Just One Game of Chess

By Ralph Niere

Life is a chess game. It is a battle. Either, we plan our moves meticulously and wait for the right time to strike. Or, we show off our greatest weapons, our queens, to terrorize our opponents. Or, we gamble and hope that fate has something great in store for us. Whether we plan our attacks, or we inflict fear to our enemies or we take risks, our dream to achieve is to win. That is life – a chess game.

Winning a game of chess is impossible if you only have one piece – the king of course. In one’s chess game, he is the king and he alone cannot survive. He must trust his controlling player because the king does not control the game; the player does. He must also take risks, utilize chances and find opportunities as the pieces move across the board. Finally, he must rely on his controlled hatred which may strengthen his will to win over his opponent. Trusting, being cunning and hating are needed to win. That is why a person alone cannot survive.

Life is a chess game. In life, we are in a battle. Sometimes, we lean our lives to the player who plans every change on the chess board. Or at times, we take risks and seize advantage on what fate brings. Or often, we are aggressive because our hatred strengthens our desire to survive. Strong faith, strange fate and stark but controlled hate might save us from damnation. Our faith, fate and hatred can spell victory.

Ben-hur: A Tale of Christ stars a “king”, Judah Ben-hur, who is winning in his chess game. From royalty, to slavery and royalty, his faith, fate and hatred did not falter. From being a noble-blood to being a prisoner, his faith to God and his people remain, although not completely, intact. His unusual fate lifts him from almost every danger. His hatred towards his nemesis is overwhelmingly strong that it urges him to really win. Like a noble king in a chess game, Judah Ben-hur becomes the victor because of his faith, fate and hatred.

Ironically, Judah Ben-hur’s faith to God and to his people is tremendously strong during his hardships as an oarsman but falters a little when his situation is better. In the end, though, he has restored his faith. Generally, his faith is strong. First, he refuses to give the names of the Jewish rebels to his best friend, Messalah. Near the end, the strength of his faith radiates when he carried his leper sister to Jesus to be healed together with his mother. On one account, as a dehydrated prisoner, Ben-hur marches along Jerusalem and he drinks from the water Jesus has given him. These accounts exemplify the strong faith of Ben-hur.

Ben-hur’s strong faith saved him from total destruction. Without his faith, he would not be the winner. If he babbled the names of the rebels, his people would have been imprisoned and punished. If he did not believed that Jesus can heal his mother and sister, they would have not been healed. If he refused to drink the water of Jesus, his will to win would have been weakened. If his faith is lost entirely, he would have been destroyed. His strong faith made him strong and he won.

Aside from his strong faith, Ben-hur is saved because of his strange fate. His fate is not of the ordinary. Once, he was a man of robes and jewels and next, he is a prisoner with only a patch of old cloth and then, he ended up with his robes becoming purple. He was first a respected noble, then a prisoner, then a savior, then a royal-blood, then a charioteer and then a believer. Not everyone could be a noble, then turns out a prisoner, then a savior, then a royal-blood, then a charioteer and finally a believer. However, Ben-hur is such. His fate is odd.

For some reason, fate is on Ben-hur’s side. All the time, it seems as though fate is making things easier for Ben-hur. Of all the places they could pass, why did they go by where Jesus lives? Also, without knowing, he wandered into a place and met a sheik who is in need of a charioteer. Incidentally, Esther passed by the people who are listening to Jesus’ sermon. Those things do not happen normally; those are coincidences. Indeed, Ben-hur’s fate is strange.

Ben-hur’s strange fate saved him. It helped him overcome his obstacles. Had Ben-hur and the other prisoners not passed by Jesus, Ben-hur would have not satisfied his thirst physically and spiritually. Had Ben-hur not met the sheik, he would have been unable to win the chariot race. Had Esther not wandered where Jesus was giving His sermon, Ben-hur’s mother and sister would not have been healed. His quenching of his thirst, the rejuvenation of his hope, winning the race and the healing of his mother and sister made him the winner. His fate made him win.

Along with Judah Ben-hur’s faith and fate, his stark hatred also saved him. Hatred alone, though, did not save him. What saved him is that his hatred is controlled by his faith and it was in the right moment. His hatred was so severe that it urged him to win. It kept him focused towards his goal. His hatred gave him all the reasons to continue struggling and never give up. Controlled by faith and complemented by fate, his hatred made him the winner.

Judah Ben-hur’s hatred saved him because it was overwhelmingly strong and reasonable. Messalah gave Ben-hur all the reason to hate him. His greediness and pride angered Ben-hur. His unreasonable condemnation of Ben-hur’s family angered Judah. His vengeful heart made Ben-hur seek revenge. Messalah hated Ben-hur, too, but unlike him, Ben-hur’s hatred is reasonable. Hatred coupled with reasons is a strong weapon in achieving victory.

With only his faith and fate, Ben-hur would not survive. He needed his controlled hatred to win. As he watched his place dominated by Romans, his hatred kept him focused on where to stand. As he rowed the ship as a prisoner, his hatred urges him to keep on going. As he drove the four horses along the elliptical arena, his hatred kept squealing at him to never to give up. Without his hatred he would not have been focused, strong and hopeful. His faith-controlled and fate-complemented hatred made him win.

Judah Ben-hur became the victor because of his strong faith, strange fate and stark hate. These three made him strong, cunning and focused. His faith made him hopeful he would win. His strange fate challenges him to be cunning to find opportunities in every moment of his life. His hatred made him focused towards his goal and he never dashed astray. All throughout, his faith, fate and hatred never let him down. These three made him the victor of his chess game.

Winning his chess game would have been impossible if he only struggled alone. In his own chess game, he is the king and the king alone versus sixteen other pieces could never win. Ben-hur won because he trusted his controlling player and admits that he does not control the game. He also took risks, utilized chances and found opportunities as the face of the chess board changes. He, further, relied on his controlled hatred which gave him will to win. By trusting, being cunning and hating, he defeated his enemy. This is how Ben-hur won.

Indeed, life is a chess game. It is only between winning and losing. To win, one must plan his moves scrupulously and when the right time comes, strike. One must inflict terror to his enemy by being aggressive. Finally, one must also gamble and take risks to win. One must be like Ben-hur. Because no matter how we deny it or how we hide it, our greatest desire is to win – checkmate.
 

On Illogicality and Insensibility

By Ralph Niere
"This is a critical analysis
of the movie 'The Little Prince'
which is our project in English"


Just like when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, grown-ups often devour their common sense and logical judgment. They are, at times, senseless and illogical. For them, to see is to believe. Worse, they are unable to see what is supposed to be seen. Worst, they do not know and understand that they are partially blind to things that matters most. What makes an adult senseless and illogical is their habit of believing what they can only see and not knowing what is supposed to be understood. Logical judgment and common sense are uncommon to adults.

Unlike adults, children are sensible and logical. In the novelette, the Little Prince shows how sensible and logical he is. On Earth and other planets, he found out that he can see beyond what grown-ups can see. Although the Little Prince is bewildered by the oddity of grown-ups he met, the Little Prince understands perfectly why adults are senseless and illogical. Later, he learned from the fox, his friend on Earth that what is essential is invisible to the naked eye. Through his adventures, the Little Prince discovers what children have that adults do not have. The Little Prince is sensible and logical, unlike adults.

Before he came to Earth, the Little Prince journeyed on different planets with different inhabitants. However, these inhabitants are the same in one thing – their insensibility and illogicality. On the first planet he met the king who ruled everything, but it turns out he ruled nothing. On the other planet is where the tippler lives, who drinks so he can forget his problem – being a drunkard. The most dominant of all is the creature on the third planet – the businessman, who busies himself on what he owns even if he is of no use to his possessions. Every inhabitant of every planet indulges deeply on meaningless pursuits. The Little Prince is astonished on how senseless and illogical they are.

After the Little Prince travelled on the different planets, he arrived on Earth, where he encountered adults; most of them are not sensible and logical. First, there were the people who travel to far-flung places and then go back again wasting time, money and energy. Second, there was the pilot who busies himself on repairing his crashed plane. Last, there was the merchant who invented and sells pills to quench thirst and can save a lot of time. Adults on Earth focus more on what they see and what they assume they would see with their naked eyes. Unfortunately, this makes them senseless and illogical.

Generally, adults become senseless and illogical because they only believe on what they can see and what they think they would see. Had the tippler seen that a mistake cannot correct another mistake, he would have made sense. Had the businessman saw that he is of no use to the stars and the stars have no use to him, he would have been sensible. Had the travelling people on Earth saw that they have achieved nothing by travelling, they would have had achieved something. Had the tippler, the businessman, the travelling people and the others used their common sense and logical thinking, they would have been sensible and logical. What is essential is invisible to the naked eye.

The setting of the story plays an important role by reflecting what the main theme says. What we see is not always what is important. The main setting is on the desert where humans are unlikely to survive because, as one would see, of the vastness of the sand. However, the invisible friendship that the pilot and the Little Prince established lived and even grew because of the desert. On the other hand, the time when the story happened is indefinable, thus, the theme of the story knows no time. The setting is one of the crucial factors as foundations of the theme.


Another crucial factor is the plot of the story. The plot really begins on the second chapter where the pilot, after his plane crashed, met the Little Prince. From then on, even though it is marked with flashbacks where the Little Prince narrated his past adventures to the pilot, the story can be easily followed. The plot is then starting to rise as the Little Prince travel from one planet to the other, as he meets unique creatures until he finally met the fox who shared with him a secret. The climax of the story is the time then the Little Prince realizes that he has to fulfill his responsibility to his rose and that he has to go home. After that, there was the brief falling action when the pilot finally said his farewell to his friend. The end of the novelette is an epilogue.

There are also other elements that contribute to its simplicity which almost every age group can appreciate. The story is in the first person point-of-view. It was originally written in French and is now translated to English where simple and tender words are used. However, behind those simple words are hidden meanings that are making the story appealing. Readers raging from different ages can appreciate this novelette

Another factor that makes the novelette appealing is the symbolisms used. Because they create a sense of mystery, they make the story more alluring to the readers. The different creatures living in the different planets are some of these symbolisms. They represent the different personalities of grown-ups and they emphasize how illogical and senseless they are. Another symbol is the snake which symbolizes the inevitability of death. In addition to those, the Little Prince himself is a representation of an innocent child who can discern more properly than grown-ups. The symbolisms challenge the readers’ mind and making the story alluring and more sophisticated.

Its sophistication is further exemplified by its theme. The theme asserts that the naked eye cannot see things that are essential, only the heart can. As the Little Prince travels from planet to planet, he discovers that the theme of the story is true. The king, the tippler and the businessman see only with the eyes. The travelling people failed to realize that they are accomplishing nothing because they see with the ordinary eyes. The pilot, at one time, became similar to them. All of them are adults. Therefore, the theme further asserts that adults can’t see what is essential making them senseless and illogical.

The whole of the story illustrates the insensibility and illogicality of adults which is the theme. It shows that adults see only with their eyes that is why they lack common sense and logical judgment. The characters, especially the adults, obviously portray how senseless and illogical adults can be by believing only what they see. The setting of the story serves as the place of suffering when the pilot crash landed there, but it became a place of growth after the pilot met the Little Prince. The symbolisms hide essential meanings which could not be seen by the naked eye. The novelette strives to teach the readers not to become senseless and illogical by looking things, not with the eyes, but with the heart.
 

...A Cloud, A Seed and A Puppy

By Ralph Niere
“My life is a hunt for knowledge,
an adventure of service and
a journey yet to unfold.”





Once, my life was a big question. Now, I found the answer. My life is a seed that is thirsty for knowledge and hungry for the light. It is a cloud that is wandering wherever it can go and wondering what it can do. Finally, it is also a lost puppy that is trying to find his way to his master. Three answers to one question. This is my life.

My life was first a thirsty and hungry seed. I thirst for knowledge and I hunger for guidance. I drank from the ever-flowing fountain of knowledge, the books – I was not quenched. I ate from the crunchy and juicy fruits they gave me – I was not filled. Then, I glared at the interesting strangers surrounding me – I smiled; I found not what I was looking for, but something more important – wisdom. Wisdom is knowledge heartily done and willingly shared, way more important than knowledge. Finally, the seed is growing.

Next, my life was a perplexed cloud. I was once flying around and wondering how I should live my life. At times I find myself in total despair because I think my life is just a boring monotony. All I see is blue, sometimes the sun or the moon. It took some time, and then finally, I looked down. There is my purpose. The cloud quickly becomes the rain.

Lastly, my life was and still a lost puppy. I am a puppy that is striving to find its way back to its master. A puppy that is never losing hope to go home – glancing everywhere, sniffing every minute scent of its master, hoping that he could once again hear that voice his ears long to hear. Someday, the puppy will be home and it will wag its tail, happy together with its master.

Such is my life – a seed, a cloud and a puppy. A life governed by excellence, service and faith. It is a seed that is slowly growing into a tree through wisdom. It is a cloud that looks down to the ground and showers the seeds so that it will grow. It is a lost puppy trying whatever it can do to return to his Divine Master and someday it will be home with Him. This is my life. These are the answers to the question.
 

Redeeming an Ephemeral but Amaranthine Beauty

By Ralph Niere
She’s beautiful. She’s just spinning out there wearing her elegant blue robe patched with intrinsic puzzle-like designs. From a distance, she’s the tiny blue dot amidst the great, dark, spotted smoke that almost as if engulfing her. If we look at her from the inside, she’s even more beautiful. She’s filled with an array of creatures swarming all over her. They are very lucky, the creatures – and I’m one of them.

We are very lucky. We are blest with this awesome privilege to marvel at this timeless beauty. Timeless beauty, eternal splendor, immortal magnificence – that’s what she is. However, believe it or not, there will be a moment when she will be gone – when time ends, when eternity vanishes, when immortality dies. The whole universe will mourn after that day. Unlucky are the creatures that live when that will happen! She is all we’ve got. Without her, there is nothing.

The world getting hotter, water becoming warmer, ice melting, diseases infesting everyone, droughts and storms everywhere, I mean, isn’t it obvious? If Titanic would have set its maiden voyage today, it will arrive in New York in no time. Maybe, this is why Santa’s appearing in nowhere when it is Christmas – the North Pole is melting, how can he manage to make all those toys? I will not be surprised if the heads carved on Mount Rushmore will vanish – with all this acid rain! It is very obvious. Something is going on!

Seriously, we are in serious trouble. New problems sprout from this huge, age-old problem. Diseases continue to inflict and terrorize people of any race. Precious time is running out. She needs our help. Once, she was there when we needed her. Now, she needs us as much as we need her. Who are we to abandon her? Together we can help her.

Lately, we have been very proud on our technological advancements. Can’t we use these so-called “advancements” to upgrade those smoke-belching factories, power plants and other infrastructures we have? Can’t we use them to create a machine that can reduce, if not recycle, worn-out materials? Can’t we use our modern technology to help her? Yes we can, of course we can, and yes we will because we should and we must!

Pollution is not the only problem; total starvation is being suffered by many of our fellow individuals. Droughts, which behave like mad dogs unleashed from their cells, bully every square centimeter of land turning it into arid, dehydrated, cracked lumps. If not that, Storms, tornados and hurricanes terrorize every nook and cranny of the planet bringing deadly flash floods, fatal landslides and breath-taking whirlwinds to whomever and whatever comes to their way. Destroying crops and vegetation is what they do best. Can we call this beauty?

As minutes become days and days become months and months become years, she is loosing her beauty. We are almost loosing the majestic mountains of grass or ice towering way over us. With the exotic animals, the vast blue oceans and its treasures are endangered. Even the sophistication of sunrises and sunsets are slowly becoming ordinary. We do not want to loose all these. Maybe the reason of these sluggish fading is that we do not value it anymore.


Why do we set our eyes on the Moon, even on Mars? We did not even share a glimpse on our lovely home. Man has landed on the Moon. He sent space probes to Mars. He sent huge telescopes up in space to take pictures of the universe beyond. What a shame! We did not even notice how the temperature on Earth rises dramatically, how nature is beginning to expose her weaknesses and how flocks of diseases infect almost every living creature on Earth. Are we blind? No, and even if we are, blinds feel what is going on!

For every minute we use to cast our sights to the endless space, we waste important time. Time is running out! We have to do something! Will we wait until the water rises twenty feet? No! We know what to do. We are the wisest creatures in this world. The catch is, someone should always be there to grasp the problem and wave it back and forth right in front of our bulging eyes for us to take action! Are we going to follow the fate of the dinosaurs? No! We can do this. We can save this timeless beauty. We can preserve this eternal splendor. We can resurrect this immortal magnificence so that we and billions of generations after us will be able to savor this privilege we currently marvel.
 

Summer Has Begun - Finally!

By Ralph Niere
Ten months it has been, and now it’s finally, but temporarily, over. Months of hard work and strenuous, mind-bogging activities are done. At last, summer is here! (I’ve been wanting to say that.) Vacation has finally begun, and what a start of summer it was; what an outing it was! The carefree aroma of the beach, the ever-changing music of the ocean and the kaleidoscopic scenery of variegated people made me forget those ten months at school. The start of summer was amazing.



The whole of our section joined this outing. And, I believe that the delight was felt not only by me but by all of us who joined it. We took pleasure in the different but never separate ways. Some immediately carelessly immersed themselves in the crystal bluish-white waters of the ocean. Some enjoyed themselves by hitting and smashing balls over the net. Some, particularly me, satisfy themselves by consuming just a little bit of the food. Some gave themselves pictorials and, click here, click there, getting pictures everywhere. Still, some just let their eyes wander anywhere getting the pleasure of the relaxing scenery surrounding them. Isn’t that great or what!

Honestly, that was my first outing ever, but, wow, that was enjoying. The smiles carved in all of our faces were infectious; somehow, you will smile too. I also smiled when I saw our section so united it made my heart leap. I never dreamed the outing would be like this; I never knew outings are this important. Because of this outing, our hard works are being paid off. Because of this outing, the end of the school year and the start of summer became memorable and unforgettable. Most importantly, because of this outing, we are one.

 

A Junior Me - The Last Days

By Ralph Niere
I can't believe how fast time goes! It seems as though I have just written a post here entitled "A Junior Me". As I transformed from a sophomore to a junior, changes bombarded my life as a student. From this short period of time as a junior, so many things happened, be it positive, negative, sad or happy. And now, I am almost a junior no more.

Let me reminisce my life as a junior student. Way back from the first day of classes (which seems just a tick of a clock), my insides leaped when I found out that I had the same classmates. I could not imagine the happiness of being one again and the reality that I will be seeing and meeting the same faces for another ten months! A lot of new teachers are here, too. Moreover, there are also two new sisters. I could still clearly remember the whole first day.

All memories are not that enjoying though, but each really does teach a lesson or two. I could still remember the day when I lost my laboratory manual. I mean, how can I be able to do the procedures and experiments without the manual! That is not to mention when I forgot to bring my project the day before the exams, and that day is the signing-of-admission-cards day! I could also remember the time when our adviser told us that we will have no Christmas Party - that was a hard blow. No matter how we convince, even beg him, he will still not join the party. He was disappointed at us because we kept on changing our minds and we had several wrongdoings back then. Fortunately, for every dilemma, we learned our lessons and we tried our best to remember them.

Aside from those trying times, I also experienced enjoying moments, as though I am not at school at all. I could recall the smiles painted and carved on everyone's face whenever a monthly activity is going to happen. I don't know, but contests give a certain feeling that makes us happy and excited. It gives us a wonderful feeling to try our best to enjoy and win. I even won first place on a poem writing contest once. I can also remember the day we journeyed to the city to witness a musical drama by the Rogationist Seminarians in Ayala Center Cebu.The fact that almost all juniors were there overwhelms us. So many more nice memories happened - I could not even understand how they all fit in such a short time.

Sometimes I ask myself, "Why do good things have to end? And, why is it very hard to end?" I admit, until now, i can't believe I am nearing the end of my junior years. How could that be? However, all of us have to continue on our ways, as time flows endlessly and through eternity. I am almost a senior. Hey, wait just a minute and maybe I am going to graduate after that!
 

The Phantom of the Opera: Who is the Real Antagonist?

By Ralph Niere



The enthralling love-triangle story of the Phantom of the Opera shows us what love can do and what power it holds. Aside from its very naturalistic theme, a number of us are shrouded with confusions as to who is the real antagonist. Is it the so-called "Opera Ghost", or Raoul?




Before coming up with the antagonist, I think its rightful for us to discover the protagonist. There are various sides and different angles on the story. However, I think its suitable to say that the whole story is about the Phantom, or Erik, his real name. Even the title of the story is Erik's alias. In addition to that, the whole story narrates his life, how he lived in the dark, damp and gloomy catacombs below the opera, how he lived his life being called "Phantom" and "Ghost" and how he fell in love with Christine Daae. Since the story is about Erik, we can finally reach the conclusion that he is the protagonist.




Erik is the protagonist, who is the antagonist? The antagonist is the one who opposes the protagonist. He is usually the one who causes the protagonist some trouble and strifes. In the story, the one who opposes Erik is Raoul, Vichomte di Chagny. By saying that Raoul is the antagonist, I am not saying that he is delinquent, iniquituos and insensitive of Erik's love for Christine. I am stressing that by opposing the main character, he made himself the antagonist.




This is just one of the many masks of the story being uncovered. There are still many mysteries that are waiting to be unraveled. This is why The Phantom of the Opera is different from other stories. This musical tragedy coupled with its teeming mysteries, challenged the minds and touched the hearts of several people - movie-goers and music-lovers alike.