Miguel Rivera Capstone


For my capstone, I focused on self-care. I did this by creating a website that has different aspects of self care like meditation and gemstones. I made the website with research, talking to peers and teachers, and shadowing a dermatologist. At the beginning of my capstone I didn't have a clear idea for my capstone. I figured out my final idea by asking my mentor and other teachers. The capstone process overall was a little stressful because I had to research different careers in the field and the best way to help people. However, I had a good time doing it because self-care is something that I am passion about and wanted to learn more about. I felt that I was about to motiative some people to learn more about their self-care routines and improve my own.


Link to Website:

Bibliography

Buttle, Heather. “Attention and Working Memory in Mindfulness- Meditation Practices.”

Institute of Mind and Behavior, Inc. 32, no. 2 (Spring 2011). Accessed January 23, 2019. https://www.jstor.org/stable/i40158234?refreqid=excelsior%3A2dfe62c9e634f2a8e98dd239f59a6d04.

This journal gives a breakdown of how being mindfulness of one’s actions has positive effects. The most interesting part of the journal was how it describes the placebo effect and placebo impact on people who meditate or use gemstones. Some people do benefit from these practices, but others are just believing them and making themselves happier. This lead to thinking about how I am going to talk about yoga, meditation, and gemstones. I came to the conclusion that my capstone should focus on motivating people to do the actions and believe in it. The key part is believing because it could lead to positive effects or have at least a placebo effect. This journal is reliable because it was published by the Institute of Mind and Behavior and it gives references to the studies at the end.  


Duhigg, Charles. The Power of Habit. Random House, 2012.

This book talks about how habits are form and ways to build healthy ones. I found this book helpful because it allows me to see that I have to think about rewards and timing relating to yoga and meditation. It is jsut enough to teach people how but make them have a plan on when. The best way to achieve this goal is having cues for actions. An example is meditating in the morning. The cue would be waking up and the reward would be feeling calm. This source is reliable because Charles Duhigg has won a Pulitzer-prize and is a reporter for the New York Times for more than a decade.


Epstien, Mark. Advice Not Given: A Guide to Getting Over Yourself. Penguin Press, 2019.

This book talks about ways to think about others and the bigger picture. Reading this book allowed me to see another part of the self-care journey because its focus on ways for people to not only think about themselves. It show me how Buddhism is centered around self-care and getting out positive energies to the world. He went in depth how writing out emotions could be beneficial for some people. It is the best to write with a pen or pencil to feel connected with the writing. This source is reliable because Mark Epstein is a sink and has a medical degree from Harvard. He has study meditation for more than 20 years.


Friedman, Hershel. “Minerals.net.” Ice: The Mineral Ice Information and Pictures. Accessed

January 22, 2019. https://www.minerals.net/gemstone/alexandrite_gemstone.aspx.

This website has all types of gemstones and gives detail about their origin. It is organized by alphabetical order and pictures of the gemstones. Gemstones are something that I wanted to focus on my website. I felt that gemstones can have some positive effects or at least a placebo effect on people. Certain people can be more sure of themselves from certain gemstones or feel more protected. People can feel more conflict starting their health journey with a material object than having to focus on themselves. This website is reliable because it uses other resources and has videos of the gemstones. Also, the website focus on the type of gemstone and don’t directly sell the gemstones.


Harries, Dan. 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress without Losing

My Edge, and Found Self-help That Actual Works: A True Story. London, England: Yellow Kite, 2017.

Dan Harries talks about his self care journey and ways he deals with stress. I found his story interesting because it focus on how an embarrassing moment can lead to grow in a person. Also, he talks about living in a society that overworks and don’t talk about meditation health enough. I found the information about the inner narrator very fascinating because it is something that I felt that everyone has. A voice in your head talking you that you would not be about to do something or try to make you feel bad. This book talked about negative ways to deal with stress such as self medicating or eating unhealthy. I understood that I had to talk about some unhealthy ways to deal with stress.  This source is reliable because it is a biography of Dan Harris and talk about his personal self-care journey. He relates studies on meditation.


Harvard Health Publishing. “5 Ways to De-stress and Help Your Heart.” Harvard Health Blog.

Accessed January 23, 2019. https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/5-ways-to-de-stress-and-help-your-heart.

This website lists five ways to de-stress and relax. I used this website as a jumping point to my research and directing the focus of my capstone. Also, humor was something that I don’t know could help people de-stress. This website leads to thinking about the reasons that people become stress because it talked about not using electrons and disconnecting from the world. That is best to start someone’s self-care journey with small steps like taking a warm bath or listening to music. This website is reliable because it is published by a trusted university and connected to an official report.


Kabat-Zinn, Jon. Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life.

Hachette Books, 1994.

This book talks about the importatnt of meditating. It is know as a contemporary class on meditation. I learn about how people’s actions and thoughts effect everything around them. He talked about how social media and phone overall can be harmful to a person. People should take breaks from their phones and take in the world around them. I found it motative the way the author talks about not letting the actions of others effect your mooded. This allow me to see that the self-cares journey are indivual and focus on building oneself up. This source is reliable because Jon Kabat-Zinn is the founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic. He has written other meditation books.  


“Meditation: In Depth.” National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. January 02,

2019. Accessed January 22, 2019. https://nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation/overview.htm.

This website gave a break down of meditation and it's positive effects. Through the process of making the capstone, I am going to heavily focus on meditation. This website allowed me to have factual information about meditation and the definite of it. I had a loose understanding of meditation and this website gave me a clear understanding. The video on the website was helpful because it showed me a way to talk about meditation. This website is reliable because it is apart of the U.S Department of Health and Human Services. It has references from research papers and articles.


“NAMI.” NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness. Accessed January 23, 2019.

https://www.nami.org/learn-more/mental-health-by-the-numbers.

I wanted to get statics about different people who have mental health illnesses and their effect on society. This website proved that information. I will use this information to inform people why starting their self-care jountry is important and destregles mental issues. Also, it allowed me to understand that natural remedies may not work for everyone and some people have to constrater meditation. I should explain that decision should be discussed with their doctors and it is okay to do so. This website is reliable because it has all of its references at the end of the website and NAMI is a respected organization.


Ted. “9 Ways to Practice Self-care.” Ted. Accessed January 23, 2019.

https://www.ted.com/playlists/299/the_importance_of_self_care.

This website allowed me to see speeches from indiviuals who are in the meditation or self-help flieds. This videos allow me to see how different professionals talk about meditation health and their interactions with audience members. Also, I learned about different ways for people to de-stress and make self-care fun. That the self-care journey embodies every part of someone’s life. Diets, exercise, and meditation health are all part of someone’s self-care journey and need to be addressed. This source is reliable because it has experts who have degrees in their respected field talk about what they have studied. Also, Ted.com is a trusted organization.


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Lauren Nicolella Capstone

SLA Mentor: Mr. Hernandez


Topic Summary:

Figuring out how to effectively create a club at SLA, with there being a focus on reducing students’ stress levels based on the activities.


Project Abstract:

I created a karaoke club that would consist of students being able to sing and dance along to their favorite songs in a judgment-free zone. I began with putting up posters around the school, asking a friend to design one for me that would catch the eye of those who were interested. As it was only possible for meetings to occur during one lunch band, it was difficult to reach a larger amount of students who were interested in attending. I held four meetings, with required surveys for students to complete before and after they experienced the club. In the surveys, there were questions regarding their level of stress, how they felt, what they do to help themselves, and what can be improved in the club for next time. Each meeting was different because the number of people who attended was not consistent and the energy was either very high or significantly low, all of which affected the way the group as a whole participated. It was difficult trying to contain everyone and the kinds of music and activities we ended up doing when it came to deciding on a song or video on Youtube, it spiraled a little out of my control. I attempted to make changes, which included a judging round but it didn’t work well since people didn’t enjoy it, or want to participate. Ultimately, I decided to keep the genre of music to pop for a more universal reach as a constant throughout each meeting.  


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Videos of club:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1QTgeLF3Cn4ZWtSLVFlalU5S0N5Q0FOZVdIU0dFUkh3RFFn

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1QTgeLF3Cn4cFZJZVk0aFFYcTlFQ0ZXWFNQekxrMERfVElv

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1QTgeLF3Cn4azBUc3doWEczY3lOWEZHa2ZJT0pBRkh4YWxJ

Bibliography 
  1. [Author removed at request of original publisher]. “Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication.” University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing, University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing Edition, 2016. This Edition Adapted from a Work Originally Produced in 2010 by a Publisher Who Has Requested That It Not Receive Attribution., 22 Mar. 2016, open.lib.umn.edu/mediaandculture/chapter/6-2-the-evolution-of-popular-music/.


For one of my club meetings, I want to include pop songs that are from the early 2000’s and 2010’s and this source goes into the evolution and how it has become different over the past century. It surprisingly goes into copyright issues, and the formation of laws in America to prevent copying, and to make more money and produce original songs. Genres like Jazz and the Blues were very popular in the 20s, and eventually the radio began to play different kinds of music once musicians started creating other sounds and lyrics. It went from saxophones and trumpets, to electric guitars and soundboard rhythms.


  1. B., Kay. “History of Pop-Punk Music with Timeline.” Spinditty, Spinditty, 27 Oct. 2013, spinditty.com/industry/History-of-Pop-Punk-Music-with-Timeline.


This source is crucial since it is going to be a main part of how I am introducing my club and sharing with others of how I love pop-punk. It explains in depth of the origins from the 70’s and 80’s, and the difference in how ‘hard’ it used to be with vocals and instruments. There was a line of what made a band either pop-punk or hardcore, with certain characteristics to categorize them. The main era of pop-punk from more recent years started in the 90’s, with huge success from bands like Green Day. It evolved more as the years went on, bands like Blink 182 and Simple Plan became more popular and it continued growing into lots of more exposure and growth in the genre.


  1. Hagan, Abigail. “The Power of Music Therapy .” Belmont University, Belmont University, www.belmont.edu/burs/pdf/Music - Hagan.pdf.

I found this research paper from a student at Belmont University, and she wrote about music therapy and how it actually works and is effective to those who are interested in using that process. It has become more established overtime in the world of healthcare, and targets specific situations such as relieving stress, pain, memory, and communication. It goes into multiple fields like psychology and physicians, so it is not limited to one career only. I thought it was so interesting that students are becoming more intrigued by researching the cause and effects of music, and how there is a lot of data to back up the way it helps a lot people out.


  1. Iyer, Pico. “Daisuke Inoue.” Time, Time Inc., 23 Aug. 1999, content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2054546,00.html.


This source was important for me to include because it gives a large overview and information about the man who created the very first karaoke machine. It was a bit difficult for me to find sources that explained his life, because he is still alive so there isn’t a lot of specific pieces that could be researched. Daisuke Inoue had friends who were in a band, and he was inspired of how they could read music and retain the melodies and lyrics all from memory. He then made it a mission to save up money to have his own version of karaoke, and sing along to different tapes.


  1. “Karaoke History - Do You Know How It Started?” DJ-BrianC - Music For All Occasions, www.djbrianc.us/dj-services/karaoke-dj/karaoke-history/.


My first step into doing research had to be about learning how karaoke came to be, and how it has evolved overtime. This source goes into different decades of how it began, and starts out in the 60s which was surprising to me. It has become a large phenomenon in America, but came from Japan and someone who is Filipino. This will help me understand how it spread quickly in a time when there was less technology to spread something like karaoke. I think that it’s very interesting of how there was a mention of stereos and equipment becoming more high end so that the karaoke experience is able to become increasingly better.


  1. Schoenherr, Neil. “Discovering Why Study Groups Are More Effective | The Source | Washington University in St. Louis.” The Source, 13 Jan. 2016, https://source.wustl.edu/2006/07/discovering-why-study-groups-are-more-effective/.


This source immediately jumps into how students gravitate towards doing work in study groups, and how figuring out that there is a pattern to go along with this. It makes me think of how SLA is surrounded by working in groups always, using our collaboration core value to efficiently get a lot more work done rather than have a bunch of independent assignments. The two patterns were ‘the gaze’, looking in a certain way only at your notebook, or always up to show confidence and preparation. The other pattern is ‘absorbing the materia;’, including in depth discussions and allowing more room to understand and actually grasp the material they are learning.


  1. Stangor, Charles. “Principles of Social Psychology – 1st International Edition.” Introduction to Sociology – 1st Canadian Edition, BCcampus, 26 Sept. 2014, opentextbc.ca/socialpsychology/chapter/affect-behavior-and-cognition/.


The biggest piece from this article that resonates with me and the planning of my club is how Social Cognition was one of the first pieces of vocabulary and information given. It’s when you try and understand or predict the behavior of others and yourself in social activities, and me planning out everything to happen for this club is me doing exactly that. It goes further into how people may interpret and understand that situation or event, and how every person has a different opinion and way of taking something. I find that super interesting because I intend on showing pop-punk as my first genre and although I may love it, others may not and find the music offensive in some cases.


  1. “Why Do People Go to Karaoke Alone in Japan? – Japan Info.” Japan Info, jpninfo.com/120494.


This source goes more into the karaoke city of origin, Japan. It’s incredible that it directly translates to ‘empty orchestra’, being very self-explanatory about what the actions are for those who participate in it. It lists multiple reasons of why one should go to a karaoke bar, or rent a room called a Karaoke Box, and experience a real part of the Japanese culture while travelling. There is a brief mention of how lots of people even attend karaoke alone, and how it’s more of a bigger impact if you do so. It helps with relieving stress, confidence, and practising singing.


  1. Frontiers in Psychology. The Psychological Functions of Music Listening. 2013, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3741536/.


I found this website, and I was interested to read it because it is from the US National Library of Medicine, and National Institutions of Health. It explains how music is one of the most relaxing and important aspects to someone’s daily life. This source goes further into some history of music, and how it has been around for a long time, and scholars for years have been researching the way that music is purposeful. Music has evolved and become so different over the centuries, but there has been significant research about music becoming a way to bring pleasure and relaxation, but there is a certain limit to how far that can reach someone.


  1. “Stress.” Mental Health Foundation, 7 Nov. 2018, www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stress.


This source is from an official mental health foundation, so I knew it was a solid source to include. I wanted to have the knowledge on stress, mainly because it is what I am trying to “measure”. Stress is when your body is responding to an event or situation that exudes a lot of pressure. Having this source go specifically into what triggers and changes occur helps me understand what not to do when I conduct my club meetings. The questions asked were very specific to different mental and physical effects, and there are many solutions and tips that can try to ease someone experiencing high levels of stress.

Alexandrea Rivera- Capstone

Abstract:

Homelessness is a huge problem in the world, especially the city of Philadelphia. This is a topic that is talked about but not much is done. Most times when homelessness is talked about it is brought up in a negative light instead of looking deeper into solutions or preventions. The main purpose of my Capstone was to raise awareness not only to the SLA community but friends and family as well. I was able to do this by getting in contact with a homeless service called Chosen 300. At Chosen 300 they give out free homemade meals and service for those who are less fortunate. I loved the idea of helping inside the organization but there was something else that I felt needed to be done.

To take actions into my own hands, I decided to put together a bake sale in SLA, by first scheduling a day, sending out posters advertising and purchasing the baked goods. The turnout was so good that I ended up selling everything that day! With this money, I purchased canned goods and treats to bring into Chosen 300. I was also collecting clothes from SLA students and family members at the same time to later bring in. I think that everything was very successful and I was able to achieve the goals of my Capstone through the help of everyone who participated and who lent a helping hand to better understand the different options there are to helping homelessness.

Bibliography:

“/.” Asociación Puertorriqueños En Marcha, apmphila.org/2019/01/24/whyy-as-philly-tallies-homeless-population-advocates-say-families-are-overlooked/.

This is an article that was done earlier this year in 2019, that speaks more on homeless families and students. They give many facts and statistics that help get a better understanding of how serious this is and that yes there are emergency shelters but these shelters should be something to help families along to getting a permanent home. They also bring up the important role the City Of Philadelphia plays into funding these shelters and how some people are denied access to shelters.

Michaelgainer@projecthome.org. “Facts on Homelessness.” Project HOME, 5 Sept. 2018, projecthome.org/about/facts-homelessness.

When looking through this website I was able to get more information that I needed to better inform the viewers of my Capstone. It talks about how the lack of affordable health care, lack of affordable housing and domestic violence are the causes of homelessness not just drug addiction.

“CHOSEN 300 MINISTRIES, INC.” Chosen 300 Ministries Home Page, www.chosen300.org/ourmission.html.

This website is for the organization I worked with to be able to complete my Capstone. Throughout this website, I was able to gather different events that are held inside and outside of Chosen 300. It also gives the background of how it was created and founded explaining the services that they provide and what their mission is.

“Weather – Code Blue.” Go to ., philadelphiaofficeofhomelessservices.org/services/weather-code-blue/.

This article Weather-Code Blue on the website called The Office of Homeless Services describes the process of what happens in extreme weather especially when it’s cold. They have volunteers pick up the homeless, struggling in this cold weather, and give out an outreach number. They have that they are open 24 hours 7 days a week displayed on the website, letting everyone know that they will always have somewhere to stay. But they also mention that there are not enough beds, and how the buildings are very old. Since these buildings are so old these services have tried to keep up with them with the money that they have but it’s not enough, these buildings are still having outages and floods throughout these horrendous times.

Eric Valenti Capstone

For my capstone, I wrote and directed my own play. I wanted to perform my own play because I wanted to demonstrate my own vision and ideas, rather than take another play and attempt to replicate someone else’s idea in my own style.


Over the winter break, I just let myself write. Before I knew it, what started as one scene about a boy getting dressed turned into a story about events that took place in my life with jokes brought in that highlighted this story of a boy wanting to tell his mother the truth.  After a hefty amount of edits from close friends and mentors, I was finally ready to get people to audition.


With just enough people coming to auditions and enough stage crew members, I had put together a team. Every Monday and Thursday after advisory, we would practice simple acting techniques and scenes from the play for about two hours. This would go on for two months. It was more challenging than I expected to get people to simply walk and talk on stage. It wasn’t until the final practice, the day before the play, that I had realized how far we had come as a group and how much work we had put in.


On March 22, we performed “A Year to Remember” during X-band lunch only expecting twenty audience members and actually had triple the expected amount. I left the drama studio with a handful of flowers and this warm feeling that took over my entire body. My capstone allowed me to display a story that I believe SLA will never forget and that I can be proud of.


Link to bibliography:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bDNL68hIhcunZMIIHU-z9vFFQIS7bk2Nczs73mrViUY/edit


Link to play script:
Me giving an intro before the play
Me giving an intro before the play
Waverly and Sashoya acting as Italian sisters
Waverly and Sashoya acting as Italian sisters
William acting like an awkward teen and Lucien as a creepy uncle
William acting like an awkward teen and Lucien as a creepy uncle

Shilo Kendall Capstone

Abstract​

For my capstone I decided to create a bakery in order to see what steps people take in order to create their own business in the restaurant industry. I decided to create a vegan and gluten free bakery in order to reach a wider market of people. I made gluten free peanut butter cookies, vegan and gluten free lemon bars, vegan brownies, snickerdoodles, cheddar chive biscuits, and cupcakes. I asked the owner of Will BYOB, Chris Kearse, to show me how he prices out his dishes and how he organizes his list of ingredients. I then took what I learned from him to help me create spreadsheets that organized my costs and pricing for the different baked goods I was making. I then created a website for my bakery and actually played out the bakery in order to see if my bakery was functional. I learned a lot about the difficulties of creating a business and also dealing with the public. I showed me that having a business takes a lot of work and a lot of dedication.

https://tatumkendall.wixsite.com/mysite (bakery website)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FM91oOreM2Fy0duj93lSE3B2RkiCI0iN8h_biQ3TFHM/edit?usp=sharing (spreadsheets)

Screenshot of the homepage of my website
Screenshot of the homepage of my website
Screenshot of my menu page on my website
Screenshot of my menu page on my website
Screenshot of my spreadsheets. This shows the math behind finding the cost of each item per oz.
Screenshot of my spreadsheets. This shows the math behind finding the cost of each item per oz.
Screenshot of my spreadsheet for the snickerdoodle cookies. This shows the processes I took in order to figure out my profit and price for my cookies.
Screenshot of my spreadsheet for the snickerdoodle cookies. This shows the processes I took in order to figure out my profit and price for my cookies.

Bibliography:


“About.” Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society, phillypaws.org/about/.


This is the non-profit organization that I am going to be donating most of my profits to. They are a low cost animal clinic. They do mainly spay and neuters daily and give opportunities for vet-students to learn from the vets at PAWS.


“Flour Mixes & Substitutions.” Gluten Free & More, www.glutenfreeandmore.com/substitutions/.


This blog informs people of the different substitutes that can be used in order to make baked goods gluten free such as using xanthan gum or agar as a thickener or other kinds of flour such as oat or rice flour. It also gives you different ratios when using these substitutes compared to using normal ingredients, along with recipes for basic breads and doughs. With knowing this kind of information it makes me more informed about the recipes I am using and why the substitutes work, along with the fact I can take a recipe that is regular and make it gluten free using these substitutes.


Kearse , Chris, and Shilo Kendall. “Business at WILL.” 21 Nov. 2018.


In this interview Chris discussed with me how he prices his food and how he organizes his inventory. He creates spreadsheet with all the ingredients he uses for each recipe. He prices them out by oz. With this information he can figure out how much the dish would be by the amount of ounces per ingredient per dish. He then takes the cost and multiplies it by 5 since it is fine dining but he explained to me it is usually by 3. This is information I created my own spreadsheets for my recipes and was able to price out each individual item.


Kelly, Taylor. “Veganism Is at an All-Time High: Is It A Fleeting Fad or The New Norm?” SinglePlatform, SinglePlatform, 28 June 2018, www.singleplatform.com/blog/the-rise-of-veganism-a-fleeting-fad-or-the-new-norm.


Kelly explains in her article that from 2014 to 2017 people identifying as vegan has risen from 1% to 6%. With this increase Kelly talks about the reasons why people have become vegan, health, animal welfare, etc, along with the affects this rise in veganism has had on the restaurant industry. Since veganism has increased more restaurants have been popping up that are either entirely vegan or have many vegan options. Restaurants rely on public demand so if more people are becoming vegan they have to make an effort to comaidate for these dietary changes. With now knowing this kind of information I decided to make my bakery have vegan options due to the rise in veganism, along with having regular items in order to reach a wider range of people.


M.S., Marissa Donovan, and R.d. “Vegan Substitutes for Baking.” EatingWell, EatingWell, 6 Nov. 2017, www.eatingwell.com/article/289703/vegan-substitutes-for-baking/.  


Marissa Donovan goes into the different kinds of vegan substitutes you can use and the ratios required depending on what you are trying to substitute within a recipe such as dairy and eggs. For example she explains how to make dairy-free buttermilk by using any non-dairy milk such as almond milk and adding one tablespoon of lemon juice in order to curdle the milk. With this kind of information I can then understand my vegan recipes better and understand the choices the person made, along with being able to change regular recipes into vegan recipes by using these substitutes.


Nordqvist, Christian. “Celiac Disease: Symptoms, Diagnosis, Diet, and Treatment.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 15 Dec. 2017, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/38085.php.


Nordqvist writes about what celiac is, symptoms, diagnosis, diet, and kinds of treatments. Celiac is a disorder where a person is allergic to gluten, this can lead to inflammation, malnutrition, and destruction of the lining of organs when gluten is consumed. Around 1 in every 141 Americans have celiac making it a more common disorder than many believe. It affects mainly caucasian females and can be treated with a gluten free diet. Nordqvist mentions what foods people with celiac should avoid, bread, some processed soups, granola, etc. With now knowing this kind of information I decided to make my bakery have gluten free options due to the fact that I want to make my bakery excel to people with celiac and people who are gluten free. I want to make sure that people who have dietary restrictions or allergies can find at least one this on my menu to have.


Page, Karen, et al. The Flavor Bible: the Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of Americas Most Imaginative Chefs. Little, Brown and Company, 2011.


The Flavor Bible by Karen Page is a book consisting of different flavor combinations. It lists commonly used ingredients such as honey, chocolate, etc and gives a list of items underneath that pair well with the given ingredient. I use this book a lot when trying to come up with desserts in order to make sure my flavor combinations make sense and with actually work together.


SANDYWIFEY31S, et al. “Vegan Brownies Recipe.” Allrecipes, 18 Dec. 2008, www.allrecipes.com/recipe/68436/vegan-brownies/.


This is one of the recipes I will be using for my bake sale. With the brownies being vegan the making of the brownies is different from how you would make normal brownies. In this recipe you mix all of the ingredients together in one bowl. While in a normal brownie recipe you have a lot of steps such as mixing the butter and sugar in a saucepan and mixing the eggs with the cocoa powder which is more complex than the vegan brownie recipe.


Scheuer, Chris. “Ridiculously Easy Cheddar Chive Biscuits.” The Café Sucre Farine, 11 Dec. 2017, thecafesucrefarine.com/easy-cheddar-chive-biscuits/.


Scheuer’s recipe is extremely easy to follow and is the best recipe for cheddar chive biscuits I have found so far. I have tried it many times in the past and it has worked anytime. It gives you the recipe for a basic biscuit dough which I can then manipulate in order to create many different kinds of biscuits which is helpful when making a bakery since you need to change up your items to keep people interested in my products.


snap_admin. “How To Market Your Bakery (14 Crucial Tips & Resources).” Deneen Pottery, Deneen Pottery, 10 Jan. 2019, deneenpottery.com/marketing-bakery-2/.


Deneen Pottery created a section within their website showing people how to market their bakeries. They give tips on how to keep people coming in the door and to keep people interested in your product. They mention how you need to tempt your customers by playing into trends such as using charcoal within products to make them black or making gluten free and vegan options. Use social media or create a website in order to show people your product and explain the purpose behind your bakery in order to draw people in. This will help me when I am trying to market my bakery to SLA students and how to draw them in so that I can make a profit.


Eliana Alfaro-Allah - Lord of the Flies Essay

Eliana Alfaro-Allah

English 2

D - Band


In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, we see a rift and blur between the lines of civilized and savage. But when someone is pointed out as being the latter, what is it about man that becomes so violent? So upset and disgusted when a mirror is shined in their face? When humans are deemed savage by other humans, they go to extremes to convey their denia about being savage.No human likes to be looked down upon, we all would prefer to be looked at as civilized.  But to mask their true nature is commonplace for humans, and we don’t just see it within Lord Of the Flies, but in our own society.


In the book, on page 156, after the murder of Simon, Ralph takes it upon himself to confront Piggy and tell him what it really was- murder. Piggy is disturbed, and lashes out at Ralph, blaming Simon for his own death. “It was dark....There was the lightning and thunder and rain.  We was scared!...Anything might have happened. it wasn't --what you said…. "I was an accident…. He had no business crawling around in the dark...  He asked for it." Then he changes, "It was an accident.""By Piggy saying that Simon was ‘asking’ for his own death when Ralph tells him that it was murder, Piggy knows that Simon ca  nnot speak for himself, and they both know full well that Piggy didn’t do anything to stop the killing. Piggy still wants to distinguish himself as civilized and not savage, and is enraged that Ralph is now showing Piggy his true colors.


This  instance isn’t lone in the world of the book, in fact, it’s not just in the world of William Golding. When it comes to savage acts, humans are not the only ones to blame. In 2013, a documentary by the name of ‘Blackfish’ took storm, earning rave reviews and a whopping 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s a somber story of a killer whale named Tillikum, that after a long psychosis of being trapped in Seaworld, it begins ruthlessly killing its trainers. On February 24th, 2010, Tillikum killed a female trainer by the name of Dawn Brancheau by causing blunt force trauma to the head, neck and torso before dragging her underwater and drowning her. Even though it tore through the nation, and media was quick to capitalize on the tragedy, Dawn Brancheau was blamed for her own death. When giving addresses, Seaworld stated that Dawn was at fault, due to her hair being tied in a long ponytail on the top of her head that Tillikum grabbed onto. This caused outraged among her friends and family, making them feel wronged that Dawn was being blamed for her own death, when she wasn’t even alive to defend herself. Seaworld was quick to defend themselves instead, and in turn by denying they had any involvement by abusing their whale, they blamed the woman who died for her own death.


It’s prevalent in society today for people, instead of owning up to their own guilt and moving on to be a better, more experienced person, they deflect blame childishly and opt to refuse to listen. This is seen in the book, on chapter 11, page 270. Golding writes, “The booing rose and died again as Piggy lifted the white, magic shell. “Which is better –to be a pack of painted Indians like you are, or to be sensible like Ralph is?” A great clamor rose among the savages. Piggy shouted again. “Which is better –to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?” Again the clamor and again – “Zup!” Ralph shouted against the noise. “Which is better, law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?” Now Jack was yelling too and Ralph could no longer make himself heard. Jack had backed right against the tribe and they were a solid mass of menace that bristled with spears.” This is insanely child-like, which while being simultaneously applicable to the boys’ level of innocence as children, but the extremes they go to in order to convey their denial. Jack is enabling the kids, and leading them to instead of listening to the rational concerns of Piggy and Ralph, but to heckle them and boo immaturely. It’s indicative of modern society, and very dismally, it’s not just applicable to children, but to grown people.


In 2018, an article came out about a college student named Heather Price, who was raped in her own dorm. After the incident, she stayed silent, as do a lot of rape victims, but eventually wanted to come out about her perpetrator. She soon found out that in her college, she wasn’t alone, and forged relationships and found solace in the other victims on campus. And while that sounds uplifting, there is a very harmful part of this story - which is, these women weren’t believed. When bringing up their accusations to higher authorities, not only were they not believed, but they were heckled by other students, saying that it was their fault for the crimes that were acted upon them, telling them that it was their fault for the clothes that they were wearing on the nights of their attacks. This goes to display the level of injustice, where innocent people are being blamed for crimes committed against them, and when they attempt to remind their attackers of their own guilt, they retaliate immaturely by blaming and heckling them. No better than a group of uncivilized schoolboys.


In Lord of the Flies, we see an abundance of varying cases involving the boys on the island being shown their true selves, and lashing out in their immaturity to display the denial of the acts that they are charged with. This specific happening is displayed not just in the world Wiliam Golding has created, though. Humans are capable of many incredible things, this we know. But humans, as products of our emotions, over time, have created ways to delude ourselves into an alibi while putting victims of actual crimes down. And while it’s been happening for a long time, this has become prevalent in our society as of late when heinous behaviour is more likely to be called out in the current political climate. And while it’s unfair that truly guilty people are able to walk free because of it, these unchecked acts of rage can come from a mask of denial to hide away guilt.


LORD OF THE FLIES ESSAY

Iman Ahmed

English 2

March 25, 2019

Lord of the Flies & Presence of Civility

Since the elementary days in school, students have been encouraged to take so much pride in being American. Flags gracefully flapping back and forth, proudly chanting the Pledge of Allegiance. One of the things that Americans are proud of is being part of a very progressed and civilized society. During school, the topic of America’s great heros who founded this country is a recurring topic. Emphasizing how they fought for the freedom that is present today. The question that isn’t asked is if America truly is civilized? It is commonly thought that Americans are very just and civilized people. This might be true when it comes to interacting within the American society. Despite what we are taught, America has a tendency of not treating those who are different with the civility that we preach.

In the beginning of Lord of the Flies, we are introduced to “the fat boy with asthma”, later known as Piggy. As the book continues he becomes Ralph’s loyal companion that always considers other people’s opinions and feelings.Towards the end of the book, he oddly wasn’t the emotional one after Simon’s death: “Coming in the dark - he hadn’t no business crawling like that out of the dark. He was batty. He asked for it.”(157)  Even though Simon was part of the group, Piggy, who is presented as the sensitive smart boy in the beginning of the book, is shown to not showing much concern to killing Simon. When he was responding to Ralph’s claim that they killed Simon, he said that it wasn’t their fault because it was dark and they didn’t even know. Not only did Piggy take responsibility for his killing but he also blamed it on Simon for being “batty” and that he “asked for it”. He justified it because he was doing a foreign dance that he wasn’t familiar with. Brutality killing someone because of doing an unusual dance isn’t civilized. Part of being a moral and civilized person is not only taking responsibility of actions, but also not checking who was just murdered

In America, there are many cases shown of black people experiencing police brutality due to their race. This type of tragedy has a very long-lasting effect on people. They could have an emotional and mental effect. As New York Times said in their article, “Using mental health survey data and a database of police shootings, a team of health researchers concluded that when police officers in the United States kill unarmed black people, it damages the mental health of black Americans living in those states.” This type of negative mental impact is not just because black people have lost someone but it’s also because of the thought “What if I was in that position, what would happen to me? We have similar backgrounds so what would ensure me safety in this type of environment.”This ties in with the idea that Ralph is traumatized by the killing of Simon because he knew that it could have been him. The fear that he had affected how he reacted after he knew Simon died and Piggy also had fear but he expressed it in a different way. It shows that Fear can come from a common place but affect each individual differently.

In the 2nd and 3rd chapter of Lord of the Flies, the boys are having a crucial meeting about how to survive in this island. They were sitting around a fire, discussing set rules to follow while stranded in this island. Then Jack extended his hand for the conch and then said, “I agree with Ralph. After all, we’re not savages. We’ve got to have rules and obey them. We’re the English, and the English are best at everything. So we’ve got to do the right things”(42) This statement is from Jack claiming that he is from an English civilization. When he said “the English are best at everything”, it made me think of how many English people think that their country is so civilized even though there are many known cases of the British treating people from different lands inhumanely. Later on in the book Jack has turned into one of those “savages” that he despised so much. This falls into the idea that “something is only good when I do it because we are the superiors”. Which is not only senseless but also a product of double standars.

In the modern day world, we have progressed to a society that agrees we should all be treated equally no matter one’s gender, race, or color. It’s usually is used to justify acts of cultural appropriation. People would argue that since we’re equal then that we should have equal permissions to do certain things. “In a truly equal world, you wouldn’t have to think about if you have power and privilege over the people you’re borrowing culture from. Unfortunately, that’s not the world we live in. In our world, systems of oppression create power dynamics between different groups of people.” The reason that it’s not civilized is not because it’s not humane but rather because it’s showing the impression that one thinks that they are superior. That’s why they can do this thing from a different culture that is usually not praised and sometimes degraded because they have that authority. Which can connect to what Jack was lie in the book. He claimed that he is British and civilized unlike the “savages” but then does the things that savage people do. For example, when the British went to India to take its rescources. Not only did they steal but the British turned them against each other. Which wasn’t just in anyway, but since they have the higher power then they aren’t held accountable.


We might not be aware of it but we do uncivilized things and claim it to be just. And when we are pointed out for it then we don’t take responsibility for our actions and blame it on another person or group which in it of itself is a “savage” thing to do. And we still very proudly claim that we are civilized people. Which could unconsciously show our superiority over other people.


LOTF Essay

In the book Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, there is a group of kids with no adults that get stuck on an island where they get scared of a beast. the only two people that know there's no beast is Piggy and Simon. they do not like them is because of his appearance --  piggy is a chubby boy and he has glasses. Simon knows when to have fun and when to work. You constantly see Ralph and Jack pick on Simon and Piggy because they're different in some way. people treat others differently if they're not the same as them. Like if people are creepy and weird compared to other people that are outgoing and creative they will not get the same treatment.

In the book, Ralph, Piggy, Jack, and Simon are hiding from the beast And thinking of a way to fight it. Jack's told the group that Ralph thinks that they're cowards. At that moment Jack was trying to get them not to trust Ralph so that they will pick Jack to become their chief.“He’s like Piggy, He says things like Piggy. He isn’t a proper chief.” This means two things, he's trying to imply that Peggy is weird and that he doesn't like Piggy. Saying Ralph is like Piggy means that he doesn't like either one of them. Since he said  Ralph is a coward and that he does things like Piggy is basically saying he is a coward. He's using Piggy name in the sentence ever so slightly implying that he doesn't like Piggy too. If people are different and any type of way from the rest of the group. Then no one likes them they try to push them to the side like they're nothing, and because piggy is a fat boy with glasses and is a know it all. but just because they do different things doesn't mean they deserve that punishment.

Right now, Simon is next to the pig’s head and even when the pig is falling apart the flies are still on it.  “Simon’s nose and the blood gushed out they left him alone, preferring the pig's high flavor”, the Lord of the Flies is still hanging on the stick like a black ball. Simon gets up and says, “What else is there to do.”. From the quote, you can see why people think Simon is creepy and weird. He is speaking out loud to a pig head. This quote shows how Simon is different from the other boys. Like he would go off and talk to the pig's head and climbing up mountains to see if a beast is real. At this time Ralph and Piggy were about to join Jack's party and Simon was climbing mountains all by himself to find out if a beast was real. The other kids do not want to be around Simon because they do not believe that the beast is real but Simon does. When he comes back to the group to tell the boys that the beast is harmless they think he is the beast that they didn’t believe in was Simon.

On June 26, 2018, Donald Trump created a Travel ban that affects people from Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. He was afraid of terrorists coming into Our society and messing it up. He wanted to stop terrorism but not all people that come from those countries are terrorists. most people from those countries are trying to just come here to get an education. “Radical Islamic Terrorism must be stopped by whatever means necessary!”, this is saying how he will go through so much just to stop radical Islamic. just because some people in the religion did some bad stuff It doesn't mean you have to prevent everyone from coming to America.  

In this sassy, I talked about how people treat others differently if they're not the same as them. So Donald Trump stopping people from Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. When Jack said to Ralph He’s like Piggy, He says things like Piggy. He isn’t a proper chief. Both of these things are making the people that they're doing this to fill a different way and it's just putting people down. Both of things prove my thesis that people treat people differently if they're not the same as them.



Sources Cited:

Saletan, William, and William Saletan. “Trump Blames Violence on Hate Speech-Just Not When the Perpetrators Are White.” Slate Magazine, Slate, 31 Oct. 2018, slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/10/trump-rhetoric-extremist-violence-response.html.


Cassella, Carly. “Trump's Tweets Are Highly Correlated With Anti-Muslim Hate Crimes, Study Finds.” ScienceAlert, www.sciencealert.com/trump-tweet-islam-highly-correlated-anti-muslim-hate-crime-study.

Lord Of the flies

Jermira Butler

                                                                                                                 SilverStream

                                                                                                                  English 2 ( D )

                                                                                             March 25, 2019



In William Golding’s, Lord of the flies, Golding tells the story of a group of boys who finds themselves stranded on an island and have to fend for themselves. Without a leader for construction there will be chaos. Which causes savaged actions among each other.

Social inequality is something that people now view as inevitable. It happens and we can’t do anything about it. In William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies”, he writes about young English boys who have very clear differences in values. The events that happen are all subsequential to those differences. Golding uses symbolism to show how social inequalities unintentionally began. The beginning of the children’s civilization process began with the conch.  They started to find different things that would allow them to live civilized and with rules. The conch was used to initiate when people speak. “A conch he called it. He used to blow it and then his mum would come. It's ever so valuable--”, Piggy said. A few lines after Ralph replies, “shut up.” (pg.15) The conch became very valuable to piggy without anyone even realizing it. It was an unintentional value that he had towards the conch. He didn’t want anyone to ruin it, drop it, or use it the wrong way or else he would get mad. The difference between Ralph and Piggy became obvious, the very first social inequality began. Ralph’s response to Piggy shows how Ralph doesn’t value the same thing that Piggy values, he clearly doesn’t see the conch how Piggy sees it. Ralph’s response to Piggy was out of ignorance, he didn’t care; just like many would with talking about racism. They don’t see races outside of theirs the same so they make comments out of ignorance. They unintentionally continue to let racism emerge due to the fact that their ignorant. This starts the separation of the group. Ralph is unintentionally creating that division in the group, as well by telling Piggy to shut up. Later on in the story, Piggy shows up with the conch again. He is upset that the other boys won’t let him speak. "The conch. I got a right to speak,” says Piggy. “The twins giggled together.”(pg. 35) This shows how the conch once again is important to Piggy and not important to the others. He begins to get very upset when he notices that there's a difference in a equality between him when he has the conch and when the other boys have the conch. It’s very obvious that when he has the conch he values it and he actually wants to be heard, but when the others have the conch they have it and they are heard. There is a very clear difference in social equality here and it's super unintentional. The boys don’t intentionally say, “let’s not let Piggy speak.” They just don’t care for what he has to say. Once again showing how the social inequality of the value of the conch unintentionally began. Maren, a student in my English class, said “I don’t think they don’t care about Piggy I think it just happens.” This statement opened my eyes to realize that social inequality is not because people don’t care, “it just happens.”

The boys continued to create unintentional social inequality.  Ralph was commanded chief. The choirboys and Jack, were assigned to work hard just as the other boys. However, they decided that they wanted to go hunting. “When the meeting was over they'd work for five minutes, then wander off or go hunting,” said Ralph. He was highly upset on the fact that all Jack wanted to do was hunt while the others had to work hard. There was a very clear difference in values here. Ralph wanted to get rescued while Jack wanted to hunt. Jack isn’t intentionally deciding to not listen to Ralph, he just wants to do something else that he saw best for the group’s interest. There is a pattern of this unintentional pattern in the book; one boy wanting something while the other does another. This very moment is the start of the rivalry between Jack and Ralph.  Thea, one of my classmates, had said that Jack wanted to do it to prove something. This reminds me a lot of ‘Black Lives Matter’ and police brutality. Police don’t care enough to stop, just as Jack doesn’t care enough to stop hunting. They both continue to do it even if it’s actively hurting others. They just wanted to do the “right thing” meanwhile it’s actually the wrong thing. ‘Black Lives Matter’ just wants to make the people happy and actually promote safety, like Ralph. Ralph just wants to be a good chief and have everyone safe by being rescued. It is a very clear difference in social equality.

Despite everything you have read, people think that the social inequality in Lord of the Flies is because they wanted it that way. Others may think that the boys just didn’t want to like each other, or that they purposely had division. I proved otherwise, that the separation was unintentional. It wasn’t because they wanted it to happen, but that they had clear differences in values. The contribution that I make is unique because I provided things that people looked over as not possible because of how simple it is, but in reality it goes more in depth. Golding uses the symbolism to show how social inequality can be unintentional. The boys had very clear different values. Therefore, social inequality was on the island just as it is everywhere.


The Loss of a Leader

Cameryn Roach

Ms. Pahomov

English II

25 March 2019


The Loss of a Leader

From Lord of the Flies by William Golding, we learn about a group of boys that are stuck on an island with no way off. They create their own rules, establish who’s in charge of what, and try to make it by. Over time their systemic community falls apart, a battle for leadership happens, and then total chaos breaks out. Similar to the rebellion of Fidel Castro and the Cuban government, Jack’s rebellion in the book created an opportunity for a new beginning within the group.

Throughout the story, the author brings in a character called “the beast”. The younger kids claim to see it first, and then the older kids see it too. After Jack offered a solution to their “beast” problem, Ralph disregarded his suggestion twice. That angered Jack, who called an assembly to discuss their situation. Not too long after, the assembly turns away from the intended topic--- and Jack questions Ralph’s leadership skills. Golding writes, “‘I’m not going to be a part of Ralph’s lot---’ He looked along the right-hand logs, numbering the hunters that had been a choir. ‘I’m going off by myself. He can catch his own pigs. Anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come too’” (127). Jack had asked the group on their opinion of whether or not Ralph should continue being chief, but the boys wouldn’t vote Ralph out. Because Ralph’s role as a leader waned when it was needed most, Jack turned away from Ralph’s decisions and made his own. He left the group to do what he thought was best, and that started a new beginning for the boys on either side of the newly formed rift.


Fidel Castro (1926-2016) is best known for being the world’s longest ruling leader with a record of 52 years in office. To get to that point in his life, he overthrew the president at the time, Fulgencio Batista. He disagreed with the “inefficiency of the Batista government”, and took matters into his own hands. History.com states, “On January 1, 1959, Batista and a number of his supporters fled Cuba for the Dominican Republic. Tens of thousands of Cubans celebrated the end of the dictator’s regime”. Similar to Ralph in the story, Batista was forced to retreat from his opponents when he tried to make a final stand against them. Negotiating about what’s important in dire situations was no longer an option in Castro’s opinion. Jack reacted the same way by running Ralph away, killing Piggy, and kidnapping the twins. Through this, we can see that the new beginning that started here was also the start of all the previous order they would lose.

The new transition of leadership within the group was hard to achieve for both Jack and Castro. Being pushed down many times gave the leader at the time an idea on what to expect from them when something comes up again. Having that happen many times also gives the usurper less of a reason to follow their proclaimed leader. When they finally got the role they wanted, it made things more difficult for the people that could be affected negatively by their decisions. On the aftermath of Castro’s victory, History.com writes, “His status as dictator is highly opposed by many nations because of the violations of human rights practiced under his rule.” In the book, Golding writes, “The breaking of the conch and the deaths of Piggy and Simon lay over the island like a vapor. These painted savages would go further and further. Then there was that indefinable connection between himself and Jack; who therefore would never let him alone; never” (184). Due to their lust of wanting to control the circumstances, it made the entire situation remain in their favor. They strived for it before and was denied their request, so they had to take it by force. Jack was fed up with how Ralph didn’t want to take care of the beast before it did anything else, so he left to do it himself. After taking in his new role as the head of the group, both Castro and Jack did much of what was being held back in them, and it led to chaos and confusion across the land. Both of their desires for what “needed” to happen was frowned upon by their peers, and it shows how different things could’ve been.  


From the novel and the real world example, the reader can see that the loss of a leader can create changes and conflict within the group, and in this case the changes were more along the negative side. Having faith in the person that’s supposed to lead you is a huge part of a society. When it falters, then that trust is, for the most part, lost. We can see that through Jack’s decision making process and through Castro’s constant and forceful attempts for the position as Cuba’s president. Lord of the Flies suggests that without any kind of leadership in general, whether it’s an adult or another kid, the law and order that might be established will crumble quickly. In conclusion, new beginnings in scenarios like this can happen, but at what cost?






Works Cited:


“Batista Forced out by Castro-Led Revolution.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 22 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/batista-forced-out-by-castro-led-revolution.


Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. The Penguin Group, September 17, 1954, pp. 127


Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. The Penguin Group, September 17, 1954, pp. 184


Nguyen, Ngoc Bich. “Fidel Castro and The Cuban Revolution.” Fidel Castro and The Cuban Revolution, staff.esuhsd.org/balochie/studentprojects/cubanrevcastro/index.html.

Law and Order

Hector Sanchez

Mrs. Pahomov

English 2

25 March 2019

Law and Order

In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the author tells a story of a group of kids that become stranded on a deserted island due to a plane crash. There, they try to create a civilized society but fail miserably. The author’s intention of writing this book is to show what would happen if there wasn't order, law, or anything preventing people from doing whatever they want. In the book, there are a lot of instances where the author mirrors the reader's own modern day society. In both Lord of the Flies and real-life, societies fall to the ground because they have no law and order.

At the beginning of chap 8 of LOFT one of the main characters, Jack leaves the group and storms off into the woods. Initially, he leaves alone but a group of kids soon follow him because he is in possession of the conch, one of the only symbols of law and order in the island ¨I am not going to be a part of Ralph's lot ¨ and ¨I am going off by myself¨ (pg.127, Golding). As we can observe here, there is still some sort of law and order because the kids decided to follow Jack but we can see conflicts emerge by his decision to leave. He decided to leave because he was arguing with the current leader Ralph. We can see a partnership between the book in real -life in real life societies one of the stars of its fall is when there's conflict in between its government. Jack leaving the group and forming a small rebellion is one of the parallels that the book draws from real life. Twain used to be a Chinese colony in the mid 17th century later it became a colony of  Japan in 1895. The Sino-Japanese War was what lead Taiwan to become a colony of Japan. This mirrors the events in the book because after the leadership that China had on Taiwan failed Japan swooped in and made a new colony a new community out of the previously china owned Taiwan. Japan didn't like the way China was ruling over Taiwan so they took matters into their own hands just like Jack did in the book.


In the next chapter of LOFT the flies a character named was killed by Jack and the same group of boys that rebelled against Ralph in his rule. One of the recurring themes in the book is that of a beast that is in the island with the kids we don´t know if it is real or just a product of their imagination but by what happened in this page we can conclude that this sitting of the beast was all a product of their imagination.¨A great wave of the tide moved further along the island and the water lifted. Softly, surrounded by a fringe of inquisitive bright creatures, itself a silver shape beneath the steadfast constellations, Simon's dead body moved out toward the open sea¨( pg.154, Golding). Simon was not as important as his death was to the book. This was a turning point in the story we can officially see that the characters have become savage due to a lack of a proper system of law and order. This connects to the real world country of Somalia although they have a government that is recognized internationally. Their society is based on clans and they don't really have a set government. This could lead to similar things that happened in the book to happen in this country because there are no set rules to stop you from killing or doing whatever you want.

   

   




In one of the last chapters of LOFT  a very important and central character, Piggy is killed by a boulder thrown by Jack the leader of the new group. This boulder pushes him off a cliff and he lands on the bottom of the cliff crush in between the boulder and the rocks of the pit.¨The  rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist¨ (pg.18, Golding). Not only did Jack murder Piggy in a horrific way but he also destroyed the conch the only symbol of hope, law, and order. By Jack destroying the conch, this shows that there is no longer anything to control the kids and any hope of the island being a civilized society is closed. There is no longer any law and order in place at the island and it has suffered the same fate that nations without laws in placed have suffered. The island is now an uncivilized society where anything can happen because there are no laws in place.


In summary, LOFT has a lot of instances where it mirrors real life societies and what happens when a society has no real law and order in place. The book has plenty of concepts that play into the real world, law and order would just be one of them. The book draws parallels from real-world societies and civilizations and their failed attempt at having law and order. The book also showcases how a society can become savage if there are no laws in placed to control and prevent people from doing whatever they please. We can see all of these concepts in play a huge role in the books through the means of symbols and actual events that happen in the story. The book is an analysis of societies and how different concepts and ideas can play a big role in that society success or downfall.



Work Cited

“10 Reasons Countries Fall Apart.” Google, Google,

www.google.com/amp/s/foreignpolicy.com/2012/06/18/10-reasons-countries-fall-apart/a

Copper, John C. “Taiwan.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.,

24 Mar. 2019, www.britannica.com/place/Taiwan.

Friedman, Audrey, and William Golding. Lord of the Flies. Hawker Brownlow Education, 1988.


Trump Vs. Jack

Anthony Nelson 3/21/19

Pahomov

Silver Stream




Trump Vs. Jack





What has often been found true throughout history is that an imbalance of power leads to corruption. The temptation to put personal gain over the community has been documented by countless examples. In William Golding’s Lord of The Flies, it depicts how power can affect people negatively no matter their social class. It shows the raw uncensored version of what it looks like to see children who act violently towards one another drive themselves and others crazy all because of the need for power on what was a deserted island. Despite the fact this novel is fictitious it still illustrates how dangerously power hungry people can be. Furthermore, the main intention of Lord of the Flies was to symbolize politicians who prioritize personal gain over developing a more functional society for the citizens. The need and wanting of power in this book just displays how important a factor that power was in that time period as well as our time period now. Why? The higher social status you have, the stronger you are in society, no matter where you are. There is no way that you can have a high rank position and have no power whatsoever.

A prime example of this is the president of the United States, Donald Trump. He is a powerful man because of his excessive financial wealth making him worth over a billion dollars. he is responsible for running a land mass of 50 states. When it comes to trying to provide what’s best for the people that he chose to run and serve for, some say that he hasn’t done anywhere near the best that he can do for the people. I mean sure, he has done stuff for the wealthy, but for people that are not high middle class or up, matter none whatsoever to him because he doesn’t care, he talks about “Making America Great Again” according to NBC but then he does careless things that set America further and further back in the tracks of “Making America Great Again”. Much like Jack, one of the boys stranded on the island, he is more straightforward and is always trying to assert his dominance in the book from when they were trying to hunt and he was so passionate about getting blood on his hands, you see what I’m getting at? He literally said “We’d hunt it and kill it.” If a murder hungry child doesn’t scream corrupt then I don’t know what does.

Another example of this is like when Jack isolated himself and a few other children from the group. He did this because he wanted to have the power to rule over all of the children in the way that he wanted and when they didn’t want to be ruled by him and have him in the position of power, he did not like that, he is quoted saying “He says things like Piggy. He isn’t a proper chief” so he took it upon himself to leave from the other children and start his own civilization and became his own chief and from that point on, it led to the collapse of the somewhat society that the children had created when they were able to communicate ad all have an even distribution of power but once Jack became power hungry, he caused the collapse of the island because he wanted all of the power and wasn’t satisfied much like our friend Mr. Donald Trump. Trump likes to be in power in every situation. When him and Kim Jong Un were threatening each other with nuclear bombs, what did you think that was? For fun possibly? NO! It was the fact that Trump was trying to assert his power as president of the United States. Power has a very important effect on society no matter the way you look at it, it’s unfortunate when it results in the collapse of a society but what can you do about a power hungry person? There are limited options, some of which many people aren’t most fond of.

Most importantly are the costs of power that are not reversible. In some scenarios, people in power make mistakes that will have a drastic change of things going on in a split second. When it comes to the book, there is one specific scene here piggy is killed by mistake by a rock that is pushed down a hill/cliff by Roger, one of Jack’s minions, the book quotes “Roger, with a sense of delirious abandonment, leaned all his weight on the lever.” This shows how Jack affects Rogers decision making because his leader is so violent.  If Jack and his minions weren’t trying to terrorize Piggy by shoving a boulder off of a cliff to kill him then things in the book would have been a lot different. If Piggy would have never died then would Ralph have almost been killed? If Jack was it so power hungry, would piggy still have been killed by someone under Jack's’ influence? In this case this reminds me of the innocent people killed across seas because of the wars that Trump is causing with other people. According to News Weekly, the US Army under Trump's’ orders . This shows how the person in power doesn’t consider how what they do can affect the people around them, they are just worried about seizing the moment that is open and that is where they fail because when sacrificing one piece, Trump is making himself so much more vulnerable. With the strong evidence I have provided you with, I have proved my thesis.

In conclusion, being i power is a hard position to maintain and yes, it is the root of all evil and with power comes the lack to look into all of the possible outcomes of the decisions you make in power, this causing problems i which size varies, someone could die or a civilization could lose everything that one civil about it thus pointing the blame back to the person who caused this slippery slope because of one sloppy decision that they made. It’s not fair but life is not fair so what can you do? Overall though, hopefully this essay was very eye opening to the way that power affect people and hopefully you enjoyed this essay!



Sources Used



Under Trump, U.S. Military Has Allegedly Killed Over 1,000 ...

www.newsweek.com/trumps-war-civilian-deaths...


Donald Trump Make America Great Again Speech - Video Results



US bomb threats: Critics blame Trump's toxic rhetoric | DW ...


Lord of the Flies- Brielle Thompson

Due to social hierarchies there is always someone in charge of how citizens will be governed. A notable example of this in modern life is within the political climate. Despite what policies are being supported a person, or branch of government creating systems and laws to obey is an inevitably. Despite what social class someone belongs in there will always be restrictions due to power structures. Lord of the Flies symbolizes how the American political system operates both culturally and systematically . .


Moreover, Lord of the Flies depicts how the American political system works culturally by illustrating how people demand a certain leader based on emotions. This is most common when a country finds itself in conflict with another nation.  Often these leaders argue it is necessary for their survival to inflict violent actions against other nations to ensure their own safety. People are drawn to this type of leadership because of the fear they will not survive in the war. Furthermore in the novel the boys are drawn towards the ideology Jack expresses, survival by any means, out of fear they will not escape the island. This school of thought has been prominent throughout the dawn of time, but a recent example was during George W. Bush’s first term. Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11 people were drawn to a leader like Bush going into war with countries responsible for this action. His approval rating reached over 90% in 2002 showing how real world scenarios mirror the identical hunt or be hunted mentality the boys had. Another instance this happened when (character name) said, “Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things,” (Golding, 22). That interaction illustrates how people depend on demanding leadership during times of a crisis.

Aside from type of leadership Americans are drawn to Lord of the Flies also symbolizes the type of political parties in the United States. In other words the systematic element of how elected officials are chosen. In The United States' government, there are two main political parties that and ideologies that compete to maintain dominance, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The character who symbolizes similar political doctrines to the Republican party is Jack. One of the instances Jack embodies happened when he only distributed food between him and members of his crew who helped capture the pig. Jack believed since they caught the pig they have the right to not distribute to others since it’s not their responsibility. This mirrors a modern Republican mentality because they advocate everyone has their obligation to provide for themselves. The character who most embodies Democratic thoughts is Piggy because he wishes to ensure everyone shares amongst themselves for survival. This mirrors Democratic ideology because democrats generally advocate for the government intervening in order to help the less fortunate by creating government funded institutions to assist these people.  


In conclusion. Lord of the flies shows how the political world works in different manners. The point I proved here was how no matter what their will always be someone below you and/or above you. That is how the social hierarchy works and that was proven in the book.


LOTF Essay

What factors of conflict do you think cause groups to divide? Personally, I believe, as quoted by Robert Kiyosaki, “Most people have a price. And they have a price because of human emotions named fear and greed.” The fear of instability motivates us to work harder and achieve stability. However, once we get that stability, we think of all the better things that could be had. There, the emotion of greed is installed. No matter how much we chase, we are never satisfied. Most of us even going as far as breaking moral rules to satisfy our greed.

In William Golding’s, Lord of the Flies, young boys are stranded on an island. The boys have to learn to survive by themselves. First, they chose a leader of the group. Ralph, who is chosen and eventually leads the pack, is one of the oldest in the group. Jack, a leader of a choir group, is fed up with Ralph leading. He says, “Hands up,” said Jack strongly, “whoever wants Ralph not to be chief?” (127) Being a former leader himself, Jack doesn’t sit well with another person leading his group. From this example, we can see that fear and greed are both key emotions. Jack fears that as Ralph leads them more and more, the choir boys he once lead, will only take orders from Ralph. Furthermore, Jack was the leading person for hunting. However, it shows that he was greedy for more power and wanted to ultimately be in control of everything. Because of this, he eventually broke from the group and began his own. The term, “While the rich get richer, the poor get poorer,” exposes the greediness of humans. It shows the growing gap between those who have more and those who have less.

The Korean War was a conflict that claimed 2.5 million people’s lives.  According to The History Channel, on June 25, 1950, some 75,000 soldiers of the North Korean Communist army, advised by the Soviet Union, crossed the 38th parallel and invaded pro-Western Republic South Korea. This conflict would soon be more than a battle between the two Koreas. By July, America had entered the war on behalf of the South. As far as American officials were concerned, this dilemma could have  sparked a third World War. Quickly, America wanted an armistice signed with the North Koreans, scared that this war could trigger WWIII. From this example, we can see that both greed and fear play a role in this situation. First, the North Koreans invaded the South because of greed for power and control of the Korea as an whole. Secondly, America tried to sign an armistice with the North because they feared a greater war.

Having chosen the leaders at the start of the book, Piggy wanted to help in a task. However, Jack responded with, We don’t want you,” said Jack, flatly. “Three’s enough.” Prior to saying that, Jack said to Piggy, “You’re no good at a job like this.” Pointing to moments like this, readers can conclude that Jack isn’t like other leaders. Instead of wanting his followers to like him, he insults them. From the start, Jack was greedy for control and insulted a fellow comrade, without valid reasons, to get his foot down. He was eager to consume all the power.  Similar to Jack, the North Koreans didn’t see South Koreans as comrades. Although they lived in the same land, they shared different beliefs. The North Koreans wanted full control of the land and similar ideology to be shared.

According to BBC.com, although an armistice was signed between participants of the Korean War, no peace treaty was ever issued. Therefore, the Korean War hasn’t officially ended. However, there has been an agreement from both sized to build a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) at the 38th parallel to equally divide the two Koreas in half. Despite that, tensions are still high between North and South Korea. Joint military exercises between America and South Korea are still being practiced today. Furthermore, the North Koreans throughout the years have tested countless nuclear missiles and displayed their military might through army parades. With this example, we can conclude that fear is once again a key emotion. America and South Korea have joint military exercises to prepare for any conflict with the north. On the other hand, the North Koreans test nuclear missiles, host parades showing their million man army and artillery in fear that the rest of the world wouldn’t take their isolated country seriously.

By analyzing examples from The Lord of the Flies and the Korean War, we can see that fear and greed are key factors that cause groups to divide. Emotions are something that control how humans act and think. Furthermore, humans, they think and do with emotion. The saying, “People don’t think straight when they’re angry,” shows how vulnerable humans are. We allow our emotions to get the best of us. Both fear and greed can break lifelong relationships in totally different ways. For instance, being greedy and stealing from your best friend can shatter your 15 year friendship in a matter of seconds. Without emotions, humans are just robots that cannot feel physically.



Work Cited

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. Penguin Books, 2006.


BBC News, Special Reports “BBC NEWS.” BBC News, BBC,

news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/asia_pac/03/the_korean_war/html/default.stm.


Editors, History.com. “Korean War.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 9 Nov. 2009,

www.history.com/topics/korea/korean-war.


Kiyosaki, T, Robert “A Quote from Rich Dad, Poor Dad.” Goodreads, Goodreads,

www.goodreads.com/quotes/7225293-most-people-have-a-price-and-they-have-a-price.

Lord of the Flies

Around the world, many people’s lives are affected because of stereotypes, beauty standards, and even laws that tell them that they aren’t “good enough” in the eyes of the society they live in. Beauty standards have an immense impact on the way people are viewed and judged in their day to day lives, which can barr them from jobs and even hurt their credibility. This can be clearly seen in Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, through one of the main characters, Piggy. Piggy had a lot to say throughout the novel about him and his peer’s survival, yet he was seldomly taken seriously. Due to the societal beauty standards the boys were groomed to believe, Piggy was not taken seriously through his life on the island because of his weight.

In the beginning, Ralph and Piggy are becoming acquainted with one another after discovering the other on the deserted island. They begin to go over simple things like what their names are and what they are to do when and if they find any boys on the island besides themselves. After having not been given the same initial respect he gave by asking Ralph his name, Piggy sets himself up to give his name by saying, "’I don't care what they call me,’ he said confidentially, ‘so long as they don't call me what they used to call me at school.’"(11) This interests Ralph so he prompts Piggy to tell him more, which lead to Piggy telling him the name and Ralph immediately making a mockery of it by laughing and jumping around. Ralph calls him Piggy from this point on despite being told not to, and even introduces him to the rest of the boys as “Piggy”. Piggy’s weight makes him a target for the other boys’ nitpicking and bullying throughout the entire novel. None of the other boys look like Piggy which makes him stick out and become easier to bother. This contributes to the boys discrediting the things that he says because they see him as the laughing stock of the group and nothing more. Throughout the novel, Piggy displayed great signs of maturity and intelligence that could’ve been immensely beneficial to the boys survival, yet he was continuously pushed to the side since the boys took away from his credibility because of his appearance.

Later on in the novel, Jack was being chastised by the other boys for allowing the fire to burn out when he said he wouldn’t. He tried to save himself from the embarrassment of the situation by saying that he went to hunt because everyone needed food. Piggy stepped in and attempted to hold Jack accountable for his actions like everyone else was. The embarrassment  infuriated Jack and made him say to Piggy, "You would, would you? Fatty!" (71) This is an explicit example of Piggy being discredited, and bullied, for his weight. He was doing the exact same thing all the other boys were doing but Jack only had a problem with and retaliated against Piggy. Piggy’s weight leads to constant attacks by Jack and the others, and it creates friction in the group when he tries to suggest an idea and immediately gets shot down.

Weight discrimination can be seen in many forms through media, laws, beauty standards, and many other things. It is also often times a major source of bullying, especially when it comes to children, teens, and young adults. This is done to make “the fat kid” feel inadequate for looking different when compared to the bully and the audience they have. Bullying ensues when the victim can’t stick up for themselves or when the bully is being encouraged by others. In The Fat Studies Reader, Weinstock and Krehbiel write, “Like hate crimes, bullying sends a message to the victims-- and those who are (or believe they are) similar to these victims-- that they are unacceptable, bad, wrong, inferior, and so forth.” These feelings tend to stick with the victims through their lives when weight discrimination begins to take on different forms as they grow older.

In December 2016, a BBC article explored this topic when talking to Shavonne Patrice Owens. Owens had just been laid off from her job at Comcast and decided to apply for work at a childcare center. After calling back to follow up multiple times, none of her calls were returned and she says, “I had worked in a day care centre before and was qualified for the position, but they told my friend they weren’t going to hire me because I was too big.” This event took place in Huntsville, Alabama where it is completely legal to discriminate against someone for their weight. In fact, it is legal in forty-nine of fifty American states as stated by the NAAFA. Owens was qualified to work in a childcare center having worked in one before, so there was no actual reason for her to be denied the job opportunity. Societal beauty standards have come a long way in recent years, yet the standard of always being “thin” is still lingering around. Anyone opposite of this standard is targeted and slandered relentlessly whether it be in the workplace, like Owens, online through social media, or in societal and friend groups, like Piggy.

Weight discrimination is a big problem in our society that has severe consequences. In the case of Lord of the Flies, Piggy tragically died because no one took him seriously and they were more concerned with their childish bickering than they were listening to logical reasoning that could’ve kept them all alive. This is an issue everyone is involved in, whether you are the victim, the aggressor, or just a mere bystander. So, what are we to do to fix it?


Civilized or Savage?

How do people react to incidents and tragic events? Most would mourn, others would try to put the blame on others. In the story, Lord of the Flies, this theme is brought up repeatedly throughout the book. When the boys end up stranded, they initially rejoice and think of it as a good thing, however, tragedies overtime can begin to break down a person's morals and values.

Towards the beginning of the story when the boys first end up on the island they immediately begin to think about their new found freedom and who should be in charge of the island. "Shut up," said Ralph absently. He lifted the conch. "Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things." "A chief! A chief!" "I ought to be chief," said Jack with simple arrogance, "because I'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp."(100). An example of this same type of mindset is when the tragic 9/11 attacks occurred. Many had mourned and wanted revenge so there was many injustices to people who were of the Islamic faith. History.com says, FBI Director Robert Mueller said, “vigilante attacks and threats against Arab-Americans will not be tolerated.”  When something as tragic as 9/11 occurred people were quick to want to retaliate, but the director and others wanted to keep the peace and make sure that there was still order in this time. He could’ve acted irrationally and justified the harm that was being done to the Muslim people, but he knew morally that it was wrong and decided to protect those who were being targeted.

During the feast that Jack threw after killing the pig, the boys had killed Simon, because they were afraid of the beast and thought that he was the beast. When it happened Piggy and Ralph were talking to each other about it and they both realized that they were afraid and it caused them to act so irrationally and impulsive, “I know there isn't no beast—not with claws and all that, I mean—but I know there isn't no fear, either."Piggy paused."Unless—" Ralph moved restlessly."Unless what?" "Unless we get frightened of people.” The boys said that they were afraid and admitted to it killing Simon, because they were afraid. During World War 2, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, President. Franklin Roosevelt started to force Japanese-American people out of their homes and into internment camps. USHistory.com says, “Over 127,000 United States citizens were imprisoned during World War II. Their crime? Being of Japanese ancestry.” American officials and American people had said that they were afraid of the Japanese turning on them in and being loyal to the Japanese government and military. In both examples both sides, Piggy and Ralph and the American people and government were afraid and acted on it and caused for someone to get hurt.

When Simon was initially killed and everyone ran back to their shelter Ralph and Piggy had a conversation about it, Piggy had tried to brush it off and make excuses for their actions saying it was dark and such, while Ralph was taking the blame and said that what they had did was murder and they acted like savages. ”It was dark. There was that- that bloody dance. There was lighting and thunder and rain. We was scared!’ ‘I wasn’t scared,’ said Ralph slowly, ‘I was I don’t know what I was.’ We was scared!’ said Piggy excitedly. ‘Anything might have happened. It wasn’t what you said.”(156) Piggy justifies the brutal killing by saying that it wasn’t their fault they were dark and afraid and he shouldn’t have been there. While, Ralph owns up to his mistake saying that it their fault and they had intentionally murdered him and just acted without thinking.

When the boys made it to the island there was a lot of bickering over whether someone should be chief or not, but Ralph was more focused on using his power for creating signal fires to be rescued, but Jack wasn’t all too interested in this. Jack apologizes to Ralph for burning out the fire saying that what he had done was wrong. Jack says, “I’m sorry. About the fire, I mean. There I-’ He drew himself up. ‘I apologize.” (72) Jack had made the others upset and had tried to sincerely apologize to the others for causing the disturbance in the lighting of the fire. The fire was an important aspect throughout the story and told the reader a lot about the types of people Ralph and Jack were, Ralph was the one who tried to stay more civilized through the awful situation that they were put in. While, Jack had tried to use this situation as a way to gain power and was the less civilized one and convinced the other hunters to act like monsters.

        All throughout the book we see how the boys have acted either inhumanely or civilized when a major event had occurred. Throughout U.S. history we see how we’ve either acted unjustly or justly towards another group of people when we’ve felt threatened by them, when these injustices happen there is usually people who stand up for what is right and don’t stand with those who do wrong to other people.



Sources Cited:

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. Penguin Books, 2006.

“Japanese-American Internment.” Ushistory.org, Independence Hall Association, www.ushistory.org/us/51e.asp.

Editors, History.com. “Reaction to 9/11.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 13 Aug. 2010, www.history.com/topics/21st-century/reaction-to-9-11.


LOTF ESSAY (ENG2) "The Trials of Salem and Simon"

 Caleb McCreary

                     Mrs. Pahomov + Mrs. Rhymer

                     English 2

                     March 26, 2019



How does a society behave in a state of fear? Across history, societies have reacted differently when it’s people are caught in a frenzy, and more specifically, when there is fear directed towards a group of people. Looking at humanity’s history, we often deal with fear in ways that are harmful, and thoughtless. When individuals in a society are faced with an issue, the solutions that are created are eventually regretted.


                               The character of Simon plays an essential role in Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, both on the island and beyond the events of the novel. In the novel, he works with Ralph to start creating a functional society. But, his character, and furthermore the death of his character, resembles the frenzy and eventual execution of men and women (but, mostly women) during the witch-hunts of the 16th and 17th century. In the notes of the novel, E.L. Epstein regards Simon as the ‘embryo mystic’ (207). Without a doubt, this description refers to Simon’s conversation with the Lord of the Flies (the decapitated head of the sow who was raped and murdered prior to the boys placing her head through a spear, and declaring her an offering to ‘the beast’), a figure in the novel that places the boys in a persistent state of fear. During this interaction, the Lord of the Flies names himself “...the beast.” and adds to that by saying, “Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill!” (143). This completely shuts down the boys’ earlier assertion that the beast was an animal, or, something to be hunted. The beast is something that is intangible, at least physically, to the boys. As this conversation takes place, the boys celebrate the murder of the sow by reenacting the kill. As they chant, dance, and reenact the sow’s death, Simon stumbles out of the forest to explain what he just heard from the Lord of the Flies. The boys, still captivated by the momentary mania, charge at Simon. At this moment, the boys believed Simon to be the beast. They “screamed, struck, bit, and tore..” (153) before pushing Simon into the ocean, where he would drown, and eventually die from his injuries.


                      Early in America’s history, refugees from Europe seeking religious freedom began forming small colonies along the Northeast Coast of America. Many refugees wanted to create a Bible-based society. Towards the end of the 1600s, rumors of witchcraft began to spread in the small, puritan village of Salem, Massachusetts. (To preface the ensuing explanation of the frenzy surrounding witchcraft, it’s essential to note Pope Innocent VII’s declaration from 1485 -- “[Witchcraft] is a reality and not a myth.”) Governor Sir William Phips of Massachusetts created a justice system that could satisfy the growing accusations of witchcraft. He created the Court of Oyer and Terminer (to hear and determine) in order to allow Salem to efficiently begin the process of putting the accused individuals to trial. So, in 1692, the villagers of Salem began with Bridget Bishop, a woman who was “known around town for her dubious moral character, frequented taverns, dressed flamboyantly (by Puritan standards), and was married three times.” (History.com Editors, First Salem Witch Hanging). Although Bridget professed her innocence, she was sentenced to death by hanging. She was hanged in the June of the same year. The death of Bridget Bishop closely mirrors the death of Simon. Prior to each of their deaths, they were treated as inhuman. Simon, bearing information that contradicted the boys’, was immediately identified as the Beast. Bridget, unknowingly drawing attention to herself because of the way she presented herself and because of her relationships with men, was named a witch. Once they were each identified as something monstrous, they were murdered; For the most part, their deaths were considered justified.


               Following Simon’s murder, his friends Ralph and Piggy lament the circumstances surrounding his death: “Don’t you understand Piggy? The things we did ---” (157). Although Ralph’s guilt (and acceptance of what’s been done) seems reasonable, Piggy feels different: “Coming in out of the dark -- he hadn’t no business crawling out of the dark. He was batty! He asked for it…” (157). These contrasting reactions to what’s been done is a subtle representation with how society reflects on its own history, and more precisely, the harmful things it has done.


                                  Several months after Bridget Benson’s hanging and the deaths of eighteen more people during the Salem Witch Trials, Governor Sir William Phips of Massachusetts arrived in Salem. Upon arriving in Salem and learning of the Witch Trials, Phips “found many persons in a strange ferment of dissatisfaction . . . [and] found that the Devil had taken upon him the name and shape of several persons who were doubtless innocent.". He began to disassemble the system he created in order to efficiently deal with numerous accusations in the colony ---  He ordered the ceasing of all trials having to do with accusations concerning witchcraft. Those sentenced to death were pardoned, and the people awaiting trial were released. Even though Phips ended the system which resulted in the unjust deaths of nineteen people (which he created), he still felt guilty. This mirrors the reactions of Ralph and Piggy following the death of Simon. Even though they participated in the murder, at that moment, they believed it was the right thing to do.


       When fear consumes a society, quick solutions are created to ease everyone’s mind. In the novel, Simon is murdered by the boys because he possessed information that would’ve clashed with what was agreed upon on the island. Bridget Benson and the other victims (or, easy targets) throughout the Salem Witch Trials were executed as a quick solution to reduce the fear of witchcraft spreading throughout the colony. It’s natural to create solutions to issues, however, these solutions can often result in more harm than what was originally expected, and also divide the society based on whether the actions executed in the momentary frenzy were justified, or unnecessary.        














                Works Cited:


Salem Witch Trials Governor Sir William Phips, salem.lib.virginia.edu/people/phips.html.



“First Salem Witch Hanging.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 9 Feb. 2010, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-salem-witch-hanging.


“Timeline - The Salem Witch Trials.” Google Sites, sites.google.com/a/email.cpcc.edu/the-salem-witch-trials/timeline.


Lord of the Flies: A Novel. New York:, 2006. Golding, Penguin Publishing



Why Must We Be Violent?

Tayah Brunson

Ms. Pahomov

English 2

March 22, 2019


Is there ever an excuse for violence? People all over the world have seen how violence can be justified with hatred. In connection with real world events, readers have seen negative reactions to change within pages of a novel. Novels such as, Lord of The Flies by William Golding, puts more emphasis on the negative reactions given forth by groups. In either circumstances whether on page or in the reality, when leaders attempt to make change the citizens who are affected by this change often respond with violence. Leaders that promote change in society similarly face opposition, resistance, and even hatred from those who do not want it.

John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert F. Kennedy were two political leaders in the 1950’s-60’s. John F. Kennedy in fact being the 35th president of the U.S. The brothers were also advocates for the civil rights movement and believed in the fare treatment of African-Americans. There position as leaders allowed them to push for many changes to be made to the United States. During this era segregation was made possible by the leaders of the country. Laws that kept white people surperior had to be changed, this causes problems for the governmental heads that saw change was needed. Racist citizens,stuck in their bias ways,were against Kennedy’s support of the civil rights movement. After interviewing the man who murdered John F. Kennedy, investigator Gerald Posner stated “What he did hate was the system and what Kennedy stood for. He despised America. He despised capitalism. When he eventually had the opportunity to strike against Kennedy, it was that symbol of the system that he was going after,” (History.com Editors ). The words Posner describes reveal how many white people felt in America. White people under the assumption the world would go to trash if the black were given equality. There were others that thought if African-Americans were treated as humans there would be no more order in society. Oswald’s words exemplify that when a person stands for a movement that is unpopular, it ultimately leads to hatred  Kennedy was targeted and assassinated by Harvey Oswald, (add information about who oswald was here) because of the equality he stood for and for his support if the black community in America. Oswalds hate is what pushed him to commit such a vile offence.

This relates to William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. It relates because in the novel  a group of people turn on their leaders that wanted to regulate their soceity and make change for the better. While the characters in the book were stranded on an island, conflict arose. Many of the boys started to turn savage. The former leader of the boys, Ralph, was shunned by the savages. He spoke up with the intentions of bringing the boys together and forming a unity that was based on humanity. A group of them then revolted against Ralph, shortly they formed a hostility towards him. Their hatred made them turn him into a castaway. Soon after being turned into an outcast, he was singled out by the leader of the savages, Jack, the antagonist. “They hate you, Ralph. They’re going to do you... They’re going to hunt you tomorrow,” (Golding  188). The word hunt in the quote can lead to the inference their minds no longer saw Ralph as the model leader. Ralph went from the person that all the boys followed willfully to public enemy. With every step taken by Ralph he ran the risk of being killed by the boys he used to comfort and govern. Warned by one the boys who were forced to be savage. Ralph a leader who wanted to cling on to humanity was now being viewed as the problem with their society on the island. Jack wanting to exterminate Ralph as seen in the quote had nothing more to justify it but hatred. In the eyes of the people who opposed Ralph he is an enemy of the public. He is a problem in which must be resolved. Jack wished ill-will upon Ralph when all he wanted was to lessen the chaos that would happen if the boys began to act freely. .

John F. Kennedy’s brother, Robert Kennedy, was another supporter of the civil rights movement. Five years after his brother’s death Robert Kennedy started his democratic presidential campaign. During his campaigning Robert was assassinated. During Robert’s funeral his little brother’s, brothers name, eulogy sounded through America. He stated  “A good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it.” These words shined light on the character of a man that only wanted to fight the injustice of America. He fought for the rights of others and lended his hand to help mend a split society. His life tragically ended just as his brother’s did because of the  the whitemans fear of change to an equal.

Piggy, a protagonist, like the kenedy brothers was also assassinated in Lord of The flies. He was not the head of a movement promoting change, but he was a leader who supported it. Piggy tried his hardest to be a problem solver and to bring the groups of savage and civilized together during their time on the island. “Which is better-to be a pack of painted Indians like you are or sensible like Ralph is?” (Golding 180) Piggy’s words  exhibit his character describe characteristics and his true feelings towards the behavior of the boys . He had only the intentions to put an end to the division of the boys on the island. Yet, even with his intentions of cultivating peace, Piggy was killed. Piggy saw that there was no other way to live than undivided and civilized.

As individuals in society may see, the distaste for a cause can lead to the loathing of the leader behind the cause or those who publicly endorse it. This negative view on progressing change can turn into violence towards the leaders who support it.  By analyzing the similarities between say something like the lord of the flies groups and real peopleit is obvious to see that leaders throughout both fictional or realistic have had examples made out of them by the people that felt change would affect them negatively.









Works Cited

Ayton Mel. “Why Was Robert F. Kennedy Assassinated?”. History. Accessed in March, 2019

https://www.historyonthenet.com/robert-f-kennedy-assassinated



History.com Editors. “Assassination of John F. Kennedy”. History. 2018.

https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/jfk-assassination


History.com Editors. “Robert Kennedy”. History.  2018

https://www.history.com/topics/1960s/robert-f-kennedy


John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. “November 22, 1963: Death Of The President”.

History. Accessed in March, 2018.

https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/november-22-1963-death-of-the-president


William Golding. Lord of The Flies. The Penguin Group. 2006.


How Do We Spark Change?

At the root of all change is controversy. In both Lord of the Flies, and in the division of the Black Power Movement, the Black Panther Party for Self Defense, there are clear examples of a difference in opinions being the cause of some sort of change. For change to occur there must be controversy. Where there is controversy, there is conversation or action which is how a change is sparked.

It was a time of racial disputes. There was a heap of police brutality. Officers who would abuse their power and harm and/or violate Black people. A young boy was confronted by a police officer. Alongside some other Panthers, Huey P. Newton witnessed this. They addressed the situation by watching with their guns out and making sure the police officer didn’t do anything he wasn’t supposed to. The Black Panther Party is known for their presence. On Socialist Alternative, members of the panthers wrote, “The gun had a huge psychological effect, both on the Black community and the police. For the police, it reversed the fear that they so enjoyed creating in others. But for the Black community, it fired their imagination, people felt empowered by seeing Black brothers and sisters protecting their interests.” As stated, many people sided with the panthers because of the way they stood up for the community. However, since their ideas were so radical many others thought that the image the Black Panthers put out was militaristic and therefore not helpful to the movement. I think often times it is a variety of different things that help create a successful movement. It is the different expressions and routes people take to get a common goal is what inevitably allows for change. The action that was taken by Huey P Newton, and a great sum of others went about fighting for civil rights their own way. Becoming the Black Panther Party for Self Defense, and using their own tactics, which are much more head on.

In the book, Lord of the Flies, Jack does something similar. Jack calls a meeting following the rules the boys on the island worked together to create.  He uses the conch and opposing the state of their priorities, he attempts to be elected as the official leader. “‘I’m going off by myself. He can catch his own pigs. Anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come too’” (Golding pg 127). As controversy arises within the boys, Jack decides to take action. Rather than making rescue and shelter top priorities as Ralph thought best, Jack thought food was the most important. Both of their goals survival. This controversy clouds the island and splits the boys apart. None of the boys stood by Jack when he had called for the vote. Afterwards, many end up following him.  

As Jack did with the boys on the island, Stokely Carmichael brought a different vision to the Black  Panther Parties agenda. Carmichael says “‘Whites who come into the black community with ideas of change seem to want to absolve the power structure of its responsibility for what it is doing, and say that change can only come through black unity, which is the worst kind of paternalism..... If we are to proceed toward true liberation, we must cut ourselves off from white people..... [otherwise] we will find ourselves entwined in the tentacles of the white power complex that controls this country.’” Instead of having white allies, as the Party did initially; using these white allies  to help their vision, Stokely Carmichael thought that the Black Power movement wouldn’t do any good if they had these white allies by their side. This is an  extremely controversial statement. Many thought that the only way Black people could have liberation was with the help of White people. Carmichael and many others believed true liberation would come if Black people were separated from Whites. Therefore, any help from white people was unwanted. In another article they say, “Contrasting views on a strategy for Black liberation began to emerge.”

Jack and Ralph had contrasting views on a strategy for survival.






Work Cited

Golding , William. Lord of the Flies . The Penguin Group , 2006.


“The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense.” Socialist Alternative, www.socialistalternative.org/panther-black-rebellion/the-black-panther-party-for-self-defense/.


Baggins, Brian. Black Panther Party, www.marxists.org/history/usa/workers/black-panthers/.


Duncan, Garrett Albert. “Black Panther Party.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 27 Dec. 2018, www.britannica.com/topic/Black-Panther-Party.


Impact of Authority Figures on Morals


Ida McGrath

Ms. Pahomov and Ms. Rymer

English 2

26 March 2019

Impact of Authority Figures on Morals



The morality of humans has been debated since before we can remember. The majority likes to believe that humans are good-natured, and that only very few people are truly evil. Yet both murder and war still often occur. This leaves us to wonder what is really true at all? This idea lies at the center of the novel “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding. The allegorical story follows a group of boys from the ages of 7 to 12 as they struggle to keep in touch with their humanity while stranded on an island. The book sparked a massive debate on the psychology behind one's morals, but the idea behind it has been around for centuries. Many have questioned just how far one can be pushed before their morals kick in, which brings up the factor of authoritative pressures. The guidance of authoritative figures has a massive impact on one's' morality and their ability to inflict harm on others.


The theory that authoritative pressures play a role in someone’s morality is a major part of the plot of “Lord of The Flies.” The group of boys are left without any supervision on the island, so they voted for a chief, choosing between two of the older boys, Ralph and Jack. Ralph wins the election by a landslide and Jack is quite upset by it. Further into the book, Jack split off from the group after an intense quarrel with Chief Ralph. He invited others to join his rebellion, which the majority of the boys did. He ruled the new group with an iron fist by using their fear as a tactic to control them. Even before they had officially deemed him as their leader he was doing it. In the begining of the book during an assembly, Ralph tried to tell the rest of the boys that the beast isn’t real, Jack assured them that it is real as he knewhe could use it to his benifit, “He gave a wild whoop and leapt down to the pale sand. At once the platform was full of noise and excitement, scramblings, screams and laughter. The assembly shredded away and became a discursive and random scatter from the palms to the water and away along the beach, beyond night-sight.”(Golding 70) Jack knew that the beast wasn’t real, he had admitted it just moments before. But, as he saw the assembly start to become dissorganized, and the other boys’ lack of respect for Ralph’s rules, he took advantage of his opportunity. He knew that the destruction of the current system they had built could create a new opportunity for him to be leader. This shows the reader once again that he puts his own desires before the actual good of the group and their basic survival. This pattern of Jack maniplulating the other boys continues throughout the book and adds to the pressures he continues to put on them to do what he says.


After WWI and WWII the idea that average citizens were capable of committing such henious acts was terrifying to people. So the idea that they were simply taking orders was brought up. Which then produced one question, could any person be pushed to this extreme under the right conditions? A psychologist at Yale University named Stanley Milgram decided to study this. He designed an experiment with a range of 40 males aged from 20 to 50. Those men were sent into a room with two actors, one playing a "learner" and the other the "experimenter". The men being tested were to be a “teacher”, placed on the opposite side of a wall as the actors and were to ask the learner a series of questions. If the learner got a question wrong, they were to administer a shock with an increasing level of volts each time. There were 30 different levels, the lowest being 15 volts, a slight shock, and the highest being 450 volts, which is a dangerous amount. If the teacher refused to do it, the experimenter had a series of 4 commands to get them to continue. “Please continue’, ‘The experiment requires you to continue, ‘It is absolutely essential that you continue’ and ‘You have no other choice but to continue.” (SimplyPsychology) By using language like this, it added the threat that if something went wrong it would be their fault and that this was something that needed to be completed. Even if the men had no relation to this man giving them instructions, the respect we are told to have for authority figures compelled the men to believe the Experimenter and do what they were told, even if it was against what they believed in. At the end of the experiment, two-thirds of the men went all the way to 450 volts and every single one of them went up to at least 300 volts. This showed Milgram the shocking results that, your everyday, run of the mill people are able to follow orders of an authority figure even to the extent of killing someone.


This can be seen as a direct reflection of Jack’s relationship with the other boys. They of course, compared to the men in the experiment, are in a far more extreme situation. The boy's lives are potentially on the line, and can also see the direct effect of their actions play out in front of them. Contrary to the Milgram Experiment, where they were shielded behind a wall, only hearing the screams of the men they were hurting. But before any of this starts, we can already see the pressure that Jack holds above the boys and how he wields it. Without even being fully introduced to his character we start to get a sense of the way he interacts with others. During the election of their leader, Jack believed he should be in charge solely based off of the fact that he is, as he put it plainly, "Chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp."(Golding 17) Except for the choir boys, none of the boys had seen Jack represent any form of leadership so when it came down to the vote, Ralph won. “All right. Who wants Jack for chief?" With dreary obedience, the choir raised their hands.” (Golding 17) The reader watches as the non-choir boys all leaned towards voting for Ralph, as an internal battle took place in the Choir Boys. It seemed as though they too wanted to vote for Ralph, but felt the underlying pressure from Jack to vote for him. They ended up complying later on. This can be seen as a sneak peek into his methods of leadership as later on in the book, most of his followers simply follow him as they feel pushed to.


This is shown again towards the end of the book. After the boys had split up into two main groups the readers watch as the boys in Jack’s group tied up Wilfred for what seemed to be no apparent reason. "He's going to beat Wilfred.’ ‘What for?’ Robert shook his head doubtfully. ‘I don't know. He didn't say. He got angry and made us tie Wilfred up. He's been’ --he giggled excitedly-- ‘he's been tied for hours, waiting--’ ‘But didn't the chief say why?’ ‘I never heard him.” (Golding 124) We see as the boys have become so conditioned to simply follow orders that they don’t even question the reason behind their actions anymore. Similar to the men involved in the experiment, the boys are willing to inflict pain on the others even though they may have experienced something similar. We even see Robert, a boy who had just recently been faced with being the prey of the group's antics, now giggling about the similar situation he had just put Wilfred in. Which truly proves how numb they’ve become to the whole situation and concept of causing harm on another individual.


Milgram came to the conclusion that people have two different states of mind in social situations, the Autonomous State and Agentic State. The Autonomous State meaning, they take control and responsibility for their actions and the result of those actions. And the Agentic State meaning, they allow others to control them and then pass off the responsibility of the effects of their actions to the person who gave them the orders. During the experiment, one can watch the men participating going through the stages of each of these states. One man, after shocking a man with 180 vaults and hearing the actor cry out, says, “I can't stand it, I'm not gonna kill that man."(Vimeo) But that changes after the Experimenter tells him, that he as the Experimenter, takes full responsiblity if anything happens to the Student being shocked. It only takes him one more time for him to confirm this and for the man to remove all the guilt from his back, before then continuing on with the experiment. He even goes as far to continue to shock the Student while they are crying out to “get them out of here” with only slight hesitation. The man only completely stops once again once he reaches the 450 vaults, protesting that he thinks the Student has been hurt. Showing once again that even just with the slightest pressure from an authority figure or displacement of responsiblity a person is able to easily defy their personal morals.


The reader can see this theory clearly reflected through the different ways Piggy and Ralph react and cope with the death of Simon. The two boys had gotten caught up into acting out the ritual of killing the pig. All the boys had danced around chanting, “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” (Golding 128) During the frenzy of it all Simon returned from finding the “parachute man”, and the boys suddenly attacked him. He ends up being killed and the next morning Piggy and Simon sat on the beach trying to cope with their actions. Simon says, "Piggy.’ ‘Uh?’ ‘That was Simon.’ ‘You said that before.’ ‘Piggy.’ ‘Uh?’ ‘That was murder.’ ‘You stop it!’ said Piggy, shrilly. ‘What good're you doing talking like that?’ He jumped to his feet and stood over Ralph. ‘It was dark. There was that--that bloody dance. There was lightning and thunder and rain. We was scared!"(Golding 120) While Ralph tries to deal with the responsiblity of his actions and blames himself, representing the Autonmous State. Piggy on the other hand represents the Agentic State. The reader watches as Piggy trys to rationalize the situation, seeking to find anything and anyone to blame other then himself, much like the man in the experiment.


The idea behind Milgram’s experiment was highly inspired by war criminals defending their actions by simply saying they were only taking orders from their superiors. The idea behind simply giving soldiers consequences for their actions was suddenly made far more complicated then orignally perceived when the idea of free will was brought up. This can also be brought up when questioning the boys behavior and potential consiquences for their actions. “Lord of The Flies” ends with the boys being rescued by a group of Naval Sailors, leaving the aftermath up to interpretation. Will the boys tell what they did? Will their actions be excused?  It all comes back to the same basic question of how far one can be pushed.


Works Cited


matt. “The Milgram Experiment (Full Film).” YouTube, YouTube, 23 Dec. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdUu3u9Web4.


“Milgram Experiment.” Vimeo, Vimeo, 26 Mar. 2019, vimeo.com/93599024.


Mcleod, Saul. “The Milgram Experiment.” Milgram Experiment | Simply Psychology, Simply Psychology, 5 Feb. 2017, www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html.


“Milgram Experiment - Will People Do Anything If Ordered?” Milgram Experiment - Will People Do Anything If Ordered?, Explorable, explorable.com/stanley-milgram-experiment.



The Devil, or You? / Justine Koffi

Justine Koffi

Ms. Pahomov & Ms. Rhymer

English 2

26 March 2019

The Devil or You?

Why do people do bad things? Do they know those things are wrong when they do it? In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, there is a group of boys that get stuck on an island after a plane crash. The boys quickly change and start to do things they wouldn’t do back home. The boys know some of the things they do is wrong, which causes them to justify it by blaming it on a beast, who they all fear. A lot of times, when people are not willing to admit their wrong doings, they blame it on non existent creatures or spirits. Often times now, people blame the devil for everything evil. There has never been a sighting of the devil and no one knows if it is real, but it is something many people believe in because it’s hard to believe that people will just do horrible things by their own will. Similarly, in the book, the boys fear the idea of the beast and even blame the beast for the killing of one of them. It becomes clear that the beast is not real just as demons and the devil are not real in the real world.

In the summer of 1976, infamous serial killer David Berkowitz, a.k.a Son of Sam,  killed six people and injured seven others in New York. Once he was caught, he blamed the dog of his neighbor who he claimed was possessing him to kill those people. Years later in an interview, he says, “As far as I’m concerned, that was not me. That was not me. Even the name, I hate that name, I despise the name.” It was only when he was caught and held responsible that he began to blame it on other beings. He says it was not him because people can’t handle the fact that they do things on their own accord. Even after all the years he spent in jail, he is still focused on forgetting because he can’t take accountability for what he did.

Furthermore, very early in the book, there is mention of the beast that some of the boys fear. Later on in the book, it becomes clear that the beat is one of the reasons the boys start to act savage. While they’re speaking about the best, Simon says “maybe there is a beast… what I mean is, maybe it’s only us.” Golding then provides some insight into what Simon may mean by stating, “Simon became inarticulate in an effort to express mankind's essential illness” (89). Simon is saying that there is a beast, but it doesn’t have claws and sharp teeth like many of them believe. Instead, he’s bringing up the idea that the beast may be one of them. Many of them begin to disregard their morals very quickly as they get on the island which is when the beast started to come up. The boys conjured up a beast to blame very early in their time on the island and Simon realized that. People will always change into their natural selves when they are put into a position like the boys and that is what the author described as mankind’s essential illness. It is their ability to do things that they know is wrong and have no remorse or hold themselves accountable.

In the case of the Son of Sam, he claims to have found God and believed that what he did was wrong and yet continued to say that the shootings  “were a break from reality.” He continues, “I thought I was doing something to appease the devil.” He has yet to take responsibility for the shootings. Finding religion may have made it easier for him to blame creatures like the devil because it says that the devil is the root of all evil. That saying gives many people an excuse which is why he still does not want to take accountability for his actions. He even says that he believes he deserves the sentence that he received. To say something like that, you have to believe that it was you who did it and it should be you who suffered the consequences. Still, he refuses to say it aloud.

Later on in the book, Simon starts to believe in a beast. Golding uses an encounter that Simon has with the beast to show the nature of the beast. The beast asks Simo, “ You knew didn’t you?  I’m a part of you? Close, close, close! I'm the reason why it's no go? Why things are the way they are?” (143). Although Simon still doesn’t believe in a literal beast, he still blames the inner beast for the boys’ problems. The author reveals to the audience that there is no beast, and that he is imagining the conversation believing that he is speaking to a beast when it is actually just a large parachute. To Simon, he is talking to the beast who is admitting that he is the reason the boys start to divide and act savage. Simon starts to understand that it is the beast and not the boys themselves that are causing the divides and change in the boys. Simon, and many of the other boys may not understand why all of these things are happening so they need to blame something else.

In conclusion, people do usually have a sense of right and wrong and consciously chose to do the wrong thing. Then they must find something out of this world to explain it because otherwise, it would just mean people do bad things just because they can or want to. People blame non-existent creatures like the devil and the beast because they need to believe that people aren’t all bad. Blaming something else may have given the boys hope that they weren’t losing all of their innocence and morals because it was a choice, but because the beast called them to have to learn to protect themselves and kill. Just like the Son of Sam may feel better knowing that he didn’t just kill that many people, but it was the possessed dog who made him do it. That other beings are at fault for human savagery because no one can truly admit what “mankind's essential illness” is.


Work Cited


Editors, History.com. “Son of Sam Arrested.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 9 Feb.

2010, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/son-of-sam-arrested.

Sitzer , Carly. “‘Son of Sam’ Killer David Berkowitz Speaks: ‘I Was Just Very Lost and

Confused.’” “Son of Sam” Killer David Berkowitz Speaks: “I Was Just Very Lost and Confused,” In Touch Weekly , 13 June 2018, www.intouchweekly.com/posts/son-of-sam-david-berkowitz-interview-138931/.

WIlliam Golding. Lord of The Flies. Penguin Books, 2006.  

Worthen, Meredith. “David Berkowitz.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 16 Jan. 2019,

www.biography.com/people/david-berkowitz-9209372.



How far does your ego take you

Hillary Hernandez

March 25,2019

How far does your ego take you

How far are you willing to go, in order to conserve your power? In The Lord Of The Flies by William Golding, has his cast of boys constantly fight for control over the group. This is shown with one of the main protagonists, Jack. He is always in a constant battle over the protection of his power, ultimately leading to his downfall. An example of this in the real world is when President Richard Nixon attempted to maintain his power by orchestrating the Watergate scandal in 1972. Jack’s character shows that the eagerness towards conserving power, ultimately leads to a greater downfall?

Could you imagine yourself attempting to kill someone, just because cause you seem them as threat to your power. For starters, in the book The Lord Of The Flies by William Golding, the book starts off with a group of school boys onboard a plane evacuating from Britain's nuclear war, when suddenly the plane gets stuck down, the schoolboys are the only ones to outlive the plane crash. Jack, one of the older boys is consistently at a battle over conserving his position as chief, over the younger boys. Jack sees Ralph, another one of the older boys as a threat to his power. On page 127 Golding says, “hands up,” said Jack Strongly” “Whoever wants Ralph not to be chief?” The silence continued, breathless and heavy and full of shame. Slowly the red drained from Jack’s cheeks, then came back with a painful rush. He licked his lips and turned his head at an angle, so that his gaze avoided the embarrassment of linking with another’s eye.” We constantly see Jack, having to prove that he is worthy of being chief. Jack says, “I’m going off by myself . Anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come too.”(Golding 127) “At last the immediacy of the kill subsided. The boys drew back and Jack stood up, holding out his hands.”(Golding 135) “Roger spoke. “Chief-.” Jack sees Ralph as a threat to his power, so we see Jack proving to the boys that he is worthy of being chief.

Moreover, throughout the book  we see Jack as this strong, savage character but I believe that he is truly frightened, that he will be stranded on this island forever. Ralph is seen at a constant battle over power with ralph, he see Ralph as a threat. Ralph, becomes this savage boy making everyone fear him, “They made us . They hurt us-” said the young boys. Ralph soon learns that Jack has sent out a hunt for him, on page 194 it says “The chief and Rodger-.They hate you, Ralph. They’re going to do you tomorrow. They’re going to hurt you tomorrow” Jack’s eagerness to sustain his powers leads him to make savage decisions. Jack is so caught up in trying to hunt down Ralph that he isn't fully conscious of his decisions, “The fire must be almost at the fruit trees- what would they eat tomorrow?”(Golding 198) Jack lights the whole forest on fire when on his mission to kill Ralph. Unconsciously of his decisions, he burned down their source of food, how would they survive. What would they eat, if Jack had burned everything down. Jack’s need to maintain  power ultimately leads to his downfall.

Subsequently, we see an example of greediness to maintain one's power lead to their own downfall, in 1972’s Watergate Scandal, when President Richard Nixon re-election committee set up a burglary at the Democratic national committee headquarters. The burglars were caught stealing important documents and attempting to wiretap their  phones. At first President Nixon, denied all allegations to the scandal, but soon came to light that his re-election team had orchestrated the burglarization. President Nixon was winning the election by nearly two times his opponent, but that wasn't enough he wanted to win by the biggest margin ever in a presidential election. He had set out to sabotage his opponent, his eagerness to protect his power, lead him to his own downfall

Furthermore, in the 1940’s we see Japan at war with China. Subsequently, we see Japan peace talk with the United states, but then we see the United States send assistance to China during war, Japan doesn’t agree with this and decides to interfere by sending the United States a message, resulting in the Pearl Harbor attack. 183 aircrafts from the Japanese navy attacked the United States Naval base at the Pearl Harbor. Japan had seen the US as a threat to its power, so they decided to try to put fear into them, so that they wouldn't interfere with the war anymore. Japan was eager to protect its power over Pacific. Japan’s objective had failed tremendously because at the time of the attack, they missed oil tanks, ammunation sites and not a single aircraft was present during the attack. The US didn’t let this just slide by, they planned a counteract that would take place when the japanese least expected it, Japan’s commander had set out another attack, but the US intelligence was able to decode and listen on to it’s plans, and when their army was caught refueling that’s when they were attacked. The US was not in the World War II, but as a result from this attack, the US  joined World War II, this victory allowed the US and its allies to move into offensive position, eventually leaving Japan to surrender from the World War II by 1945. Japan was so worried in taking out it’s competitors to remain in power that it didn’t realize the chaos it would create for itself leading it to its downfall.

Many themes immersed, we observe that someone’s eagerness to maintain their power, can lead their downfall.  President Nixon, was so caught up in trying to get reelected, that he did some illegal actions leading him to resignation. This can be related on how Ralph and Jack were always at a constant fight for power, Jack had seen Jack as a threat to his power and he took some savage decisions to try to remain in power, leading to his and everybody’s ruining. Lastly, we observe this with Japan’s Pearl Harbor attack against the United states, they had seen the US as a threat to their power. This attack triggered actions to follow leading them to their surrender in World War II. To conclude, as shown above we observe that someones eagerness to remain in power ultimately leads them to their downfall.










Sources list:

Editors, History.com. “Watergate Scandal.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/1970s/watergate


“Watergate: The Scandal That Brought Down Richard Nixon.” Watergateinfo, watergate.info/

“Watergate Fast Facts.” CNN, Cable News Network, 14 Jan. 2019, www.cnn.com/2014/01/23/us/watergate-fast-facts/index.html

“The Failed Attempt to Avert War with Japan, 1941.” Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, 16 Mar. 2018, adst.org/2013/11/the-failed-attempts-to-avert-war-with-japan-1941/

U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/pearl-harbor.

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/pearl-harbor


Editors, History.com. “Battle of Midway.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway



Taken For Granted

Jonathan Rodebaugh

Ms. Pahomov

English II

5/25/18

Taken For Granted

Everybody at some point has had something valuable but completely taken that thing for granted. People take up all the benefits with barely noticing its existence whether it is a family member or even just an object. When there is a lack of appreciation toward something or someone, it leaves a huge impact when that thing is gone. They don’t know how to react, and they feel the heavy consequences. This is a common theme in William Golding's Lord of the Flies, Piggy is a big part in helping the school boys, but he is just pushed aside and his help comes unappreciated. People don’t appreciate what resources, and gifts they have until it's gone.

Lord of The Flies is about school boys that got stranded on an island after a plane crashed on a seemingly abandoned island. They are making a fire for the first time in hopes of being found by anyone who sees the smoke. Piggy tries to contribute to help the boys, but gets shut down, "We couldn't keep a fire like that going, not if we tried.’’A fat lot you tried,’ said Jack contemptuously. ‘You just sat.’ ‘I got the conch,’ said Piggy indignantly. ‘You let me speak!’ ‘The conch doesn't count on top of the mountain,’ said Jack, ‘so you shut up.’I got the conch in my hand.’’ Jack turned fiercely. ‘You shut up!’"(Golding, 42). This quote shows that because of Piggy’s look and their standards of a leader, which was based on Piggy being unpopular and overweight. Because of this, they do not want to listen to him even though he gives sensible advice. The boys even ignored their own laws of the conch just to ignore what Piggy has to say. To the boys, it doesn't matter if what Piggy says is useful or intelligent. They just looked at his looks and popularity and jump to conclusions off of that very little bit of information.


Comparatively, the previous example from Lord of The Flies relates to the Minnesota Vikings 2017 NFL season. The Vikings lost their starting quarterback, Sam Bradford, in 2017 due to injury. They were then forced to have Keenum a mediocre player be quarterback instead, and their season seemed to fall apart. The Christian D’Andre from sbnation.com said, “Last year, Keenum was a top 10 quarterback who recorded a 98.3 passer rating... his Vikings went 12-3 in games where he was the team’s primary passer...” This quote shows how amazing Keenum was that season. The Vikings had what seemed to be a stellar quarterback, the Vikings were reaping the benefits of Keenum’s success. They however, were not convinced that Keenum was the answer. During the season, the Vikings head coach, Mike Zimmer, said, “Is he the guy that played for the Rams or is he the guy that played for us?” This is referring to when Keenum played for the Rams and did not play well. It seemed like the team obviously had someone that made them an elite team. The Vikings seemed to take him for granted and not appreciate his huge contribution. In this statement they were just looking at the fact that Keenum’s football history was as a backup to other teams. Based off of this they assumed he would not be capable to lead a football franchise, even though he was having so much success in that season. Comparing this to the previous example of Piggy, Keenum and Piggy had amazing contribution to their team or group, however even though their impact was seen they were not nearly as respected as they should have been. Keenum’s coach said he was unreliable, and Piggy was treated very poorly by the leaders in his group of boys. These are both examples of people just ignoring the talent that is in front of them.

At the end of the novel, Ralph is reflecting and is mourning the death of Piggy, even though he treated him so poorly in the past. “Ralph pushed back his tangled hair and wiped the sweat out of his best eye. He spoke aloud. ‘Think.’ What was the sensible thing to do? There was no Piggy to talk sense.” (Golding, 196) Ralph recently witnessed Piggy’s death, and this took a big toll on Ralph. Throughout the book, present was the constant mistreatment and bullying of Piggy. Now, Ralph is learning the hard way to appreciate how much Piggy contributed and helped the group. He was crying for Piggy and realizing how much he loss. He took Piggy’s intelligence for granted, and is now regretting it. This was a moment that Ralph was in where he really needed wisdom, and Piggy was not there. All the other times Piggy was sharing his thoughts he was shut up. The irony is really a big blow to Ralph who was regretting his decisions.

Relating back to the Keenum example, the Vikings did not resign Keenum and let him leave. They signed Kirk Cousins, who they thought would make the team better. Mark Maske of the Washington Post talked about the effects of Keenum leaving, “The Vikings, after reaching last season’s NFC title game with Case Keenum at quarterback, signed Cousins to be the final piece of a Super Bowl puzzle. Instead, they’re 6-6-1 after Monday night’s defeat. That’s the very definition of mediocrity.” This article talks about how good the Vikings were with Keenum and how they weren’t great with Cousins. It was shown how much the Vikings didn’t really appreciate Keenum and they were sure that the new guy they brought in would be the answer. They, in a way, were punished for not trusting Keenum because he was known as being a mediocre back up. Looking back at the Piggy example this is similar because Piggy and Keenum were both not shown the respect that they deserved, and their group or team felt the negative impact when they were gone.

People being taken for granted is a common theme in Lord of The Flies and with Case Keenum, This was seen at the end of the book with Ralph not having Piggy, and the Vikings without Case Keenum. t is also very common in real life. In the real life example, it could be an impactful player that leaves and it hurts your team. It can also be a very good friend that you don’t realize how much they mean to you until they leave. This is an issue that has impacted every single person at sometime, and it can be scary. If there is something that is relied on heavily that you barely noticed, if it is gone destruction is bound to happen. All people have this as a tendency it is a part of how humans are and the way they behave.
















Works Cited



D'Andrea, Christian. The Broncos Are Getting the Worst Version of Case Keenum. SBNation.com, 2 Oct. 2018, www.sbnation.com/nfl/2018/10/2/17927820/denver-broncos-case-keenum-struggling-contract-welp.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005322646911&fref=ts. “Analysis | The Vikings’ Signing of Kirk Cousins Seemed like Such a Good Idea at the Time.” Washington Post, The Washington Post, 11 Dec. 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2018/12/11/vikings-signing-kirk-cousins-seemed-like-such-good-idea-time/.

Jr., Harry Lyles. 2018 NFL Free Agency: Mike Zimmer Isn’t Sold on Case Keenum as QB. SBNation.com, 1 Mar. 2018, www.sbnation.com/2018/3/1/17066984/mike-zimmer-case-keenum-vikings.

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. Penguin Book, 2006.





Ruled by Hate// BJC

Brooklin Johnson-Coles

Ms. Pahomov

English  2

26 March 2018

Ruled by Hate

What happens when a society is ruled by hate? In Lord of the Flies, William Golding writes about a group of boys stuck on an island. They go through all sorts of changes and do some awful things such as outcasting a fellow acquaintance, named Piggy. This demonstrates how in the real world hate escalates. This hate can develop into bullying or harassment, just as was seen in the treatment of Piggy and in the real world with bullying in the Philadelphia School District.  

Piggy was a character in Lord of the Flies that suffered at the hands of hate. He was an easy target to get picked on because he was heavy set and wore glasses. In Chapter One, he was targeted by Jack Merridew, the newly elected chief of the group. Jack states, “You're talking too much, said Jack Merridew. Shut up Fatty...He’s not Fatty cried Ralph...For the moment the boys were a closed circuit of sympathy with Piggy on the outside...” (21) Piggy is humiliated in front of everyone by their chief, which is setting him up to fail for the rest of his time on the island. He had nobody to stick up for him and the person who did just made the group laugh even more. Leaving no room for anybody change or fix the treatment Piggy received. Soon everyone follows after Jack and Piggy becomes one of the most unliked people on the island. Piggy’s reputation is tarnished before he could even introduce himself properly. Name calling is the first level of bullying. Ralph calling Piggy, “Fatty” made his name out to be a joke. Nobody respected him after that. It may not seem like a big deal at first but it can escalate into something worse. It’s like a warning sign for bullying.

This closely relates to bullying in the Philadelphia School District. Amanda Wible was a Philadelphia School Student that was bullied throughout her school experience. She was talked about because of the way she looked. She wore baggy clothes and everyone thought she dressed like a boy. The Inquirer states, "It was mostly name-calling; kids would talk about how I looked, and the fact that I dressed like a boy, said Wible.” This shows that students at her school talked about her physical appearance. The students disliked her because she was different she didn’t fit in and they hated her for it. Just like in Lord of the Flies, when the boys made fun of Piggy because of his weight. Amanda got talked about because she was different, she didn’t look like the other girls. Studies show that most bullying begins with name calling. In both instances, bullying starts with small degrading aspects. Often times, it results in hate and bullying towards another person.

Later on in Lord of the Flies, the boys lack of respect for Piggy grows and they get bolder. The text states, “‘His specs- use them as burning glasses!’ Piggy was surrounded before he could back away. ‘Here- let me go!’ His voice rose to a shriek of terror as Jack snatched the glasses off his face.”(40) This shows the boys turning their hate for Piggy into abuse. They treat him with no respect. They take his glasses without asking or even giving him a minute to process. They aren’t given any consent. Piggy couldn’t even defend himself. The boys think nothing of it, they just take what they need. Nobody ever stops and thinks about Piggy's feelings. This is a result of the boys having no consequence to the name calling. Since, the boys got a way with that, they believed they could just up the stakes. This clearly shows how Piggys bullying escalated. They put their hatred into action. The boys went from Shut up Fatty to taking his personal belongings.

The same goes for Amanda Wible, who’s school experience got worse the more she went to school. She states, “I'd be hit; I'd have things stolen from me, Wible said. ‘I'd report things all the time, and they'd tell me: 'Ignore them. It will stop. We'll talk to them.'" Amanda Wible suffers from physical abuse. The hate the students share for her has caused them to physically attack her. They continued to bully her because just like Piggy they were given no consequences for name calling. Bullying is something that escalates depending on what people are able to get away with. In Amanda's case, she never fought back and when she did speak up no actions took place. And in Piggys case nobody stood up for him or took his side.

To conclude, bullying is something that takes time. Some forms of hate comes from jealousy. There’s not always a reason for someone’s dislike for you. In Piggy and Amanda’s case, they were ostracized for being different. They can’t help their personality or how they look. In society today you can be outcasted for simply being you. Lord of the Flies showed that through Piggy. Hate can drive a person or society to do things without reason. It is the core of bullying and can change a society.










Works Cited


Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. Penguin Books, 2006

Graham, Kristen A. “Bullied in School, a Northeast Philly Woman Won a $500,000

Judgment. Her Case Could Ripple.” Https://Www.philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com, 27 Oct. 2018, www.philly.com/philly/education/northeast-philly-student-bullied-awarded-500000-philadelphia-school-district-20181027.html.

Schafer, John R. “The Seven-Stage Hate Model: The Psychopathology of Hate.” Psychology

Today, Sussex Publishers, 18 Mar. 2011, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/let-their-words-do-the-talking/201103/the-seven-stage-hate-model-the-psychopathology-hate.

“Warning Signs for Bullying.” StopBullying.gov, U.S Department of Health and Human

Services, 7 Feb. 2018, www.stopbullying.gov/at-risk/warning-signs/index.html.