Leadership Qualities - Which is Most Important?

The most important quality that a leader should have is the ability to listen to what other have to say. In governments like democracy, an elected leader should be the voice of the people, not just the voice of a couple of people. When leaders listen to their electorate, it shows the people, that as a leader, they care about what others think, and are willing to take into consideration the viewpoints of everyone. As a leader, it is their job to bring prosperity, whether to a nation, or just a small community. In the book Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card, one of the character, Graff, talks about how he should not be able to dictate the protagonist, Ender's, life. In his words, he states, "I don't even think it's right of me to decide the fate of Ender Wiggin,"(Chapter 8, page 98) as a response to Major Anderson, whom Graff was having a conversation with, about who should be able to dictate the fate of the whole world. This quote shows that no one should be able to decide for everyone, based on what they think, and that if Graff was a good leader, then he would choose to take into consideration what Anderson was saying and consider changing his opinion on how Ender's future at Battle School would shape up. A leader may have the best intentions, but things may not always turn out as they like, which is where the opinions of their citizens becomes important. If one mind can think in a million different ways, then imagine how many ways a million minds can think. In Chapter 9, on page 136, Card wrote in Valentine Wiggin's point of view, "Peter knew how to exploit fear in his writing - she had to keep coming to him for ideas". This shows that while Valentine may think of the logical way to do things, Peter chose to use violence to get people to see the way he did. While good leaders may not always do the right thing, sometimes it may be for the best of everyone. In Chapter nine, Graff visits Valentine after Ender has been gone for two years, to ask her to write him a letter. Valentine at first refuses, as she now understands that all of Ender's letters were kept away and not sent to her family because they needed him to be isolated. However, Graff knows that Ender is stuck at a certain point of their game, "The End of the World" to be exact, and cannot get past it. Eventually Graff resorts to writing out his own letter and formatting and styling it in the way Valentine usually wrote her letters. This letter gave Ender the determination to continue o with his game, and eventually succeeded in getting past "The End of the World".  This shows that leaders also need to do what is best for their people, as if Ender had not gotten beyond that point in the game, he could not be their successor against the buggers.

When Frustrations Begin - Atonement

            After a long day at school, constant nagging from parents, frustration with homework, and problems at work, one can very well become frustrated. It may not always be to a specific person, it could just be in general, and there may not always be a way to vent it out. While coming to school may seem as if it is not that hard, the amount of stress one undergoes is tremendous. Lessons, group work, and assignments all pile up and cause frustration when they cannot be done all at once. Not to mention peers who do not do their part, as well as teachers who don't explain things using your learning style. Not knowing what is happening can often cause a person to become frustrated, which may occur regularly.
            Frustration is when you feel disappointed, or dissatisfied with something. In my ISU book, the protagonist, Briony, is disappointed with the way The Trials of Arabella; her play that she was putting on for her elder brother, Leon, was coming together. The fact that her cousins could not understand her vision of the play was setting her off, and making her want to say something. However, as she pitied them over the separation of their parents, she did not want to make them feel any worse than they already did. Her mother, who suffered from massive migraines, nagged her despite her tremors that rolled through her skull. While Briony was on summer vacation throughout the first part of the book, one could tell that her cousins were upsetting her more than what was necessary. Briony eventually gave up on putting on her play, and ran to a meadow that she had once found on the outskirts of Tallis' property. While Briony chooses to find a peaceful place to calm down, other people may have a different approach to coping with frustration. While one person may take a jog, another might take a deep breath and continue on. Everyone copes with frustration in different ways, but it is important to know what triggers frustration, and what one can do to help.

Blog Post #3 - Atonement by Ian McEwan

Although the book was not as well recognized as some other international bestsellers, Atonement has had a movie based upon it, and has won a Golden Globe Award. It was given a 8.3/10 stars by Rotten Tomatoes, showing that despite the twisted plot, people have enjoyed it. The movie itself has been compared to others like Pride and Prejudice, Becoming Jane, and Head in the clouds.  (SPOILER!though many of you may not like this book at all ...otherwise read on) At the end of the book, we see that Briony has grown old and has grandchildren frolicking around. We hear about how Robbie was innocent and how Lola was actually raped by Paul Marshall, a friend of Briony's older brother, Leon. Paul Marshall was of the same class, and due to Briony's hatred for the fact that Robbie and rejected her, she blames him, and Marshall is off the hook. Lola actually ended up marrying Marshall, but it was not said as to if it were forced or if it was her own choice. Briony, during her adulthood, managed to find her sister and Robbie, who were a part of the second world war. By becoming a nurse like her older sister Cecilia, she managed to find her and apologize for her actions. Eventually she took back her accusations, and Robbie remained purely innocent of committing any crime. The ending of this story showed how innocent people can be blamed for crimes that they have not committed, and must take the blame of things that people who are higher up in the classist pyramid have done. While the upper class may have seen this as a benefit, the middle and lower classes were at a disadvantage during this time.