups most successful when their members
pursue individual wishes and goals?
People must work together for the good of the entire group. In the novel Lord
of the Flies, a group of boys are left to fend for themselves on a desolate island. Jack and
Ralph emerge as the leaders of the group. However, these individuals have clearly
divergent personalities. Jack rules authoritatively while Ralph prefers a democratic
outlook. Because of a lack of high authority, each individual is permitted to pursue his
own beliefs. Consequently, the group splits up into two opposing factions, and chaos soon
erupts. By illustrated the negative consequences of allowing Ralph and Jack to follow
their own goals and interests, Golding thus substantiates the claim that members of a
group must work together to achieve success.
Teamwork can only be considered important or virtuous because it supports
the team members ability to act and think as an individual. Ayn Rand, in her novel
Anthem, clearly outlines how an individuals wishes and goals inevitably lead to a
societys, or teams, success. Even in history, one is able to see how an individualcentered approach produces the best result for all. In Anthem, the protagonist, who is
called Prometheus, is considered to be evil in his team-first, individual-second society.
He seems too superior to his peers, evident in his greater stature and intelligence. He
also has an insatiable curiosity. Prometheus selfishly desires to be placed in the Home
of the Scholars, not in order to help his fellow man but rather to feed his own curiosity.
Although the Home of the Scholars is the only place one may legally perform scientific
experiments, Prometheus still fiddles around with scrap pieces of glass and misplaced
chemicals. One day, he discovers an abandoned subway tunnel, which had once
contained sophisticated electrical circuits. He puts together a primitive light bulb. In
comparison, the various councils of scholars in this society can only advance when (and
if) every member of the council agrees on the project. Because this team can only act on
the decisions of all, the latest great discovery had been 50 years prior to Prometheus, a
mere candle, and a hundred years prior to that, a torch. One must wonder which is better
for humanity: an individuals selfish light bulb or a teams selfless candle.
Historically speaking, the concept of pursuing individual goals above a teams
goals is most similar to the idea of laissez-faire. In fact, the guiding principle of laissez-

faire was best described as the invisible hand. Essentially, a person pursuing his best
interests was to inevitably work for the best of his fellow man as well, whether he
intended to or not. Economists of the day presented an example like the following: if a
man desired to get rich by selling a product, he needed to meet the demands of his
consumers. If another man also desired to get rich, he needed to meet that demand better
or do so at a lower price. In the end, through competition, both individuals have made a
decent fortune, and the consumers could have access to a superior product at a cheaper
price. Everyone has benefited from that individualistic, perhaps selfish desire to make
more money.
C Do people achieve more success by cooperation than by competition?
History has shown that competition may in fact be a better driving force
towards success than cooperation. John Keat's work "On the Grasshopper and the
Cricket" reinforces the idea that competition may after all be the best driving force to
success. The poem was written as a response to a sort of competition between John Keat
and his great friend, Leigh Hunt, as to who could write the best verse, in a short time, on
a specified topic. Keats won on this occasion, moreover, the bet between Keats and his
friend led to the creation of this poem that has gone down in history as to being one of the
best pieces in time, hence exhibiting how competition helps encourage success.
The fast-paced nature of the modern world has made competitiveness the
hallmark of success. While cooperation may achieve greater success in the long run,
it is often abandoned by most of our society in the hustle and bustle of trying to "get
ahead." This competitiveness can be observed in the current paradigm of our economic
world (free-market capitalism), our recreation (professional sports), and our "culture", or
what passes for it these days, television. The not too distant memories of Worldcom,
Global Crossing, and Enron give people a chance to reflect on the consequences of
unbridled competition. These were companies that became super-giants by competing
against, and then gobbling up, their rivals. And what was happening? They were given
laudatory front-page headlines, their stock prices soared, and their CEOs regularly spoke
on television. Competition made these companies what they were - and no matter how
"shocked" everyone was when it all came crashing down - we were cheering them all the
way.
e Ethics and success
A Does fame bring happiness, or are people who are not famous more
likely to be happy?
Being famous opens doors of opportunity, makes it easier for you to
accomplish things, and helps you build a network of influential people, which can
lead to happiness. Bill Gates began to appreciate the expectations others had of him
when public opinion mounted suggesting that he could give more of his wealth to charity.
Gates studied the work of Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller, and in 1994 sold
some of his Microsoft stock to create the William H. Gates Foundation. In 2000, Gates
and his wife combined three family foundations into one to create the charitable Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation, which is the largest transparently operated charitable
foundation in the world. As of 2007, Bill and Melinda Gates were the second-most
generous philanthropists in America, having given over $28 billion to charity. Gates said
that he is happy with the amount of philanthropic work that, without his fame, he
wouldnt have been able to accomplish.

Fame does not necessarily bring happiness, because it depends upon how one
defines happiness. In order to be happy one must first understand why they are seeking
such fortune. In Shakespeare's King Lear, the King is depicted as a venerable public
figure. He is well known throughout all of the land; however, his fame does not
necessarily influence his contentment with life. Lears basic flaw at the beginning of the
play is that he values appearances above reality. He wants to be treated as a king and to
enjoy the title, but he doesnt want to fulfill a kings obligations of governing for the
good of his subjects. Similarly, his test of his daughters demonstrates that he values a
flattering public display of love over real love. His public image rather gives way to his
vulnerability, and he is ultimately taken advantage of by his two self-gratification seeking
daughters. Lear's unlimited surplus of goods, access to money, and entitlement to power
influence his morose life. Lear's demise is the result of the terrible burdens of fame. His
destruction occurs because he is so privileged and this relates to how fame is not a
predecessor for enjoying life. His daughters sought to seek his fortune, and because of
this matter he was forced to lead a mundane and melancholy life until he died.
Another example of fame (and the terrible burden it provides) is evident in the
classic novel, The Great Gatsby. Mr. Gatsby, one of the main characters, is incredibly
rich, and one could easily assume- famous. Yet it was seen throughout the book that
Gatsby was nowhere close to being satisfied with his life. He believed it was his fame
(and attitude) that were the reasons that Gatsby couldnt have the heart of his long-time
love, Daisy. His fame brought him feelings of loneliness and utter dissatisfaction with
himself. As a result of this, at the conclusion of this novel, Gatsby didnt meet an
extraordinarily optimistic end- all because of his fame, and partially because of his
success that brought Gatsbys low interpretation of himself.
B Are people's actions motivated primarily by a desire for power over
others?
Yes
It is our prime goal to attain as much power as possible, as this will enable us
to lead stable lives. Our drive to acquire power is, as a result, reflected in our
actions. In the novel In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck. The novel focuses on apple
pickers in Central California during the Great Depression. The workers wanted to strike
for higher wages, but lacked a true leader who would enable them to do so. The
Bolshevik protagonists of the story, Jim and Marc, improve the quality of life among the
apple pickers by repeatedly inciting successful strikes. Their kind acts allowed them to
gain respect from the workers. Consequently, Jim and Marc became leaders of the apple
pickers' revolution. This work of historical fiction suggests that even kind acts towards
others are motivated by a desire to have control over another person's life.
No
Although people sometimes act in desire of control over others, there are
many cases in which their actions are simply motivated by humanity. When 9.11
happened, groups of firemen ran into the two towers to save people there. Since the
towers were badly sabotaged and were on fire, what they did can result in their deaths.
However, understanding this danger, those firemen still rush into the building for they
wanted to save others. Had those firemen acted because of a striving of power, they
would not put themselves into a situation as dangerous as which they actually put
themselves in, for in that situation, they not only were unable to put others in their power,

but endangered themselves. In fact, many of these firemen died in 9.11 when trying to
save others. It was the motivation of saving others instead of a desire of power that made
these firemen ran into the towers.
5 Technological progress
A Does a strong commitment to technological progress cause a society to
neglect other values, such as education and the protection of the environment?
Yes:
Although technology, from a superficial outlook, seems to be improving life,
it is in reality a problem because it is neglecting other important values of the world
and is thus making the human race's future more vulnerable. In the 1800's,
technology was a neophyte slowly creeping into the conscience of the average person. As
people were busy being impressed by inventions such as the light bulb and the
automobile, more and more people decided to dedicate themselves to creating new
products, whether it was for a philanthropic cause or a thirst for wealth. However, as
materialism invaded American in the 1920's, people took the latter route and started
inventing for the possibility of great wealth. The purpose of technology, originally as an
attempt to uncover the secrets of our world, has been discarded by the hostile force of
human avarice. For example, America started flowing along these lines and is still
dominated by this capitalist ideal to this day. Our commitment to technology has taken us
along the wrong path in growth and has caused us to neglect values such as the protection
of the environment.
One glaring example is water sewage and plumbing. People originally embraced
this technology because it is obvious that cleaning an outhouse is not as appealing as
simply flushing the toilet and letting the wastes flow away. The process of using the
restrooms is easier and more hygienic, thus improving life. Or is it? The problem with
this seemingly perfect process is how people deal is how people deal with the wastes.
Many companies simply dump the wastes into rivers, lakes, and ponds. For example, the
meaning of the Ohio River is "beautiful river", as properly named by the Native
Americans a few hundred years ago. However, now the Ohio River is a dump for sewage
and waste to empty into. With water sewage and plumbing, humans have embraced
technology but essentially ignored the environment.
No:
A strong commitment to technological progress will not of necessity cause a
society to neglect other values. Historical analysis coupled with that of current societal
trends bear witness to this fact. During the 18th and 19th centuries Great Britain
drastically increased its commitment to technology. The development of such inventions
as the cotton gin and the power loom, together with the widespread use of factories and
division of labor, resulted in a far more modernistic, technologically-oriented society than
that which had existed prior to the Industrial Revolution. Yet as the working class came to
acquire wealth, it also began to make demands for political reform conducive to its
success among them voting rights, education, and labor laws. These reforms clearly
reflect values other than that of technological progress the suffrage laws reflect
democracy, labor laws reflect quality of life, and education reflects a fusion of the
previous two values. The fact that those reforms existed in such a technologicallyoriented society indicates that a commitment to progress does not necessarily result in the
neglect of other sorts of progress.

Today America is undergoing a similar increase in technological commitment.

With the advent of computers, iPods, and nuclear weapons, America can be said to be
more committed to technology than ever before. Yet this, as in Britain, has not led us to
neglect other values. The 1973 Clean Air Act demonstrates our level of commitment to
the environment, and No Child Left Behind to education. Often it is because of
technology that our society has begun to lean towards other values. Many civil liberties
groups have expressed fears that the government may be using technology to encroach on
our First Amendment rights, and environmentalist groups worry that products of
technological progress may be polluting the environment. In this way technological
commitment has not only not led our society to neglect other values, but has actually led
it to pursue them further.
B Are there benefits to be gained from avoiding the use of modern technology,
even when using it would make life easier?
Yes:
Although technological advances have benefited one in some minor ways,
they have brought one bad influences. In fact, technology just makes life easier instead
of making it better. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster is a series of equipment
failures, nuclear meltdowns, and releases of radioactive materials at the Fukushima I
Nuclear Power Plant, following the 9.0 magnitude Thoku earthquake and tsunami on 11
March 2011. The plant comprises six separate boiling water reactors designed and built
by GE, and maintained by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). Fukushima
disaster is the largest of the 2011 Japanese nuclear accidents arising from the Thoku
earthquake and tsunami and is the largest nuclear accident since the Chernobyl disaster,
but more complex as multiple reactors and spent fuel pools are involved.
No:
Without technology, society would not be capable of reaching the zenith of
success that has been reached time and time again with the help of technology. This
is evidenced by Henry Ford's assembly line and Global Positioning Systems (GPS).
Henry Ford's assembly line was extremely beneficial in saving production time. It
allowed many more automobile parts to be put together in a shorter amount of time. The
assembly line developed by Ford Motor Company between 1908 and 1915 made
assembly lines famous in the following decade through the social ramifications of mass
production, such as the affordability of the Ford Model T and the introduction of high
wages for Ford workers. Henry Ford was the first to master the assembly line and was
able to improve other aspects of industry by doing so. This incredible marvel of
technology proves just what is to be gained from the utilization of technology.
Anyone that has ever been lost while driving knows how frustrating it can be to
have no idea where he is going. Even using a map is an unnecessary hassle. Global
Positioning Systems (GPS) allow data to be sent from one's location to satellites which
then read one's coordinates and locate. Using this technology, heaves of frustration and
time is significantly reduced. In addition, GPS technology allows one to find what he is
looking for with ease. As a result, GPS has proven to be an extremely popular technology
in modern society. Society is slowly starting to witness what technology has to offer.
C Has today's abundance of information only made it more difficult for us to
understand the world around us?
Yes:

The abundance of information can make it more difficult for us to

understand not only ourselves but also the world. Flowers for Algernon is a science
fiction short story and subsequent novel written by Daniel Keyes. The novel was
published in 1966 and was joint winner of that year's Nebula Award for Best Novel.
Charlie is the narrator and the main character of the novel, and his miraculous
transformation from mental disability to genius sets the stage for Keyes to address a
number of broad themes and issues. Charlies lack of intelligence has made him a trusting
and friendly man, as he assumes that the people in his lifemost notably, his coworkers
at Donners Bakeryare as well intentioned as he is. As his intelligence grows, however,
Charlie gains perspective on his past and present. He realizes that people have often taken
advantage of him and have been cruel to him for sport, knowing that he would not
understand. Likewise, he realizes that when people have been kind to him, it usually has
been out of condescension or out of an awareness that he is inferior. These realizations
cause Charlie to grow suspicious of nearly everyone around him. Interestingly, the
experimental operation elevates Charlies intelligence to such an extent that his new
genius distances him from people as much as his disability does. Charlie eventually
convinces himself that he has lost feeling even for Alice Kinnian, the one person whom
he feels has never betrayed him and the only one for whom he has maintained a deep
affection throughout his life. The fact that Charlies mental retardation affects both his
intellectual and emotional development illustrates the difficultybut not the
impossibilityof developing both aspects simultaneously and without conflict. Charlie is
initially warmhearted and trusting, but as his intelligence increases he grows cold,
arrogant, and disagreeable. The more he understands about the world, the more he recoils
from human contact. At his loneliest point, in Progress Report 12, Charlie shockingly
decides that his genius has effectively erased his love for Alice.
No:
The abundance of information helps us understand ourselves and our world.
The protagonist and title character of The Hobbit is Bilbo. The Hobbits main theme is
Bilbos development into a hero, which more broadly represents the development of a
common person into a hero. At the beginning of the story, Bilbo is timid, comfortable,
and complacent in his secure little hole at Bag End. When Gandalf talks him into
embarking on the quest with Thorins dwarves, Bilbo becomes so frightened that he
faints. But as the novel progresses, Bilbo prevails in the face of danger and adversity,
justifying Gandalfs early claim that there is more to the little hobbit than meets the eye.
Bilbo possesses hidden reserves of inner strength that even Bilbo himself cannot perceive
when he firsts sets out on the quest. Confronting the trolls, escaping with Gollums ring,
slaying the spider, rescuing the dwarves in Mirkwood, and speaking face-to-face with the
great dragon Smaug all provide Bilbo with opportunities to test his resolve. As he builds
confidence and resourcefulness, Bilbo emerges as a true hero.
D Is the most important purpose of technology today different from what it was
in the past?
The goal of technology today is to search for new methods and ideas to fulfill
the needs of the modern society. In that fashion, the goal of current research and
development is no different from that of previous researchers and scientists.
In 1856, when Alexander Bell invented the telephone, he serendipitously chanced
upon a remarkable method to improve efficiency. People could easily contact each other

without having to rely on the inefficient and slow postal system. Today's analogue is the
Blackberry. Blackberry Corp. launched the Blackberry and Microsoft the Treo to enable
professionals to remotely access work. The prevalence of wireless networks and the
portability of handheld devices have converged to improve efficiency and productivity. In
that sense, the motivation behind the spawning of the telephone and Blackberry are
identical.
In the medical world, physician-scientists embody the same spirit that Fleming
did. When Fleming discovered penicillin, he found a way to combat bacterial infetions,
hence saving many lives of soldiers and severely ill patients. Today, researchers at Johns
Hopkins strive to a solution to a malady that afflicted many even in Fleming's era. Colon
cancer strikes more than 100,000 people annually, and the JHU researchers use
genetically-modified rotaviruses to target the rebel mutant colon cells. These researchers
are adopting modern technology to solve a decades-old problem, much as Fleming
chanced upon pencillin to eliminate Streptococcus infections.
No:
The primary goal of scientists today is to better our society through
sustainable development. A primary goal is to find alternative sources of energy. Ever
since the Industrial Revolution, Man has burnt ostentatiously large amounts of fossil
fuels, resulting in massive pollution, global warming and depletion of natural resources.
Researchers in the Institute of Energy Resources are also searching for new
polychlorinated compounds which can improve efficiency of solar panels and lead to
cheaper solar power. They are very different from Richard Trevithick, who introduced
engines using high-pressure steam in 1800, who was in pursuit of the design of more
efficient engines that could be smaller, faster, or more powerful, depending on the
intended application.
E Do newspapers, magazines, television, radio, movies, the Internet, and other
media determine what is important to most people?
Sensationalism is popular in journalism. Sensationalism is not a new part of
journalism. From the penny presses of the 1830s and 1840s to the "yellow" newspapers
of William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, tales of crime and sex have covered the
pages of newspapers. With the advent of television, these messages became more
pervasive and accessible to all segments of society. There are many parallels between the
rise of tabloid type journalism in prime time news magazines and the newspapers of the
1890's. Both functioned within an environment of extreme competition. During the last
decade of the last century, new daily newspapers opened at a rate of more than one per
week in the United States. Similarly, these types of television shows came at a time when
the cable industry was booming, providing a real threat to broadcast networks. The
original syndicated programs like A Current Affair ran either on upstart network Fox or
were aired on cable networks. Competition seems to boost sensationalism. Surely, this
atmosphere paved the way for serious news departments to be affected by the sensibilities
of the tabloid press. It is easier to report a story like Amy Fisher's crime because it there
is no complicated back-story to understand. Everyone can grasp the idea of a love affair.
It is something else to successfully explain the conflict in Kosovo or a complex piece of
legislature. By taking the less difficult path to story production, news journalists can
ensure an entertained audience, which in turn results in higher ratings. Of course, these

types of stories take valuable airtime away from more substantial reporting, such as on
serious crime and politics.
What media presents is not the most important information. It is often a
better choice to gain experiences and information by interacting with others. What
media ignores are sometimes valuable to people. For example, media often focus on the
deserted land of Africa. In the news, we see many poor children and family struggle to
survive. All the news gave people a false impression of the entire Africa being deserted
and filled with diseases. Actually, Africa is a great continent for agriculture and of great
economical value. In statistics taken in 2006 Africa is covered up to 50 percent by ancient
rain forests. Another 40 percent are covered by rich soil that is a treasure for agriculture.
However, only one percent of these agriculture lands are actually being occupied. This is
the only reason why Africa cannot keep up with rest of the world. As more and more
people realize the potential of Africa by hearing from the local people in South Africa,
more lands are now being occupied. This brings a large amount of benefit to both the
investors and the governments of Africa.
F Should modern society be criticized for being materialistic?
Yes:
People are not remembered for what their materials were during their life. People
are remembered for their actions and their legacy in life. Modern society should
therefore be criticized for being too materialistic. Back in the 19th century, the
American industry was being dominated by several robber-barons including John D.
Rockefeller and Cornelius Vanderbilt. In the early stages of their life, they were seen as
materialistic men craving for more money. These two not only dominated their workers
for money, but they also dominated their respective industries for power. Their whole
lives revolved around the concept of earning more money and they were ruthless in their
actions. Therefore, from their materialistic ideals, society suffered. The workers that
worked under these two economic tycoons had long work hours in terrible working
conditions with little pay. The rest of society suffered as both robber-barons raised prices
in their respective industries to make everyone overpay for goods. This shows how
materialism can ruin a society. However, as the two men grew older, they started to
realize that life is not about gaining money, but that life is how one makes a lasting
legacy. Therefore, these two men rejected materialism and became philanthropic. They
donated millions of dollars to the poor and many beneficial causes. The money they
donated helped to start new universities and libraries such as Vanderbilt University.
Today, these two men are still remembered and admired for their good deeds and actions.
This shows that a non-materialistic approach to life will result in a rich and fruitful life
and society.
No:
Certain modern materials are essential to our survival. Modern society
shouldnt criticize individuals for being attached to things, like money, food, etc. that are
necessary for survival. The Vietnamese Famine of 1945 was a famine that occurred in
northern Vietnam from October 1944 to May 1945, during the Japanese occupation of
French Indochina in World War II. Between 400,000 and 2 million people are estimated
to have starved to death during this time. . The direct cause was the effects of World War
II on French Indochina. Involvements of France, Japan, and the United States in Vietnam
caused detrimental effects to the economic activities of the Vietnamese. Military and

economic changes caused the northern part of the country to plunge into famine.
Following the unification of the country after the Vietnam War, Vietnam experienced a
food shortage in the 1980s, which prompted many people to flee the country.
6 Heroes
A Do we benefit from learning about the flaws of people we admire and respect?
Through the identification of faults in others, individuals are able to develop
intellectually and socially. In the John Steinbeck novel, Of Mice and Men, written in the
first half of the twentieth century. In the novel, Lennie mistakenly kills Curly's wife,
which eventually leads to George having to shoot him, his best friend. In this depressing
ending, George soon learns that his American dream may never be a reality and it will
always be out of his reach. When George's admirable best friend dies, he benefits directly,
learning that the dream they both chased after was unrealistic and unattainable.
Flaws can serve as motivation for ourselves to strive for our own personal
best. In Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart", Okonkwo uses his father's flaws as
motivation for himself. His father died in serious debt, and was a lazy, unambitious
weakling. Okonkwo, the son of the effeminate and lazy Unoka, strives to make his way in
a world that seems to value manliness. In so doing, he rejects everything for which he
believes his father stood. Unoka was idle, poor, profligate, cowardly, gentle, and
interested in music and conversation. Okonkwo consciously adopts opposite ideals and
becomes productive, wealthy, thrifty, brave, violent, and adamantly opposed to music and
anything else that he perceives to be soft, such as conversation and emotion. He is stoic
to a fault. Okonkwo achieves great social and financial success by embracing these
ideals. He marries three women and fathers several children.
B Should we limit our use of the term "courage" to acts in which people risk
their own well-being for the sake of others or to uphold a value?
To have courage is to be able to venture and withstand fear and difficulties.
The term courage should only be used in certain situations where a person is able to
tenaciously fight for what he or she believes is right. In "To Kill A Mockingbird" by
Harper Lee, Atticus Finch acquiesced to always love his children-Jem and Scout. Scout,
Atticus' daughter, first recognized her father as courageous by shooting the mad dog.
Both Atticus' children were proud and impressed by their father's courage. However,
Atticus' definition for "Real Courage" is when somebody fights whether he or she wins or
loses. He defines it as an intellectual level of facing problems. The lifetime when Atticus
lived in the town of Maycomb was filled with racism against black people, furthermore,
against anyone who would stand up for, or even talks to a black person. Atticus stood up
for a black man, Tom Robbison, who was accused of rape. Atticus knew that he wouldn't
win the case, but if he didn't stand up for him no one else would. Atticus' strong sense of
morality and justice motivates him to defend Tom. He knows that the town will taunt
him, nevertheless, he showed bravery in defending Tom. Atticus' sister decried to his
decision and tells him that he brought disgrace on the family. He believed that standing
up for what he believes in is far more important than what people think about him.
Mother Teresa (26 August 1910 5 September 1997) was a Catholic nun of
Albanianethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in
Calcutta, India in 1950. For over 45 years she ministered in her own way to the poor,
sick, orphaned, and dying, while guiding the Missionaries of Charity's expansion, first
throughout India and then in other countries. Following her death she was beatified by

Pope John Paul II and given the title Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. In the 1970s, she became
well-known internationally for her controversial work considered humanitarian and
apparent advocacy for the rights of the poor and helpless. Mother Teresa's Missionaries of
Charity continued to grow during her life-time, and at the time of her death, they had 610
missions in 123 countries, including hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS,
leprosy and tuberculosis, soup kitchens, children's and family counselling programs,
orphanages, and schools.
C Should we admire heroes but not celebrities?
Yes:
Celebrities are not worth admiring, only heroes - self made people - deserve
our liking because we do not know who celebrities truly are. In the Scarlet Letter, the
Reverend Dimmesdale is a celebrity. He is a young man who achieved fame in England
as a theologian and then migrated to America. People admire his purity, justice, and good
will. They see him as the closest being to God. However, a closer look shows that they do
not know him at all. In a moment of weakness, he and Hester became lovers; they
committed adultery. The People's admiration toward this celebrity was mislead; they did
not know his true character. His commitments to his congregation are in constant conflict
with his feelings of sinfulness and need to confess.
No:
Sometimes celebrities do perform heroic deeds that commend our respect
and admiration. As a seven-time champion of Tour de France, Armstrong is celebrated
by many as a legendary cyclist and the record holder of an unprecedented victory.
However, Armstrong's influence is not confined to the sporting arena; he made his name
known as the founder of a cancer research foundation, Livingstrong. At the age of 25,
Armstrong was diagnosed with a stage-3 testicular cancer that had spread to his brain and
lungs. After three major surgeries and chemotherapy, he emerged as a survivor of cancer.
After this incident, Armstrong established a cancer foundation, Livingstrong, in a hope to
reach out to those who are suffering from the pain and constant fear of death. With the
help of his influence, Livingstrong has raised millions of dollars for cancer research and
now among the top ten cancer research foundation in the US. After his retirement,
Armstrong committed himself to raising funds for his foundation by attending organizing
various fund-raising cycling races. Lance Armstrong, though a celebrity, should be
admired for his efforts to reach out to the less privileged and this charitable act raises him
to the height of a hero.
D Is there a value in celebrating certain individuals as heroes?
Yes:
When we see what makes heroes who they are, only good can come out of
that experience. We learn what they had to go through to be in their positions today. As
the old saying goes, You always want more of a good thing. If we all try to mold
ourselves to be similar to a true role model, there will be more moral and strong-willed
human beings in the world. Looking up to a role model always builds good character and
morals, because thats exactly what classified those role models as heroes in the first
place. A little boy named Chad wanted to help out with the homeless people when he
grew up. In his urban neighborhood, there were tons of homeless adolescents hiding in
alleys. A man named Dr. Wright drove his van near an alley, and walked inside to help the
kids. His van was a mobile doctors office, and he examines all of the kids, free of

charge. Its not the money that drives him, Chad saw, but the satisfaction of helping
homeless kids out. Chad learned that he needed to include everyone in society and treat
them with respect, no matter what their situation was. Chad can take this lesson with him
throughout life, and because of having the right attitude; he is now driven even more, for
the correct reasons, to becoming a good doctor.
No:
There is no value in celebrating certain individuals as heroes, as it can create
delusion. Many communist leaders tried to make their own citizens praise them as god.
Mao Zedong, and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao (December 26, 1893
September 9, 1976), was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerilla warfare strategist,
political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution. Nationwide political
campaigns led by Mao, such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, are
often considered catastrophic failures. While China's population almost doubled during
the period of Mao's leadership (from around 550 to over 900 million), his rule from 1949
to 1976 is believed to have caused the deaths of 40 to 70 million people. Severe
starvation during the Great Chinese Famine, mass suicide as a result of the Threeanti/five-anti campaigns, and political persecution during both the Anti-Rightist
Movement and struggle sessions all resulted from these programs. His campaigns and
their varying disastrous consequences are further blamed for damaging the culture and
society of China, as historical relics were destroyed and religious sites were ransacked.
However, Mao's figure is largely symbolic both in China and in the global communist
movement as a whole. During the Cultural Revolution, Mao's already glorified image
manifested into a personality cult that influenced every aspect of Chinese life. Mao was
regarded as the undisputed leader of China's working class in their 100-year struggle
against imperialism, feudalism and capitalism, which were the three-evils in pre-1949
China since the Opium War. Even today, many Chinese people regard Mao as a God-like
figure, who led the ailing China onto the path of an independent and powerful nation,
whose pictures can expel the evil spirit and bad luck.
7 Tradition
A Do all established traditions deserve to remain in existence?
Yes:
Traditions, no matter how unorthodox or conservative, transcends all
barriers mutual appreciation is critical in keeping the flame for such traditions
burning bright and it is now ours; the current generation's responsibility of
ensuring that these traditions are kept for future generations to play an active role
in. Traditions have defined societies over generations, and since it is able to ensure that
future generations are connected through their roots through its meaning and significance,
we should keep them close and foster them into an impetus for ethnic cohesion amidst
challenging times; and more importantly, as a solace for inner searching and
understanding. The Traditional Craft and Skills Council of India had organized four day
exhibition in Pimpri. The exhibition presented various crafts and skills from different
states across the country. The dignitaries, present for the closing ceremony, were well
known Columnist Sudhindra Kulkarni, RSS Campaign Chief, Mohandas Devi, and Girish
Prabhune among others. The reason behind organizing this exhibition was to make people
aware of Indian traditional crafts and skills which are often looked down and given very
less importance.

No:
If the tradition's basis makes no sense, then it will remain in a select group
until it eventually dies out. As an example, many years ago, a male would not think of
keeping a hat or cap on when entering a house or restaurant. Taking one's cap off was a
sign of respect and trust. Now, however, that is a practice which is limited to a few older
men. It will probably disappear in the near future. Therefore, that which was a honored
tradition among those of European descent has become nearly obsolete.
Foot binding was the custom of binding the feet of young girls painfully tight to
prevent further growth. The practice probably originated among court dancers in the early
Song dynasty, but spread to upper class families and eventually became common among
all classes. The tiny narrow feet were considered beautiful and to make a woman's
movements more feminine and dainty. Although reformers challenged the practice, it was
not until the early twentieth century that footbinding generally died out, partly from
changing social conditions and partly as a result of anti-footbinding campaigns. Footbinding resulted in lifelong disabilities for most of its subjects. In the 1990s and early
2000s, some elderly (born until the mid-1940s) Chinese women still suffered from
disabilities related to bound feet.
B Do people need to "unlearn," or reject, many of their assumptions and ideas?
Some of our well-established outlooks and beliefs might be entirely wrong or
disadvantageous to our well-being. Because of this, it is of great necessity that we know
how to unlearn our assumptions, and make a place for new ones. Rejecting past beliefs
is as beneficial for a society as well as for an individual.
One example of discarding the old views held by the world as a society could be
the act of restating the rights of women. Before the second half of the 19th century almost
nobody thought about equal rights for women. Feminists felt the injustice and mobilized
themselves in order to compel society to unlearn some of its assumptions. A lot of
feminists organizations were founded across the world. Among them was the National
Woman Suffrage Association established by Susan B. Anthony and Elisabeth Stanton in
the United States. Thanks to their political work, women gained the right to vote in most
of the States. The same process had also occurred in Europe. A great deal of effort was
made to change peoples outlook on the equality of genders. Although much still remains
to be done, the perception of women has transformed greatly.
The process of unlearning might also concern an individual. Raskolnikov is
the protagonist of the novel Crime and Punishment. His name derives from the Russian
word raskolnik, meaning schismatic or divided, which is appropriate since his most
fundamental character trait is his alienation from human society. His pride and
intellectualism lead him to disdain the rest of humanity. He believes that he is part of an
elite superman echelon and can consequently transgress accepted moral standards for
higher purposes such as utilitarian good. However, that guilt that torments him after he
murders Alyona Ivanovna and Lizaveta and his recurring faintness at the mention of the
murders serve as proof to him that he is not made of the same stuff as a true superman
such as Napoleon. Though he grapples with the decision to confess for most of the novel
and though he seems gradually to accept the reality of his mediocrity, he remains
convinced that the murder of the pawnbroker was justified. His ultimate realization that
he loves Sonya is the only force strong enough to transcend his ingrained contempt of
humanity. Only after rejecting it was he able to recover and return to normal life.

C Should people always prefer new things, ideas, or values to those of the past?
Although initially daunting, new things, ideas, and values are superior to
those of the past. An eighteenth century German composer, Ludwig van Beethoven
innovated greatly with his music. While his teachers Haydn and Mozart taught him
classical music styles, Beethoven in time developed his own style that made him famous.
Beethoven was unafraid to experiment in unheard-of ways, such as adding singers to the
final movement of his Ninth Symphony and opening with the piano instead of the
orchestra in his late piano concertos. Disdainful of Beethoven's unorthodox approaches,
many critics were unable to appreciate or understand his music. But today, Beethoven is
widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential composers of all time. Not
content with the music standards of his time, Beethoven also rebelled socially. During the
eighteenth century, composers were of low importance and were expected to be servile to
aristocrats and patrons. However, Beethoven refused this notion of inferiority, often
stopping performances or refusing to play whenever he felt he was being treated with
inadequate respect. In the end, Beethoven radically supported new ideas in music and
social life, ultimately leading him to become one of the most successful composers.
Henry Ford was a twentieth century entrepreneur and automobile manufacturer.
Originally, automobiles were exorbitantly expensive and only affordable by the very rich.
Ford, however, went against conventional wisdom and ideas. He was determined to bring
automobiles to the masses at affordable prices. Finally, he came up with an innovative
technique to mass produce products at low costs, dubbing it "Fordism". He split the
automobile-making process into an assembly line of small, manageable parts. Hence,
Ford was able to produce automobiles using low-skill, low-cost workers, bringing the
price of the automobile down by 40 percent. Suddenly, automobiles were affordable by
the masses and quickly became ubiquitous. Henry Ford himself went on to be incredibly
wealthy and successful. By innovating and discarding the ideas of the past, Henry Ford
was able to improve the lives of thousands of people, bring a better form of private
transportation to the masses, and obtain great wealth.
D Do incidents from the past continue to influence the present?
Yes:
Incidents from the past continue to influence the present. Malcolm X a
figure to whom the success of the African American civil liberty movement may largely
be attributed often cited past events in his speech. For example, in his classic oration in
Atlanta, GA, he first necessitated potentially violent action against those who were
repressing African Americans. Through proving that his race had been adversely affected
by the violence of Caucasians, Malcolm X was able to arouse morale in those who had
heretofore relinquished memories of white oppression. Soon after, African American
people who were formerly opposed to violent revenge were able to use threats to gain
civil, societal, and political ground.
No:
Incidents from the past may not have much influence on the present. In 1976,
Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, founded Apple. As Apple continued to
expand, the company began looking for an experienced executive to help manage its
expansion. In 1978, Apple recruited Mike Scott from National Semiconductor to serve as
CEO for what turned out to be several turbulent years. The Macintosh became the first
commercially successful small computer with a graphical user interface. The

development of the Mac was started by Jef Raskin, and eventually taken over by Jobs. An
industry-wide sales slump towards the end of 1984 caused a deterioration in Jobs's
working relationship with Sculley, and at the end of May 1985 following an internal
power struggle and an announcement of significant layoffs Sculley relieved Jobs of his
duties as head of the Macintosh division. During the next five years, Jobs started a
company named NeXT, and purchased Pixar Animation Studio which produced the first
fully computer-generated feature film, Toy Story. In 1996, Jobs returned to Apple and
took several aggressive steps to bring Apple back to profitability. When Steve Jobs was
kicked out of the company he founded, he started over; the lightness of being a beginner
again freed him to enter one of the most creative periods of his life.
E Do memories hinder or help people in their effort to learn from the past and
succeed in the present?
Memories do nothing but aid people in attaining knowledge from the past
and succeeding in the future. Orwell's novel "1984," written in 1948, exacerbates the
myriad issues attributable to repressing and/or forgetting memories. In this book, the
protagonist (Winston Smith) seeks to oust the tyrannical government that caused distress
and disarray to society. However, as the penultimate step before exterminating Winston,
the government wiped his memory (as they do routinely to all humans in the world).
Thus, through preventing the memories of all proletariats and other people, the dystopia
remains in full swing; with nothing to learn from, people are forced to maintain their
squalid living conditions. Therefore, it can be seen through the example illustrated in
1984 that it is a global necessity to utilize previous measures to their greatest extent.
During the Second World War, the American air forces dropped atom bombs on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. The consequences were extremely horrifying
thousands of innocent civilians were charred to death, buildings collapsed, flora and
fauna perished, and the two cities were completely destroyed. Furthermore, children that
were now born in these cities had genetic disorders, cerebral paralysis, physical
handicaps and numerous other ailments. In order to prevent the reoccurrence of such a
shocking calamity, the major political leaders of the world got together and formed the
United Nations. Whenever an inter-national conflict arises, the UN steps in and tries to
avert disaster. The member nations have to abide by whatever decision the UN makes
regarding their policies towards one another. If the memories of the Second World War
did not haunt us to this day, we would have forgotten the aftermath of war and probably
such a tragedy would have occurred again.
F Is it always necessary to find new solutions to problems?
Yes.
While traditional solutions may solve a fair share of problems, new ideas and
ways to solving a problem can often lead to the better results. Mohandas Karamchand
Gandhi (2 October 1869 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological
leader of India during the Indian independence movement. A pioneer of satyagraha, or
resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience a philosophy firmly founded
upon ahimsa, or total nonviolence Gandhi led India to independence and inspired
movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Gandhi first employed nonviolent civil disobedience as an expatriate lawyer in South Africa, in the resident Indian
community's struggle for civil rights. After his return to India in 1915, he set about
organising peasants, farmers, and urban labourers in protesting excessive land-tax and

discrimination. Assuming leadership of the Indian National Congress in 1921, Gandhi led
nationwide campaigns for easing poverty, expanding women's rights, building religious
and ethnic amity, ending untouchability, increasing economic self-reliance, but above all
for achieving Swaraj the independence of India from foreign domination. Gandhi
famously led Indians in protesting the British-imposed salt tax with the 400 km (250 mi)
Dandi Salt March in 1930, and later in calling for the British to Quit India in 1942. He
was imprisoned for many years, on many occasions, in both South Africa and India.
Gandhi strove to practice non-violence and truth in all situations, and advocated that
others do the same. He lived modestly in a self-sufficient residential community and wore
the traditional Indian dhoti and shawl, woven with yarn he had hand spun on a charkha.
He ate simple vegetarian food, and also undertook long fasts as means of both selfpurification and social protest.
No:
The most effective approach to solving a problem is to compare it with the
problems that we previously encountered and successfully solved. Martin Luther King
studied at the Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania. It was while studying here,
that King learned about the non-violent methods used by Mahatma Gandhi against the
British in India. King became convinced that such methods would be of great value to the
civil rights movement. Later on, he successfully adopted Gandhi's nonviolent methods in
the struggle to win civil rights for African Americans. He was in Montgomery at the start
of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. He was appointed the president of the Montgomery
Improvement Association that was created during the boycott and he became a prominent
leader of the boycott. Another result of the boycott was the establishment of the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). This organisation was committed to the use of
non-violence and its motto was "Not one hair of one head of one person should be
harmed." Martin Luther King was elected its president. Not long after the conclusion of
the Montgomery Bus Boycott, King wrote 'Stride Towards Freedom'. This was read by
some students at Greensboro, North Carolina and they started the student sit-in of the
Woolworth's lunch counter which had a policy of not serving African-Americans. Though
the students were frequently abused and assaulted, they never fought back. The same
tactic - a non-violent response to violence - was also used by the Freedom Riders in their
campaign to desegregate transport. Buoyed by this response, King toured the country
making speeches and urging more and more people to get involved in the civil rights
movement. King had also noted the economic power that the black community had - as
was seen in Montgomery. He tried to get communities to use companies/individual shop
keepers etc. who were sympathetic to the civil rights campaign but also to boycott those
who were not.
8 Loyalty and telling the truth
A Should people always be loyal?
Yes:
Loyalty grants trust and respect. In politics, it is essential that politicians to be
loyal and faithful to their jobs and the people. As the former New York City Governor
Eliot Splitzer had shown, he had been unfaithful to his family members and the people
when he was accused of paying a large sum of transaction for a prostitution job that he
was involved in. As TIMES magazine had reported, Splitzer had been paying a large sum
of bank's money to be involved in a prostitution ring. His act was not justified by what is

called a loyal politician to the people. Splitzer had been unfaithful to the people when he
used public's money to pay for his personal prostitution business. His mistake had
resulted in his resignation from the office and losing trust from his people. Splitzer was
once viewed as a future presidential campaign candidate, but now he had ruined his
future career and disappointed his supporters. They no longer trusted and respected him.
No:
Misguided or overextended loyalty can lead to destructive force. Rudolf
Walter Richard Hess (26 April 1894 in Alexandria, Egypt 17 August 1987 in Berlin,
Germany) was a prominent Nazi politician who was Adolf Hitler's deputy in the Nazi
Party during the 1930s and early 1940s. Hess was a shy, insecure man who displayed
near religious devotion, fanatical loyalty and absolute blind obedience to Hitler. In 1934,
Hess gave a revealing speech stating - "With pride we see that one man remains beyond
all criticism, that is the Fhrer. This is because everyone feels and knows: he is always
right, and he will always be right. The National Socialism of all of us is anchored in
uncritical loyalty, in the surrender to the Fhrer that does not ask for the why in
individual cases, in the silent execution of his orders. We believe that the Fhrer is
obeying a higher call to fashion German history. There can be no criticism of this belief."
Although often rewarded by Hitler for his dogged loyalty, Hess was never given any
major influence in matters of state due to his lack of understanding of the mechanics of
power and his inability to take any action on his own initiative. He was totally and
deliberately subservient to his Fhrer.
B Do circumstances determine whether or not we should tell the truth?
Yes
Telling lies can be justified in some special situations and may even cause
dramatic effect to our life. The last leaf, a literary example by the prestigious author
O.Henry, can completely distill the essence of "telling lies." In a little district of
Washington where was full of dilapidated buildings with moldy smell, Johnsy, the main
character, had been seriously infected with the pneumonia and sentenced to have only one
month's life. "Twelve, eleven...,two" she lay faintly on the bed and counted the numbers
of the leaves remaining on the ivy vine desperately every day. Johnsy insisted that her
fate would be like the fallen leaves. As the last leaf fell, she would also leave the world
forever. Seeing her best friend had almost lost the faith of life, Sue decided to tell a white
lie to cheer her friend up. To Johnsy's surprise, the last leaf that was destined to fall off
the tree still hung bravely with its serrated edges tinted with the yellow dissolution and
decay despite the beating rain and fierce gusts of wind that had endured through the
livelong night. We can know from the book that the last leaf was actually fake because it
was painted by Old Berham and was glued to the branch. This was a lie created by Susan
and Old Berham. However, it is this lie that made Johnsy retrieve the hope of life, that
saved her from the life-threatening disease, that gave her the chance to fulfill her own
dream, that changed her entire life in the future.
No:
One should always speak the truth as it will lead to greater feelings of
satisfaction and well being, not discomfort or embarrassment. The Scarlet Letter is an
1850 romantic work of fiction in a historical setting, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Set
in 17th-century Puritan Boston during the years 1642 to 1649, it tells the story of Hester
Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an adulterous affair and struggles to create a

new life of repentance and dignity. Throughout the book, Hawthorne explores themes of
legalism, sin, and guilt. Hester Pryne and the Reverend Dimmesdale commit adultery.
However, each deals with it in a different way. Hester immediately admits to it. The result
is a quick and punitive punishment of having a scarlet "A" stamped to her bosom,
marking her sin of adultery. However, with this initial punishment come a substantial
feeling of happiness and freedom. Hester feels happiness is manifested in her new beauty;
all the other townspeople admire her greatly, despite her sin. Dimesdale, on the other
hand, does not reveal the truth. He avoids punishment, but he suffers permanent internal
despair. When the townspeople praise him, a powerful guilt overcomes him, making him
clutch his chest in agony.
C Can deceptionpretending that something is true when it is notsometimes
have good results?
Yes
Pretense and deception may often have "good", or desirable results.
Politicians may as well be the most deceitful people on earth. They use pretense in every
way imaginable; internally, they campaign with grand ideals to win elections. Externally,
politicians befriend other politicians in order to accumulate personal power. The basis for
both actions is pretense. The important thing, however, is always the outcome. A
promising-looking politician who wins an election may as well end up fulfilling his
previously empty goals, and a fake relation between politicians can lead to improved
economic, political and military relations between countries. That is to say, deception is
not inherently bad; the end can justify the means.
No
Although the concepts of "positive conceit" or "white lying" may seem to
have immediate benefits, they ultimately usher a hostile environment. One of
Orwells central concerns in Animal Farm is the way in which language can be
manipulated as an instrument of control. In Animal Farm, the pigs gradually twist and
distort a rhetoric of socialist revolution to justify their behavior and to keep the other
animals in the dark. The animals heartily embrace Majors visionary ideal of socialism,
but after Major dies, the pigs gradually twist the meaning of his words. As a result, the
other animals seem unable to oppose the pigs without also opposing the ideals of the
Rebellion. By the end of the novella, after Squealers repeated reconfigurations of the
Seven Commandments in order to decriminalize the pigs treacheries, the main principle
of the farm can be openly stated as all animals are equal, but some animals are more
equal than others. This outrageous abuse of the word equal and of the ideal of equality
in general typifies the pigs method, which becomes increasingly audacious as the novel
progresses.
D Is it sometimes necessary to be impolite?
Yes:
It is necessary to be impolite in order to achieve a specific goal.
For example, in the novel The Scarlet Letter written by Romantic Author
Nathaniel Hawthorne, the main character, Hester Prynne, must go to her citys mayor and
reverend in order to keep custody of her daughter, Pearl. The mayor believes that Hester
is an unfit parent because she does not conform to the rules and restrictions of her Puritan
society, and so she has to argue and persuade him by negotiating with the Reverend,
Arthur Dimmesdale. Although she made rude and impolite statements, Hester was able to

persuade Dimmesdale and the mayor to allow her to keep custody of Pearl. If she
remained passive, however, she would have lost custody of her daughter, and would have
lived a life of misery. Thus, impoliteness allowed her to attain her goal of keeping her
daughter.
Vicious acts of protest, such as the Boston Tea Party could hardly be considered
polite, but they were certainly effective. After almost a century of obsequious
mercantilism, the men and women of the American colonies decided to stand up for
themselves through active protest, bypassing the authority of parliament, and taking the
weight of justice on their own backs. "No taxation without representation!" was their
demand. "Live free or die!" was philosophy with which they would pursue it. Weathering
the Stamp Act, the Sugar Act, and finally the intolerable Act, they finally decided to act
upon it, when war broke out in Lexington and Concord. Was this a "civil" way to cease
their will? No. Was it an effective one? Today, as we approach the 235th anniversary of
American independence, I think we can say so.
No:
We always need to be polite and honest. The Watergate scandal proves again the
value of being honest. The Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in
the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee
headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. Effects of the scandal
eventually led to the resignation of the President of the United States, Richard Nixon, on
August 9, 1974, the only resignation of any U.S. President. It also resulted in the
indictment, trial, conviction and incarceration of several Nixon administration officials.
President Nixon ordered his opponents' documents to be stolen, an injustice by any
account. Nixon chose to lie about it and conceal the plot in order to protect his image.
This malevolent act proved to be a poor decision, as Nixon was exposed not only as a
cheat but a liar and a fraud and faced impeachment for this breach of honesty.
E Is acting an essential part of everyday life?
Yes:
Acting can serve as a means to an end. The plot of Much Ado About Nothing by
Shakespeare is based upon deliberate deceptions, some malevolent and others benign.
The duping of Claudio and Don Pedro results in Heros disgrace, while the ruse of her
death prepares the way for her redemption and reconciliation with Claudio. In a more
lighthearted vein, Beatrice and Benedick are fooled into thinking that each loves the
other, and they actually do fall in love as a result. Much Ado About Nothing shows that
deceit is not inherently evil, but something that can be used as a means to good or bad
ends. In the play, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between good and bad deception.
When Claudio announces his desire to woo Hero, Don Pedro takes it upon himself to woo
her for Claudio. Then, at the instigation of Don John, Claudio begins to mistrust Don
Pedro, thinking he has been deceived. Just as the plays audience comes to believe,
temporarily, in the illusions of the theater, so the plays characters become caught up in
the illusions that they help to create for one another. Benedick and Beatrice flirt
caustically at the masked ball, each possibly aware of the others presence yet pretending
not to know the person hiding behind the mask. Likewise, when Claudio has shamed and
rejected Hero, Leonato and his household publish that Hero has died in order to punish
Claudio for his mistake. When Claudio returns, penitent, to accept the hand of Leonatos
niece (actually Hero), a group of masked women enters and Claudio must wed blindly.

The masking of Hero and the other women reveals that the social institution of marriage
has little to do with love. When Claudio flounders and asks, Which is the lady I must
seize upon? he is ready and willing to commit the rest of his life to one of a group of
unknowns (V.iv.53). His willingness stems not only from his guilt about slandering an
innocent woman but also from the fact that he may care more about rising in Leonatos
favor than in marrying for love. In the end, deceit is neither purely positive nor purely
negative: it is a means to an end, a way to create an illusion that helps one succeed
socially.
No:
Throughout history, people have found it necessary to act in a histrionic
manner, be it an exaggeration of the truth or a complete lie. Some would argue that it
can prove beneficial to stretch the truth, but Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn proves the value of emotional honesty. By focusing on Hucks education,
Huckleberry Finn fits into the tradition of the bildungsroman: a novel depicting an
individuals maturation and development. As a poor, uneducated boy, for all intents and
purposes an orphan, Huck distrusts the morals and precepts of the society that treats him
as an outcast and fails to protect him from abuse. This apprehension about society, and
his growing relationship with Jim, lead Huck to question many of the teachings that he
has received, especially regarding race and slavery. More than once, we see Huck choose
to go to hell rather than go along with the rules and follow what he has been taught.
Huck bases these decisions on his experiences, his own sense of logic, and what his
developing conscience tells him. On the raft, away from civilization, Huck is especially
free from societys rules, able to make his own decisions without restriction. Through
deep introspection, he comes to his own conclusions, unaffected by the acceptedand
often hypocriticalrules and values of Southern culture. By the novels end, Huck has
learned to read the world around him, to distinguish good, bad, right, wrong, menace,
friend, and so on. His moral development is sharply contrasted to the character of Tom
Sawyer, who is influenced by a bizarre mix of adventure novels and Sunday-school
teachings, which he combines to justify his outrageous and potentially harmful
escapades.
9 Others
A Are decisions made quickly just as good as decisions made slowly and
carefully?
Yes:
We have the ability to gauge what is really important from a very narrow
period of experience. A firefighter in Cleveland was answering a routine call with his
men. It was in a kitchen in the back of a one-story house in a residential neighborhood.
The firefighters broke down the door, laid down their hose, and began dousing the fire
with water. It should have abated, but it did not. As the fire lieutenant recalls, he suddenly
thought to himself, "There's something wrong here," and he immediately ordered his men
out. Moments after they fled, the floor they had been standing on collapsed. The fire had
been in the basement, not the kitchen as it appeared. When asked how he knew to get out,
the fireman thought it was Extrasensory perception. What is interesting is that the fireman
could not immediately explain how he knew to get out. The fireman just "blinked" and
made the right decision. In fact, if the fireman had deliberated on the facts he was seeing,
he would have likely lost his life and the lives of his men.

No:
Haste makes waste. Hasty decisions may occasionally produce favorable
results, but more often than not, these successful choices are a convergence of
chance, luck and instinct. By the start of 1915, the Great War had ground to a halt. The
trench lines stretched from Belgium through Italy and neither side was making progress.
The war had devolved into mad suicide rushes across no mans land into the teeth of the
new Maxim guns. Predictably, casualties were mounting daily and the war that will be
over by Christmas seemed to have no end in sight. To make matters worse, Russia was
getting their mess kits handed to them all up and down the Eastern Front and the tsardom
was beginning to look shaky. The German navy had cut all the usual supply lines to
accessible ports and any port safe from the German fleet was either icebound or entirely
too far away to be of any practical use. Something had to be done and quickly. Churchill
quickly proposed that a third front be opened up in the western Mediterranean.
Specifically, he planned an attack on the Ottoman Empire held Dardanelles. The attack on
what he termed the soft underbelly of the Central Powers would open up a warm water
resupply depot for Russia and effectively turn the flank of the vast trench network. The
Gallipoli Campaign took place at Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey from 25 April 1915 to 9
January 1916. The intent was for a joint amphibian attack by British Empire and French
forces up the peninsula to capture the Ottoman capital of Istanbul. To put it mildly, the
attempt failed miserably with heavy casualties on both sides. The whole operation was
botched from the beginning. The planned invasion was tipped off to the Turks who
reinforced the peninsula with heavy guns and additional troops. Once the invasion began,
it quickly stalled on the beachhead, thwarted by the Turkish occupation of the high
ground. Churchills haste decision is one of the worst military decision in history.
B Do images and impressions have too much of an effect on people?
Yes:
Images and impressions can have a profound effect on people. Today, the
influence of advertisement significantly affects society. In America, the average person
views 20,000 commercials a year. Commercial advertisements contain powerful
messages that are directed to large audiences. Advertisement is one of the most
expressive and informing means of communication in the mass media. The effects of
advertisement are gender discrimination, roles, and socialization. In movies, and TV
shows men occupy the high-status jobs that are respected in society. Males are
represented as more prestigious and lucrative individuals compared to women. Men are
most like to be the action heroes that America has grown familiar with. Society so deeply
influenced by advertisement, gender messages are recruited and applied toward broader
aspects of life such as the labor force. This results in discrimination toward women
because people stereotype females as being inadequate.
No:
Impression can merely offer people a vague contour of a person we recently
met, but it does not always remain unchangeable as long as we delve into the deep
side of a person's character and his achievement. The prestigious theoretical British
physicist who is renowned for his contribution to the fields of cosmology and quantum
gravity, Stephen William Hawking, unfortunately suffered from the amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis which forced him to maintain his life with the help of technical devices. The
first time I saw his "shocking" image in my science textbook, I was totally paralyzed.

Lying on side of his wheel chair with a stiff smile on his face all the time, he could only
write on a computer with small movements of his body and then speak what he has
written with a voice synthesizer. However, the impression of a frail patient has vanished
completely whereas the veneration arose spontaneously after I listened attentively to the
speech which was about his dedication to the study of ultimate mystery --- black hole.
Despite his misfortune of physical defects, he is the strong man of life. Our recognizance
on people or things thing can be transformed totally so far as we understand more.
Impression dose barely interferes with our further perception of others.
C Can common sense be trusted and accepted, or should it be questioned?
Yes:
Common sense is not always true, but in many cases, it is vital that we trust
and accept it. Common Sense is a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine. It was first
published anonymously on January 10, 1776, during the American Revolution. Common
Sense, signed "Written by an Englishman", became an immediate success. In relation to
the population of the Colonies at that time, it had the largest sale and circulation of any
book in American history. Common Sense presented the American colonists with an
argument for freedom from British rule at a time when the question of independence was
still undecided. Paine wrote and reasoned in a style that common people understood;
forgoing the philosophy and Latin references used by Enlightenment era writers, Paine
structured Common Sense like a sermon and relied on Biblical references to make his
case to the people. Paine accessed common dissenting Protestant idioms as a means to
present a distinctly American political identity to peoples who, in the preceding decades,
had become increasingly culturally tied to Britain. Historian Gordon S. Wood described
Common Sense as, "the most incendiary and popular pamphlet of the entire revolutionary
era". The impact of Paine's thin little pamphlet upon the general call for independence,
upon the other Founding Fathers and their construction of the Declaration of
Independence, and upon the common folk, many of whom would soon join General
Washington to fight the British military, was quickly spread and deeply felt.
No:
Common sense is the product of societys norms during a certain time frame,
prone to reinventing itself at the change of an opinion. Such common sense cannot be
the natural basis of all decisions and must be questioned, as it is contingent upon
fickle norms. Millennia ago, the Egyptians believed that thought and reasons were
formed inside the heart, not the brain. Thus, during the process of embalmment, they
threw away the brain while carefully preserving the heart in an assortment of herbs. It
was common sense, they thought, that ones center of knowledge should rest in the center
of the body. We know now that what they believed to be common sense was in fact
flawed and incorrect, yet at the time, Egypt was the most technologically advanced nation
on the planet and its beliefs were thought to be the most correct. By ancient Egypts
example, we can clearly see that one eras common sense may become utter nonsense
with the passing of time. Centuries ago, the Chinese believed that their emperor was
divine, a son of the heavens who had to be respected and worshipped at all times. It
seems ridiculous now, that any mere mortal could be seen as a divinity, yet religious
common sense of the 10th century persuaded all citizens that it was noble and necessary
to worship their ruler. Their common sense depended on the religious beliefs of their time
beliefs we now perceived to be incorrect and even somewhat silly.

D Can books and stories about characters and events that are not real teach us
anything useful?
Yes:
Literature sets the example both in content and in style for the finest
communication that can come through voice, paper, or visual play. Study the literature
of a race or people, and you have studied the marks they have tracked through time.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century, is a
Chinese historical novel based on the events in the turbulent years near the end of the
Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history, starting in 169 and ending
with the reunification of the land in 280. In a sense the novel is a historical textbook,
because half of its contents are based on historical works. But the author's artistic
treatment has made the tumultuous period of Three Kingdoms in the third century more
intense and graphic. The novel is often taken as a textbook on warfare and sometimes
even as a guide for commercial war. This is because the whole novel is linked by diverse
descriptions of wars. Beginning with the "Yellow Turban" peasant uprising and ending
with the Kingdom Wu exterminated by the new regime of Jin, the novel portrays more
than a hundred battles. In the description of the battles, less ink is used for combats in
battlefield than for battle of wits. This illustrates the Chinese warfare theories with stress
on strategies.
The Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First
published in 1925, it is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City from
spring to autumn of 1922. The novel takes place following the First World War. American
society enjoyed prosperity during the "roaring" 1920s as the economy soared. At the
same time, Prohibition, the ban on the sale and manufacture of alcohol as mandated by
the Eighteenth Amendment, made millionaires out of bootleggers. After its republishing
in 1945 and 1953, it quickly found a wide readership and is today widely regarded as a
paragon of the Great American Novel, and a literary classic. The novel fixates upon a
young soldier, Gatsby who is unable to marry Daisy Fay due to differences in social
status and military commitment. When Daisy marries another man for his wealth, Gatsby
decides to become wealthy in order to win over Dasiy. However, to become wealthy,
Gatsby followed a dishonest path as a mobster. Due to this fact, Daisy refuses to marry
Gatsby. The imaginary character of Gatsby shows how dishonesty can never lead to
success in long term. "Honesty is the best policy" is definitely an appropriate phrase for
the real world.
No:
Literature does not offer us worthwhile information about the real world.
Twilight is a series of four vampire-themed fantasy romance novels by American author
Stephenie Meyer. It charts a period in the life of Isabella "Bella" Swan, a teenage girl
who moves to Forks, Washington, and falls in love with a 104-year-old vampire named
Edward Cullen. The books present a female heroine who can hardly take a step without
needing some boy to rescue her. In fact, the books represent sexist views in almost every
way-from the fact that Bella gives up her ambitions and plans for college to get married
to Edward, the fact that she is portrayed as a modern Eve, begging the noble, moral
gentleman for sex while he desires to preserve their virtue, the fact that their relationship
is dangerously unhealthy, and finally to the fact that nearly every single female character
in the book is a hopelessly negative caricature.

E Should people choose one of two opposing sides of an issue, or is the truth
usually found "in the middle"?
Yes:
Not choosing a side, and remaining in the middle, no matter how well
intentioned, can actually lead to hurting your cause. More recent example can be
found in the recently passed Public Health Care bill. Towards the beginning of the
negotiations for a bill, it was made clear, that the majority of Democrats supported a
Public Option for Healthcare (a system in which the government directly pays for
healthcare) and that the Republicans supported a federal tax credit, so citizens could go
out and privately buy their own health care. However, due to a lot of mudslinging and
misinformation, after many months of negotiations, it was still not settled. Finally, due to
there being a majority of Democrats in both congressional houses, somehow, a watered
down version of the bill was passed. It did not have a Public option, as the Democrats
desired, nor did it contain what the Republicans wanted. This left both sides feeling
dissatisfied, and it did not accomplish the primary objective: to reform healthcare in
America.
No:
Truth rarely falls in the extreme regions; it usually makes it home closer to the
middle of the spectrum. There are two sides to every issue, and rarely will one seem
completely right to everyone involved. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in
the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young "star-cross'd lovers"
whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. One could view these two as right
for following their hearts and fighting against tradition: Juliet goes so far as to pretend to
kill herself. Conversely, once could see them as hormonal teenagers in the wrong young
adults who, in the throes of passion, end of getting themselves and their friends killed.
Most people agree at least partially to both views: Romeo and Juliet's actions are only
somewhat justifiable by their love for one another they are still misguided, rebellious
teenagers.
F Is compromise always the best way to resolve a conflict?
Yes:
Compromise has proved to be an effective way to solve conflicts. Henry Clay,
Sr. (April 12, 1777 June 29, 1852), was a 19th-century American planter, statesman and
orator who represented Kentucky in both the Senate and the House of Representatives,
where he served as Speaker. He also served as Secretary of State from 1825 to 1829. He
was a dominant figure in both the First and Second Party systems. Dubbed the "Great
Compromiser," he brokered important compromises during the Nullification Crisis and
on the slavery issue, especially in 1820 and 1850, during which he was part of the "Great
Triumvirate" or "Immortal Trio," along with his colleagues Daniel Webster and John C.
Calhoun. He was viewed as the primary representative of Western interests in this group,
and was given the names "Henry of the West" and "The Western Star." In 1957, a Senate
Committee selected Clay as one of the five greatest U.S. Senators. Abraham Lincoln,
Whig leader in Illinois, was a great admirer of Clay, saying he was "my ideal of a great
man." Lincoln wholeheartedly supported Clay's economic programs.
The United States debt-ceiling crisis was a financial crisis in 2011 that started as a
debate in the United States Congress about increasing the debt ceiling. Under US law, the
United States Department of the Treasury cannot incur debt beyond the debt ceiling set

by Congress. A failure to raise the debt ceiling would result in the government being
unable to fund the spending which it is by law required to do, and which had been
previously authorized by Congress. In addition, the Obama administration stated that,
without this increase, the US would enter sovereign default (failure to pay the interest
and/or principal of US treasury securities on time) thereby creating an international crisis
in the financial markets. Alternatively, default could be averted if the government were to
promptly reduce its other spending by about half. The immediate crisis ended on July 31,
2011, when a complex deal was reached that raised the debt ceiling and reduced future
government spending.
No:
The betraying weakness of compromise can be seen in situations that do not
have a win-win resolution. The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the
end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It
was signed on June 28, 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz
Ferdinand. On March 16, 1935, in clear violation of the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler
ordered the remilitarization of Germany, including the reactivation of the Luftwaffe (air
force). As the German army grew through conscription, the other European powers
voiced minimal protest as they were more concerned with enforcing the economic aspects
of the treaty. Two years after beginning the expansion of the military, Hitler further
violated the treaty by ordering the reoccupation of the Rhineland by the German Army.
This is one of the causes of the devastating World War II.
In September 1931, Japan, a member of the League of Nations, invaded
Manchuria, a Chinese province. China appealed to the League and the United States for
assistance. The Council of the League asked the parties to withdraw to their original
positions to permit a peaceful settlement. The United States reminded them of their duty
under the Kellogg-Briand Pact to settle matters peacefully. Japan was undeterred and
went on to occupy the whole of Manchuria. The League set up a commission of inquiry
that condemned Japan, the League duly adopting the report in February 1933. Japan
resigned from the League and continued its advance into China. Neither the League nor
the United States took any action. "Their inactivity and ineffectualness in the Far East
lent every encouragement to European aggressors who planned similar acts of defiance."