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Kennedy Fields

Ms. Pahomov

English 2

4 April 2018

Imagine someone is meeting another at a party, and that person has a meaningful discussion. That someone becomes very social and comfortable speaking to them, saying whatever they please. Now imagine the same person going to the party in a police uniform. Does this change how that person would act? Would that person become more mindful of what they’re saying? Talking to someone with higher power and authority, influences people on what to say-- and count on physical aspects to show us who has that power. When society’s status symbols aren’t physically with someone, it changes the dynamic between the two becoming arbitrary. Being entitled to status symbols, or honorary items has the ability to upgrade someone's role in status.

In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, a group of young boys crash land on a remote island with no adults. They battled to survive on this island and needed to designate someone as chief. The leader, Ralph, has a right hand man, Piggy, who gives smart, meaningful ways to advance them in survival. After the crash, the two meet and discovers a conch on the beach. Piggy explains that the conch can be used as a way to call others by blowing into it. After more boys join them, they establish a rule for everyone to follow: whoever holds the conch has the right, and authority to speak, no one else. The conch symbolizes power.

When seeing an officer in uniform in badge, the natural instinct given is to act accordingly, drawing no negative attention or showing the fear of  being cuffed. Holding a badge shows power because it’s a representation of an officers job in protecting law, and no one is to be superior to the law. Fifty-one year old, Louis Arcila, was caught in a misfortunate event; groping a 30 year old woman. It was later discovered during investigations that Arcila was an off-duty police officer. The heinous crime was deplorable, leading to the press to follow the case. In the Long Island Newsday article by Bridget Murphy it says, “..defense attorney Joseph Lo Piccolo had contended Arcila wasn’t wearing his badge that night and never touched his accuser.” There was controversy over him wearing the badge. one side says he had it on the other disagrees. The crime remains the same, but what he was wearing matters all the more. Saying Arcila wasn’t wearing his badge declines his status in society. A responsibility that comes with an officer's badge is to protect others from wrongful crimes. The responsibility for the boys is to honor the rule that comes with the conch shell. Wearing or not of his badge in his crime had the ability to change his notability, and superiority in being an officer who holds power in enforcing the law.

In the novel Lord of the Flies, Ralph, the chief decides that the conch would be of great use to call and gather others. When he does, the reader is introduced to many of the other boys on the island, who came seeking to find the noise coming from the conch. Ralph, blowing the conch, formed a meeting to discuss the idea  of someone becoming the leader. On page 22 of The Lord of The Flies, William Golding wrote, “But there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet the most powerful, there was the conch.” (22) After the author describes Ralph in that moment it leads to the election of Ralph. The author gives the reader clue Ralph has become leader due to the “most obscurely, yet the most powerful conch.” Ralph was a highlighted because of appearance and size, but what really sold him in changing his status was the conch. The conch was used to unite the group of boys, which shows the power in the conch. Ralph goes from being a good looking boy in a group of lost boys to the leader due to a mysterious conch. His election to power was counted on a physical cue to the group.

A police badge today is a modern symbol of law enforcement. Wearing it on the job gives on significant power. Badges during the middle ages were worn by commoners and those noble, and during this time, power was not strong or prominent. The badges were to show ranking and nobility in the house or group. They weren’t even used to show a specific job or duty. Eventually, over time, it became a symbol for servants to use in households, that established their status role. Timothy Roufa, writer of History of the Police Badge says,” To the police officer, the badge represents the public trust, with which she has the authority to act and to which she has the duty to remain true.” Once an officer receives a badge after rigorous training, he is obligated to maintain a trustworthy environment for the public. This is similar to the Lord of the Flies, relating to the conch because once someone holds it they are obligated to respect the rule of only one person speaking. Respecting the rule is a way the young boys can remain true on island with one another, without it the “society” they’ve tried creating falls. When the conch is present between the boys it changes the dynamic between the two versus when it is not.

Immediately after Ralph is elected roles, rules and regulations are set. There’s Ralph the leader, and Jack Merridew the hunter. Jack was a candidate in the election of him and Ralph, but was not chosen. During the meeting many of the boys begun to all call things out desperate to be heard, leaving Ralph unpleased. He suggested using the process of hand raising as done in school, but then explained, ”I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak...and he won't be interrupted. Except by me.”(33) Similar to a badge the conch gives authority. When a boy has the conch in possession he is to perform a job, speaking. When a cop has a badge in possession he also embodies a performance, to protect. The boys become vulnerable without the conch because they can’t speak. Without it they’d have no voice in the larger picture. A police officer without a uniform and no badge is taking away authority when in the presence of another individual, because symbol and job is no longer present.

The conch throughout William Golding’s, Lord of the Flies gave the boys the utmost power on the island, only if it was in your possession. As for a police officer they reach maximum strength and power. Items that symbolize power and boost one's rank in society have become an arbitrary because it’s a random decision people make based upon an item.

Works Cited:

Murphy, Bridget. “Off-Duty Officer Found Guilty in Groping Case.” Newsday, Newsday, 24 Mar. 2018, www.newsday.com/long-island/crime/police-trial-groping-1.17632387.

Roufa, Timothy. “Find Out What the Police Badge Means and Why Officers Carry Them.” The Balance, 15 Nov. 2017, www.thebalance.com/why-do-police-officers-wear-badges-974606.

Who’s really in power, the leader, or their followers? Kings or people in power are powerful, but there are plenty of moments in history where they have been overthrown by their subjects. Throughout  history the people serving their monarchy would lead rebellions, and revolutions trying to overthrow the monarchy, or leaders in rule. The monarchy tells the people what to do or maybe moves them out of position to overthrow. The King is stereotyped to be the one in power but little do they know the servants are working the behind the scenes and know their every move. This shows that leaders may not have all the power they think they have. Followers will overthrow or switch sides when conditions start to be unbearable or disagree with an order.

We see an example of this during King Edward II’s ruling. King Edward II was a King of England he ruled from 1307-1327. In an article explaining the reason for why King Edward was overthrown, it gives a break down of the cause and effect of his actions with his close friend who contributed to it. According to the article, Edward was an unpopular king and a ineffective ruler. He was overthrown  and betrayed in a conspiracy led by the queen herself, his empire fell down in a terrible fashion. Edwards unpopular status led to his own kingdom started to switch sides Edward’s wife also found out he had a male lover. The way in which she overthrew him was by bringing his close friend to live in his household. This close friend later turning out to be Edward’s lover, and the queen’s jealousy led her to lead the kingdom against him. Because the kingdom didn’t like the nature of the king's relationship with his “Friend”. It made it easy to overthrow him. One of the main reasons why the queen led the overthrowing was because of her uncomfortability. Edward's wife's living conditions would of been bad with Edward's new lover. In those times, women were given little to no power oftentimes and seen as less than men. This made it harder for women to have certain positions and titles in that society. To be a woman, involving with overthrowing was not only unthinkable but unsuspected. There would be more consequence for a women seen doing this, or involved in this, more so than a man. This is what makes this situation of overthrowing so unique in the case of King Edward, not only was it his queen who overthrew him, but also a women who although had power was not considered to have that much authority or much voice, especially to overthrow him.

In “Lord of  Flies” by William Golding, a group of boy were on a field trip and tragedy struck when they got into a plane crash. Realizing they were stuck on the island with no adults they decided to choose a leader amongst themselves. Ralph the main leader of the boys was voted by the boys,and thought to be the best option. Co-leader Jack, leader of the choir boys  was also chosen and made responsible to hunt. Ralph always calls an assembly to discuss decisions. The boys use a conch to help them to make important decisions. This conch gives the person that's holding it the power to speak out. Ralph blows the conch to call an assembly to have a checklist of things they need to do in order to survive on this savage island. As weeks go by, there began to be more tension between Ralph and the boys as Ralph began to display actions that were not of agreement to them. He became less and less admired by them, and the more this happened the more unfit he became as a leader to them. This caused for much conflict between them which made the desire to overthrow him stronger and stronger.

During an assembly, Ralph calls out some of  the hunters who are laughing at him as he speaks, about fire. Fire is the most important thing need in order  to get noticed on the island., so that they can be rescued. Ralph feels that this matter is not being taken seriously and is immediately drawn to anger. The hunters stop laughing and start shouting at Ralph even though Ralph is in power with the conch. ”There was a row immediately. Boys stood up and shouted and Ralph shouted back” (81)The boys were already separated when Ralph gave Jack power over the choir boys, but Ralph was always the leader of everyone, but Jack shows a little resentment to Ralph, showing that he and the hunters have already discussed Ralph’s leadership. This resentment influences the tension that Ralph feels toward them and already gives them a sort of upper hand because they have more power not just among themselves but because Jack as co-leader gives them an advantage. The boys are slowly turning on Ralph, not  the chosen one, not heeding to the fact that he was already made to be leader. They also do not care or worry that they do not have as much power. Although the boys are not considered on such a high level of power, they still hold power amongst themselves, that makes the overthrowing of Ralph as leader more possible.

My second reason for why overthrowing of Ralph became more desired by the boys, was because of the way Jack appealed to them more and portrayed his leadership. Jack was always willing to help the boys out and keep their best interest in mind, while Ralph did not he did stuff to survive.This quickly made him a better candidate for them and a better in their eyes, than Ralph.

Despite Jack’s and Ralph's disagreements in the past, Jack kills a pig and invites Ralph, Piggy and most of Ralph’s followers to a big feast. Ralph accepts to try to calm the tension between him and Jack and gain control so they can survive the island together. Jack is painted as a king on a throne he has people giving commands to all the hunters. Post meal Jack offers an invitation to all Ralph’s followers to join his “Kingdom.” Which totally backfired on Ralph because his purpose was the  completely opposite. Most of them accept, despite Ralph’s attempts to not lose his followers.” Whos going to join my tribe? I gave you food and my hunters will protect you from the beast who will join my tribe?”(150)

“Im chief,” said Ralph,”because you chose me. And we were going to keep the fire going. Now you run after food-”

“You ran yourself!” shouted Jack

“Who’ll join my tribe?”

“I will”

“Me”

“I will”(151)

Jack took advantage of the littluns age and fed them and made it seem there tribe was better than Ralph’s tribe and had more resources than Ralph. Ralph tried to blow the conch but he's in Jack’s kingdom. Jack is the co-leader so he has a higher power and supposed to take orders from Ralph the main leader. Jack took over with his power and became bigger than Ralph to the point Ralph’s loyalist became Jacks new servants.

Another monarchy that was betrayed was Charles the first. Charles ruled 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles was married to a fifteen year old french princess many members of the Commons were opposed to the king's marriage to a Roman Catholic. According to my source many of his subjects opposed his policies. I think this King is similar to “Lord of the flies” the leaders make decisions that the servants don’t like and they can turn on you in a instant.

Conclusion:When times start to get tough you see who is really loyal to you and whos going to stick with you. We saw how King Edwards the second trying to live up to his father's expectations and failed. Charles the first was another high monarchy that crashed and fell when he married a fifteen year old french princess many members of the Commons were opposed to the king's marriage to a Roman Catholic which played a big part in his downfall. Ralph actions lead followers to leave like King Edwards building a shelter instead of rationing some food for days led to some littluns going to Jack’s tribe. When you fail people will switch sides they turned on King Edwards the second like Ralph. So Who has the most power now the leader or the servants?

Cited sources

In younger children it is very common for beastly things such as monsters to influence their behaviors. As a child being afraid of monsters could drive them to be afraid of their own room or having to sleep with their parents. But what happens when adults believe in certain monsters? Adults aren’t afraid of the same type of monsters as children, instead they’re afraid of demonic figures that they have been exposed to through their own personal beliefs. In both children and adults beastly figures can make them act a certain way. How do figures like a beast or Satan effect how people live their lives and their actions? People who believe in demonic figures are afraid of them because they see them as the embodiment of evil. As a result, they are cautions about their interactions with those figures.

In William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” a group of choir boys get stuck on a island with no adults. While being on the island they have to learn how to survive and live without the things they once had when they were not stranded. On the island there are a range of ages. The boys always calm that there is a beast on the island. But the leader Ralph does not really believe. Eric and Sam are twins on the island who admit that they have seen the beast. At a meeting called on the meeting they explained their interactions and said “‘We ran as fast as we could’--’Bashed into things’--’The beast followed us’--’I saw it slinking behind the trees’--’’(101). Eric and Sam were so frightened of the thought of coming in contact with the beast they recklessly ran away. The boy were so afraid of what would have happened if the beast caught them. This scene from the book is a prime example of how people are cautious of interaction with the things that they are afraid of. If the boys were not afraid of the beast they would not have ran away or even brought up the event at the meeting.

In the novel Ralph, the leader is somewhat in disbelieve that there is actually a beast on the island. Being the leader he feels like he has to prove to the rest of the boys on the island that do believe that there is a beast that it is nothing. Although he doesn't believe that there is a beast on the island entirely he still has his doubts. He is thinking to himself as him and a couple other boy decide to go looking for the beast he says “If there was no beast ---in this case, well and good; but if there was something waiting on the top of the mountain --what was the use of three of them, handicapped by the darkness and carrying only sticks”(120). It is obvious that Ralph is very unsure if there is actually a beast but he is still tentative about what will happen if they do see the beast. In this scene it proves that in some circumstances even when people don't believe in the beastly figures they still worry about how the interaction will go.  

In the real world everyone has different beliefs. There are many different religions that have different beliefs about how the world is and what type of things are in the world. The devil/satan is someone Christians believe in. Christians are taught not to sin. Sinning would result in not being accepted into Heaven and result in going to Hell. Hell is where the devil resides and a figure that no one should want to come into contact with. In Christians belief they are taught that the Devil is evil is bad. Christians are mindful of how they act and treat others so they can get accepted into Heaven and will not have to face the Devil in Hell. Christianity is one of the three major religions in the world. So there are many people try to stay away from sinning and activities that will keep them from getting into Heaven. Acknowledging the fact that Christians all over the world believe that the devil is somebody that they should avoid, proves that people everywhere are cautious about interactions with figures that they are scared of.

The Kukeri Festival happens in Pernik Bulgaria. The festival happens January 27- 28. At this festival people dress up in costumes and go through the streets of Pernik. The purpose of this festival is to perform rituals that will keep the evil spirits and demons away. Bulgarians do rituals at Kukeri to avoid having to deal with evil spirits that they are afraid of. Unlike in the novel Bulgarians do not run away from the evil figures they take part in different rituals to make sure that the figures they fear do not come into their safe places they call home. Although this happens in the real world it stills demonstrates how people are cautious of their actions and behaviors when it is in connection with a demonic figure or in this case evil spirits. Everyone reacts differently when they are dealing with frightening things.  The costumes they dress in during the festival protect who they really are from the evil spirits. The costumes protect them from the evil spirits and keeps who they are secret.

The novel “Lord of the Flies” just shows some cases when people are cautious about their behaviors. The novel demonstrates how younger children react to when they are afraid. But it doesn’t just affect children it affects all people old and young. Looking closer to why people act the way they do. This is another explanation to why certain behaviors come up. The way figures are viewed or come off will play a huge role on how people react to them.  Also the situation that people are in. In the novel the boys were stuck on the island so their imagination ran wild. But in other cases like mentioned in previous paragraphs it could simply be how people are raised. If people believe certain figures are evil they will be cautious and mindful of their actions and behaviors.

Is it okay to slaughter an animal? For contemporary western societies, animal slaughtering caused by hunting is not a ritualized practice. However, there are still religions today where hunting is one of the most significant rituals of their beliefs. They slaughter animals to provide dinner for their families. Many religions still adopt and maintain these rituals to practice, commemorate, or celebrate many of their beliefs. In the novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, slaughtering an animal is a ritual that germinated for the purpose of the stranded boys’ survival. Though both forms of extermination of an animal, which one that is sacrificial and another that is a form of survival, share similarities in terms of purpose, a ritualized slaughter of an animal are more civilized because it is a practice respected by the society that performs it.

Throughout the novel, chaos ensues when a group of young boys crash into a deserted island with no adult supervision. The boys later select a leader and split into groups that are in charge of different parts of the island for their survival. One of the groups is called the “hunter boys” and is responsible for hunting prey for the boys to feast on to stay alive until they are rescued. In this moment,the group of hunter boys has finally secured a pig to kill. Upon capturing a pig, many of the boys chant and sing, “kill the pig. Cut his throat. Spill her.” And right after that they did just as so. Many of the boys reacted to this slaughter in many different ways. Jack, in particular, says, “I cut the pig's throat,” and with pride, he twitches as he says it. Alongside Jack,” The boys chattered and danced. The twins continued to grin” (69). Golding challenges his readers to questions what differentiates a savage and a civilized slaughter of an animal practiced by a society. What might be considered as savagery in this scene is Jack’s desire to kill the pig to prove his ego and bravery. However, the society, which includes the other boys, respects his bravery and his act . Jack’s savagery is perceived as his ability to serve as a productive member of the group. Jack breaks rules of their civilization making this slaughter of the animal a “normal” act.. Their hunger and starvation overpowers their decision-making , their last concern is the mortality of the pig. The boys all respect Jack and one another for killing the pig because they know it is their only way of ending their hunger.   

In connection to Jack's civilized slaughter and his understanding and guidance of his group's rules, Judaism’s animal slaughtering practices are also civilized. In Judaism, “shitah” is the most humane way to kill an animal. Just as the religion maintains strict rules for killing animals, the boys in Lord of the Flies also maintain rigid practices. There are seven laws that have been provided to Noah’s son. A verse from the Torah states, “Thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which the Lord hath given thee, as I have commanded thee.”The verse states, “I Have commanded thee” also means, “I have commanded you”. This giving a rightful order and permission for the people to be able to kill animals. Then a verse later on in the Torah that is also part of the seven laws,” one does not eat from an animal while it is still alive .” In this law it's giving the ultimate purpose of actually being able to eat the meat because one can eat from an animal however if the animal isn't killed/ dead then it is not civilized to eat the animal. As shown in both societies from Lord of the Flies and the religion, Judaism, there are rules presented for the slaughter of an animal. Though slaughtering an animal is permitted, it becomes savage and is not civilized when the society fails to respect the procedures, in this case, laws, that come with the practice.  In these two societies, both parties respected the slaughter’s rules making it civilized.

Later on, towards the end of the book, the boys are taking action of killing another pig for food. Diverging from the previous slaughter, the boys portray savage characteristics during this ritual practice they have germinated for their group. This killing is not as easy as the previous killings. Golding describes the gruesome scene, writing, “the air was full of sweat and noise and blood and terror”  Later on, after the slaughter, what really directed Jack “giggle[s] and fleck[s] them while the boys laugh at his reeking palms. Then Jack grabs Maurice and rubs [s]d the stuff over his cheeks” (192). Jack’s behavior of laughing and rubbing the animal blood all over his group member’s face clearly shows the disrespect that is being directed towards this slaughter ritual. In this scene not only is one individual laughing and making jokes towards the dead pig but it states, “ while the boys [are] laughing” meaning that they took part of this disrespectful act as well.

On the other hand, Jews are not allowed to make disrespectful acts towards the animal slaughtering ritual. This ritual slaughter that can usually take place in the most joyful holidays or celebrations, it is still always done with respect and maturity from the society. The general principle of compassion for animals according to the Torah it is represented in the term “tzaar baalei chaim.” This is basically meaning having pity for the pain of living creatures. In the practice of the slaughter of the animal, the people that are involved need to take it seriously and still in a way feel tenderness for the animal. The society of Judaism differs from the scene in Lord of the Flies because this slaughter is still portrayed as civilized while the other is portrayed as a savage slaughter. The actions that are taken up by the Jewish people and the society in the duration and after the slaughter proves the respect that they have for the ritual of the slaughter of the animal. Differently,  when Jack and the other hunters giggle and play with the blood, Golding challenges us to question their humanity. Judaism, instead, takes their rituals seriously and show respect for the dead animals they handle. This proving that the society and the individual that did the killing actually respect the ritual of the animal slaughter.

In the novel, Lord of the Flies, and the religion of Judaism there’s a clear portrayal of respect and disrespectful ritualized animal slaughter. In the real world, the killing of animals frequently occurs in slaughterhouses and hunting which gives a different perspective towards animal slaughter, other than a ritualized animal slaughter that was performed at the beginning of the novel and in the Judaism religion. There are many religions other than Judaism today that practice this ritualized animal slaughter. The reason why is because it's a practice respected by the society that performs it. The modern societies should frown upon the traditional killing of animals as an opposed to frowning upon ritualized slaughter.

Works Cited

Golding, William, Lord of the Flies, New York : Penguin, 2006

Crabtree, Vexen. “Animal Sacrifice and Blood Rituals in Traditional World Religions and in Satanism.” Www.humanreligions.info, www.humanreligions.info/animal_slaughter.html#Islam Links to an external site.

“Qorbanot:  Sacrifices and Offerings.” Qorbanot:  Sacrifices and Offerings / Torah 101 / Mechon Mamre, www.mechon-mamre.org/jewfaq/qorbanot.htm.

“Sacrifice, In The Old Testament, 2 - International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.” Bible Study Tools, www.biblestudytools.com/encyclopedias/isbe/sacrifice-in-the-old-testament-2.html.

People all deal with fear differently. Some people scream, some people shrivel away and hide and some people cry. Some people push it away and don’t acknowledge it. The same fears are being shown but people all react differently to it. In the novel “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding there are a few examples of how people react differently to fear. When people are afraid they project their fear in a way that they see is reasonable because it’s their natural impulse.

Medically when people are afraid a part of their brain called the amygdala is activated. This part of the brain controls how humans react to fear. Fear is processed differently than any other emotion. Before fear gets to the amygdala it bypasses the sensory cortex which processes what the things people see, hear, feel, taste, or smell.  LeDoux is a neuroscientist that focused on emotions specifically, fear and anxiety. According to Bigthink,  “To become consciously aware of a particular stimulus takes 250-300 milliseconds, says LeDoux. But a fear-evoking stimulus can reach the amygdala in a mere 12 milliseconds, which is evolutionarily advantageous if one's response time means the difference between life and death.” This quote explains how quickly people process fear and how it is helpful to human life. Fear can become a thing of advantage or disadvantage. If there was no fear, people wouldn’t know when to protect themselves or run away. It has helped make advances to protect people. Fear can also be used to trick people into doing certain things that they unwillingly could have to do. In a place run by a tyrant or a monarchy, when fear is set in place it can scare people into following their leader. If a tyrant threatened to remove someone's family then that one person would be inclined to do whatever the tyrant asked for.

When people are faced with fear they will do one of two things, “fight or flight”. According to a recent article by Verywell Mind, they wrote:“The fight-or-flight response plays a critical role in how we deal with stress and danger in our environment.” Based on this quote it can be seen that the reaction that someone gives to fear can have a big impact on what happens next. This quote relates to the novel in the sense that all these boys are faced with the same fears but they each chose either fight or flight, and each character is different in the way they respond. When Ralph, the main character, hears a noise that sounds like a monster he gets people to arm themselves with spears, so his reaction was to fight. Another character named Piggy was confronted by a scary noise but instead of sticking his ground he ran away scared. These different reactions show how even though all of the boys are going through the same situation, they handle it in different ways which shows who they are underneath.

In the novel “Lord of the Flies” Jack is a major character. He's characterized as having a confident facade when in reality he's equally as scared as the other boys on the island. “ ‘…fear can't hurt you any more than a dream. There aren't any beasts to be afraid of on this island . . . Serve you right if something did get you, you useless lot of cry-babies!’(82-83). ” Jack’s way of dealing with fear is by making others feel bad. Deep down he feels scared but he plays it off by putting others down and acting less afraid than them. This puts him in a position where he feels more powerful and can hide his true fears. Jack also uses his words to play off his anxiety. This quote also shows part of Piggy’s fear of speaking to the other boys, because they talk to him like this and call him names and make him feel bad constantly. Jack doesn’t see how his words are affecting other characters and even though he may be trying to comfort them by telling them not to be afraid, it makes them fearful of him instead of the “beast”.

Piggy is a crucial character to the story who plays the smart, anxious, and self conscious character. Piggy has good ideas, but he does not have the confidence to speak up and tell the other children. Piggy is known as the shy kid and the one people can easily pick on. He is very sensitive about the way people speak to him or about him.  Interactions with these other boys made him very fearful. “ ‘You’re talking too much,’ said Jack Merridew. ‘Shut up, Fatty’ (21).” By jack calling him the slang word of “fat” it demonstrates a clear disrespect to piggy and his feelings. This gives him all the more reason to be fearful of the other children. It shows that jack thinks that Piggy is inferior and picks on him to make himself feel stronger and more incharge.

When people are scared they may show their fear because it is impulsive. Fear applies to everyone in a unique way. By showing the example of Piggy being too scared to speak up this shows one way people show fear differently than others. Everyone's reaction to fear will decide what happens next whether they chose “fight or flight”. Each of the boys in the story has a different fear, showing how everyone has something they’re afraid of and everyone has their own way of dealing with that fear.

Works Cited

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin, 2006.

Mohney, Gillian. “The Science of Fear: What Happens to Your Body After a Good Scare.” ABC News, ABC News Network, 30 Oct. 2015, abcnews.go.com/Health/science-fear-body-good-scare/story?id=34855202.

“Your Fear Reaction Is Lightning Quick.” Sciencenordic.com, sciencenordic.com/your-fear-reaction-lightning-quick.

Monitor on Psychology, American Psychological Association, www.apa.org/monitor/mar06/fear.aspx.

Adolphs, Ralph. Current Biology : CB, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 21 Jan. 2013, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3595162/.

Cherry, Kendra, and Steven Gans. “How the Fight-or-Flight Response Prepares Your Body to Take Action.” Verywell Mind, www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-fight-or-flight-response-2795194.

In the novel “Lord of The Flies,” by William Golding, in the midst of World War II, a plane crashes on a stranded island. The boys on the plane make their best effort to unify into one group as they try to survive, however, such efforts soon go to waste when they are faced with problems including, what they call the “beast”. Throughout the course of their stay, the feeling of fear consistently arises no matter how many times the boys try to push it away. This is because, this feeling is present among all the boys, changing the projection of the false beast to fit their definition of what they call fear. The projection of one's fear can become a false reality when acknowledged because what the beast can be considered in real life can distract one from actual depth of the real-world danger .

On the island, the boys try to rid their minds of the beast, but as they stay, day and night, they realize that there is no escaping their feeling of fear until they try to hunt down the beast, when in reality,  their attention to the beast made their situation even more dreadful. In one of their first meetings concerning the beast, the boys attempt to acknowledge that the beast is not real, and some do not believe that the beast is. Jack speaks that if there was a beast he would hunt it, but since he’s a hunter and has been all over, he saw no beast, so he supposed it not to exist. “Well then-I’ve been all over this island. By myself. If  there were a beast I’d have seen it. Be frightened because you’re like that-but there is no beast in the forest.”(83). As the boys attempt to subside the fact that there is no beast, the lingering feeling that one exists, grows to the point where they do not feel control over the situation, because they do not know what the beast is. However, as they continue to acknowledge the beast , the falsity of the situation grows to the point where their underlying problems are not recognized as often. These problems include Jack arising actions of violence.  The beast provides a distraction, and they do not feel at ease until they fabricate what the beast can be. They wonder if it is a being that is huntable, or in terms, could be something that they can control, hindering them from realizing that the beast is a more fearful approach.

In the novel, the beast is an image of a singular problem overshadowing another, which can be connected to a real world problem of the distribution of guns. Guns, in the present day, are misused, leading to the fear that one can get shot at any given moment. Although the fear of guns is very real,  the problem in depth, shows that the dangers of being shot is a singular problem, acting as a cover, distracting others from what could lie beneath with the system of government, and how they are not considered to be the more feared part of the situation. Since the people in government opposed of the idea of expanding background checks, and  making guns less heavily accessible to children, the idea of doing so, soon faded. The website says, “No senators who were in office for the 2013 vote changed their position when the provision was brought up again after the San Bernardino killings in 2015. And the second time around only 48 votes of support for expanding background checks could be found” In reality,  this shows that it is the individuals beneath the surface, the government, could have the ability to change the calamity, but are choosing otherwise. Rather than realizing underlying problems as to why America may want to keep the distribution of guns, the fear of getting shot became the more emphasised issue, the beast in this case.

As the novel continues, the little ones contribute to rise of Jacks ego, and leadership, because they believe at this point, that Jack is able to provide the means of safety. Because of this safety, he now grows to be even more in control than Ralph. Here, he demonstrates his power of authority by calling an assembly finally acknowledging the beast. “I’ve called an assembly, said Jack, because of a lot of things. For you know now, we’ve seen the beast.” Since it seems like the little ones, and all the big ones that now trust in the fact that there is a beast, Jack is once more able to assert the attention to the beast. He uses, consciously or unconsciously, the beast as an excuse for odd actions he takes, like pig rituals, so no one suspects anything. It seems, like the government, Jack is able to be excused because the fear of the beast prohibits the talk of anything else. And, the big kids, let his actions continue.

The money that is received from the distribution of guns, is more than protected by the amendment which states the right to own it.  Guns are becoming more of an issue, as constant struggles are presented by unstable individuals having one. Most of the people in government, are also prominent supporters of these firearms, that one can question whether guns are actually necessary in society today, or is it yet another cover to hide the “benefits” received from it, which is money.  In the website, it states, “But if lawmakers seem to tiptoe around gun issues, it's likely at least in part because the NRA and other gun rights groups are loaded for bear with a seemingly limitless stash of cash ammunition...During the 2016 election cycle, the NRA further opened its coffers to make $54.3 million in outside expenditures, up from $27 million during the 2014 cycle.” Money is always a constant issue, however, this issue overlooked at times when lives are at stake. One can not usually think of the depth of problem when issues seem to arise from what the guns seem to take, lives.  It’s almost as if the beast in this situation changed to fit a different view because, it is the own people outside of government contributing to such things. The people of America.

The comparison between gun control and the beast may seem odd, but in some cases, are very similar. Fearing a gunshot, is the same as the fear of the beast because of how it can distract an individual from understanding the underlying problem. While as, it is dissimilar because, a gunshot is a very fearful thing, while as the fear of the government, or even the own people of America contributing to gun use, is not frightful enough, like how some of the kids are not considered to be at fault for contributing to Jack’s ego.  In the end, fear distracts us, from what could be happening underneath, when one is too preoccupied when death could be in the picture.

Work Cited

            Golding, William. Lord of The Flies.

          New York: Penguin, 2006.

Gun Rights vs Gun Control.” OpenSecrets, www.opensecrets.org/news/issues/guns.

Burger, John. “Beyond Gun Control: Exploring the Underlying Issues of School Shootings.”Aleteia - Catholic Spirituality, Lifestyle, World News, and Culture, Aleteia, 20 Mar. 2018, aleteia.org/2018/03/06/beyond-gun-control-exploring-the-underlying-issues-of-school-shootings/2/.

In the story of “Lord of the flies” by William Golding the author tells a story of a group of young boys who on a journey on a plane and they crashed into a deserted island, although many died, a couple survived. They find themselves on an island with no adults. They were having trouble getting civilized which makes them having different images such as thinking about things that do not survive or die such as beast and so on. Each one of them has their own rules for their own selves until the time came for voting for a leader. Piggy was a boy who plays multiple roles in the story, more than everybody else, and Ralph was a friend who does what Piggy told him because he wants to be a leader and Piggy has a better knowledge on survival skills which is needed on the island. Fear is something that people feel when they are afraid or feel danger at some point and is a dependant upon the amount of respect given to you by the community around you. In today’s world, fear is like a fundament deeply wired reactions to people. They are the type of imagination that people think could happen such as choosing or making up ideas that don’t exist.

In the book chapter 6 “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding the quote says --“In the darkness of early morning there were noises by the rock a little way down the side of the mountain. Tow boys rolled out a pile of brushwood and dead leaves, two dim shadows talking sleepily to each other…. Now they approach the darker smudge that had been the signal fire, yawing, rubbing their eyes, treading with practiced feet. When they reached it they stopped yawning, and one ran quickly back for brushwood and leaves.” (96) This shows that the boys feel fear because they were in the dark doing something when a figure heats in the tree. They thought it was a beast because it was in the night and they couldn't think of anything just only a beast because they scaring their own selves. In the real world, people in the village, if the people really wanted to become a leader the person needs to know all of their expectation about been a leader. Piggy was the person who gave Ralph advice and he can still be a leader by listening to someone. In the village, the people can just be leaders by listening to someone the person needs to think about what the person is responsible for and know your rights. According to the website president Trump wanted to be a leader but he doesn't know his rules he just made up anything, this site was talking about he was preparing for wars in North Korea. Later on, he sends a message to asked the Korean people to meet to avid the Backlash. In the book, Piggy was preparing for a leadership role while he knows what to do, he was giving advice to Ralph on how to be a leader. Piggy was the person who decides the better one but no one wanted to listen to him all they know is teasing him. This gives him the disadvantage because with this he has little to no chance of taking the leadership role.

In chapter 8 “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding this quote says, “Son was crying out something about a dead man on a hill.” kill the beast! Cut the throat! Spills his blood! Do him in!” (114) This quote is showing that Simon knows the truth about the beast and why all of these random events take place on the island. He quickly ran back to go tell his people but Jack was having a celebration in the night and the heavy storm started. Simon came there he was about to talk but they didn't know that was Simon. They felt fear and beat him up which leads to his death. In the real world, in the village people feel the same thing but it doesn't cause them to hunt each other for no reason because feel fear like what they did to Simon in the story. At some point, people feel fear like the little kids in the story but the elders do not mind them they just keep on going like Ralph who doesn't mind other kids who fear of the beast. According to the website is talking about how shooting affects people’s lives from taking away other people’s life. In the novel the kids feel fear whenever they hear or see something scary they get time to talk to Ralph when he was informing them that they were no beast on the Island; this is the same as guns if people understand the struggling of shooting other people’s life they feel shocked, worried and anxious they feel their lives were going to be taken away they get time to talk to people for help in order to get rid of the anger in themselves.   

In my conclusion the novel of the Lord of the Flies when the people compared it to the real world connection it can stands to a lot of things for example when they take Simon as leader, Piggy can be like a student who gets bullied in school and Jack can be as a student bullier that scared the student all of the time and the Littluns can be the students in school who just do what they were asked for because they all from a school so that can basically have some connection with school properties. Piggy doesn't earn much respect as a person on the island due to the way he looks and carries himself. On the other hand, Ralph earns respect from the group of boys because he speaks his mind, although Piggy gives him most of the ideas. Also, look at Jack who gains most of the respective through placing fear into the other boys.

Work Cited

Golding, William. Lord of the flies. New York: penguin, 2006.

www.easybib.com

Sources:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/south-korea-worries-about-the-return-of-john-bolton-and-his-hawkish-views/2018/03/23/4adc68aa-2e6c-11e8-911f-ca7f68bff0fc_story.html?utm_term=.6161df99d271

http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/mass-shooting.aspx

Fear is an inevitable feeling that everyone gets. It has a strong hold on some people, while for others it can inspire them to take control of a situation. To overcome the idea it is sometimes projected on others. In a child like mind, fear is exemplified because of imagination. Being afraid of an idea, physical thing, or scaring oneself changes behavior and mentality. The experience of being scared can encourage people to act like cowards -- but that fear of looking like a coward can also inspire them to become brave.

In the book Lord of the Flies by WIlliam Golding, a group of boys are stranded on an island. They have no adult figure to lead them, so they are forced to lead themselves. Over time, the boys have to grow together or grow apart. All of them agree on leaders, jobs, and who can speak while holding the conch shell. As living on the island becomes more crucial, the boys need to make harsh decisions. Without these rules and discipline, chaos would occur at a faster pace than it already will. The boys claim to see a flying beast that will kill them all. Some live in fear on the island, while others do not want to believe the beast is real. “Someone's got to go across the island and tell Piggy we'll be back after dark." Bill spoke, unbelieving."Through the forest by himself? --We can't spare more than one." Simon pushed his way to Ralph's elbow." "I'll go if you like. I don't mind, honestly."(124-129). Simon shows no fear of the beast, unlike everyone else. Although he was once scared, he realized it was the the boys scaring themselves. Everyone projected their feelings of fear onto each other, but Simon acted bravely instead. This kind of behavior sparked curiosity in the group, they all questioned why he was not scared of the “flying beast” in the darkness. Over all his own fears, Simon has taken the brave way out to act against everything the group has been believing.

Feelings of fear will coexist with us forever. In many instances, the biggest enemy is oneself. At no point does fear not affect someone, it is how they choose to approach what scares them. When people find their backs against the wall, irrational decisions are made. Humans act this way to handle what their mind is retaining and manage their own anxiety.  "The common thread that weaves violent political movements together is fear. It is not the only motivating factor behind political violence, nor necessarily the most obvious, but it is virtually always there. Whenever we ask why people hate, or why they are willing to kill or die for a cause, the answer is invariably fear." People will to do things beyond the norm as a reaction to fear and anxiety. When approached by the unknown, immediately an individual or group will find something to blame, argue against, or even eliminate.

Also in the novel, the boys have made themselves a ritual. The ritual was for slaughtering a mother pig. In order to survive, they had to hunt and eat whatever they found. It was all terror and hostility. Underlying fear kept hold of everyone, nobody wanted to face the beast. “Maybe […] there is a beast. [...] What I mean is… maybe it's only us.” After a while of debating on what is real or just imagination, the boys began to fight over who to believe and why they should believe them. The title of who is leader and the meaning of a conch shell has decreased. Piggy and Simon believe it is not the Lord of the Flies that the they all should fear. In fact, the biggest obstacles are themselves. They bravely spoke out on the new idea that  true monsters were the boys, it seemed only Simon and Piggy could grasp that concept.

In conclusion, the strongest thing humans have against fear is their own mind. Even the smallest idea built from imagination draws one to fear, causing them act irrationally. When approached by the unknown, everyone finds a different way to cope. The norm is to act cowardly and shy away from what they are afraid of. There are people who do not want to look weak, knowing that everyone else is afraid, that makes them want to be brave. The decision to fight fear with bravery all comes from the mind. The mind can be the closest friend or the worst enemy.

Works Cited:

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin, 2006

“Fear.” Beyond Intractability, 28 Feb. 2017, www.beyondintractability.org/essay/fear.

“Fear.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/fear.

Madison Siegel

Ms. Pahomov

English 2

6 April 2018

A Little Bit of Civilization, a Little Bit of Savagery

In William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies”, the author portrays the fluctuating identities of a group of boys who are stranded on an island. What makes a person civilized or savage? How do the things that happen to a person affect their actions? Some people think that things happen to them for a reason. Some people wait to see what the future holds and then make their decisions based off of that. In the book, the characters of Ralph and Piggy view the world differently from the way Jack sees the world. That’s why Jack is known as savage and Ralph and Piggy are known as civilized. The environment that these characters were in before they were stranded on the island-shaped their decisions and the other characters in the book. The idea of civilized vs. savage creates many scenarios in both the book and in real life. People who possess normal minded behavior can resort to savage behavior when put into a desperate situation or stay their normal self.

People can be faced with the pathways of choosing a civilized or savage way. It might be better to take the civilized route because then you know you followed the rules, but if you take the savage route it might benefit you more. In an article written by Hamid Dashabi, he points out a quote saying, “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man.” Dashabi is explaining that the reader is more likely to choose the person who follows the rules than the person who doesn’t. Something that should be recognized is the fact that even a rule-follower can have some savage traits. This observation fits into the Lord of the Flies because there was a war between the different gangs lead by Jack and Ralph. Readers may support the civilized group with Ralph because they wanted to follow the rules that they were taught. First thing to remember is how Jack came to be identified as a savage. This is a war between a civilized and savage person. Goldingsets the book up so the readers support Ralph more than they support Jack because he wanted Jack to be known as the villain. In the book, the narrator says, “[Jack] tried to convey the compulsion to track down and kill that was swallowing him up. "I went on. I thought, by myself—"The madness came into his eyes again. "I thought I might kill."”(51)  The author shows the struggle Jack has when he is stranded on the island. The readers are able to realize that Jack has some civilized qualities hidden in his savage actions. Based on the quote, the readers see that Jack was doing what he thought was best. He saw that the only way that he can survive is by looking out for himself and bossing everyone else around. This proves that civilization left room for both to happen.

Something that should be considered is that this book was written to demonstrate the problems of society and the sinful nature of each and every person. With that being said, the world was created with good and evil inside everyone. There is a struggle for every human being to tell the difference of what is right from wrong; it depends on personal opinions. They wanted to keep a very order-based community, but they also fought with others and wanted to survive.

Ralph says, “If we have a signal going, they’ll come and take us off. And another thing. We ought to have more rules. Where the conch is that’s a meeting. The same up here as down here.” (42) Without any rules, how would life look like? How would anyone know the difference from right and wrong if the world didn’t have rules? There is no real way to determine what is right and what is wrong. Ralph was pulling from what he knew before he got stranded on the island to try to keep a more civilized community. Ralph was trying to do what he thought was best for not only him, but everyone stuck on that island. People need rules or else everyone would be identified as savage. With that being said, there is a greater chance that people are savage than civilized because even with rules, people can be savage. Ralph still had a little bit of savage in him even though he was identified as civilized.

The identity of civilized against savage nature plays a huge role in the theme of the book. The people in the government are the ones who make the rules. They make the laws that guide each and every human being. Then, there are the people in the government that don’t follow the rules, creating a corrupt society. For example, Donald Trump can definitely be identified as both civilized and savage. He is this country’s president, but yet he can probably relate more to Jack’s morals than to Ralph’s morals. Jack and Ralph can be identified as political parties too. Weebly says, “The formation of two separate groups in Lord of the Flies, Ralph's "followers" and Jack's "followers," leads to the total loss of unity on the island. In The United States' government, there are two main political parties that often struggle against each other: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.” Those two teams are often pitted against each other in today’s society, but they aren’t identified as savage. This creates interest because when two people get into a fight, they are known as being on opposing teams, and are quickly identified as savage. Some people would like to think that there is just a good and a bad, a right and a wrong, and a savage and a civilized, but the truth in the matter is that human beings are in between. In Lord of the Flies, Jack was in between because he thought he was doing the right thing, but he was doing it in a savage way.

Gone Mad

     Do the natural outdoors have a big enough impact on someone to make them go ¨mad¨? In this day in age people are used to their luxuries. Even the littlest things that people may use everyday such as air conditioning or heating or the ability to flush a toilet are in fact luxuries. These functions are now now considered normal. So if  someone with these luxuries were dropped on an island with nothing but their will to live, what is their first thought? Survival.

     In the novel ¨The Lord of the Flies¨ by William Golding, a group of boys were stranded on an island and could be described as crazy. The author had been in a situation related to the boys when he served in the Royal Navy for about six years. His experiences may have influenced his writing of the novel. After days of surviving on an unknown island, in ¨Lord of the Flies¨, a young boy by the name of Simon starts to see what he perceived to be a demon.  The poor boy was being chased by a pig's head on a stick that was held upby the older boys. But through his exhausted eyes, it was a beast, something the children had dubbed “The Lord of the Flies”. This was Simon's fear being brought to life to terrify him, but was also a way that the other boys could have fun terrorizing the young boy. As the ¨beast¨ followed Simon through the woods, it spoke, ¨There isn't anyone to help you. Only me. And I'm the beast.¨(143) The fear that Simon had been experiencing had caught up to him in an abrupt moment causing him to imagine the pigs head on a stick to be alive. The Lord of the Flies received a small victory when Simone looked deep into the beast's eyes and blacked out.

     In an article about the studies of APA President Philip G. Zimbardo, it talks about the reasoning for certain behaviors that may be viewed or even diagnosed as ¨mad¨. Zimbardo had a theory that maybe madness is a symptom brought on by an unexpected event or change in a person's everyday life. Zimbardo did a study on a few college student volunteers and found out that if the student is under a lot of pressure and stress, or if his/her surroundings are stressful or any other emotion to the extreme, that their response to it can be influenced by the amount of one emotion being forced onto them.

     In relation to the book, Simon had been influenced by the over producing fear that him and the rest of the boys were surrounded by. The boys had experienced a huge change in their day to day pattern when they were dropped on an island and relied on each other to survive. Simon, being one of the younger boys, was more susceptible to fear, causing his emotions to get scattered more easily and in result, he started to go mad. Zimbardo had talked about when someone is put in a situation they cannot deal with, that their coping mechanisms may result in behaviors labeled psychopathology. ¨When the volunteers were unable to come up with acceptable explanations or social comparisons for their arousal, their inability to deal with it would eventually lead to predictable symptoms of psychopathology.¨ This can relate to Simon in that he could not find a way to deal with his fear, and so it soon turned into a beast.

     The novel ¨Lord of the Flies¨ by William Golding represents the fact that normal people can go mad, and this relates to the real world because there have been studies proving the how and why normal people go mad. The environment in which a person is placed can have a big enough impact on that person to make them go mad. This study can help society by recognizing that it is possible to go mad due to a situation or surroundings of a person.

Kai Payton

Ms. Pahomov

English 2

April 5, 2018

Fear of The Unknown

The fear of the unknown is a powerful aspect of people’s lives. There are many different forms of fear that a person could experience in their life. People are not aware of the things that cause the fear inside of them, or what fear can do to a person. Most of the time fear lives inside of you and it seems to become a reality. Fear can sometimes control a person to the point that they do not think before taking action. It is something that isn’t controllable. People fear the unknown because they do not know what is going to happen if that fear becomes real.

   In Lord of The Flies, by William Golding is a book that revolves around the idea of fear. Boys are stranded on an island and have to find a way to survive. At the beginning of the story fear wasn’t something influential and important, but as the story went on it can be seen taking over the boy’s minds. A moment in the story occurred where Sam and Eric, the twins, were watching the fire on the island. While doing this they fell asleep and when they woke up they saw a dead man hanging from a parachute. In Chapter 6 the narrator says, “The twins stared at their identical laughter then remembered the darkness and other things and glanced round uneasily.” (97) They saw that man as the “beast” on the island. There was no actual beast, but this still built up fear inside of the boys. The beast started controlling and impacting the way they made a lot of decisions on the island. It influenced the way the leaders made decisions in certain situations. When the twins came back to the rest of the group and told them about the beast, the rest of the group was startled and frightened by their story. The twins along with the other boys have things they fear which in a way brings them back to reality.  The fear continues to grow because there is nobody there to tell them the beast is just in their head and there's nothing to be afraid of. They don’t know what the beast could do to them if they allow it to get them. In addition to that, the boys are only 12 years old or younger. Their imagination is still running wild while it can.

A form of  fear can be as simple as a young child's nightmare that follows people their whole life. It could be that one distinct thing people have been afraid of. Recurring fears are something that makes people feel like they can’t escape. When people go to sleep and have a nightmare they eventually wake up but that fear stays with them. You might go to sleep again and have that same nightmare that fuels your fear to stay and linger within. According to KidsHealth.org nightmares usually, occur for no apparent reason or occur when a child is going through a time of stress or change. With the young age of these boys, they’re going through a lot of changes since they’re still growing up. Seeing as though the boys are stressed with the constant fear of the beast they’re in a living nightmare. Along with that they have built up stress from the fact that their stranded on an island with no adult figure for reassurance.

   Essentially fear is in your head you make yourself scared of things or the people around you give you reasons to fear. With fear people have to think of a way to overcome it because it’s not something, people deal with easily. With the boys on the island, some people were doubtful of the idea of the beast towards the beginning. Then as time went on and things related to the beast started to happen more and more of the boys began to believe that the beast was a real. Just like many other fears, it was just in their heads and it’s not real. When kids are that age they usually have someone to tell them everything will be okay when dealing with fears. Sadly for this group of boys, the only ones who could be of any authority showed fear of this beast too which only strengthens the idea of it. Referring to KidsHealth.org again it states that parents should encourage nice dreams during this time. No one is telling the boys the beast is actually a nice guy and won’t hurt them.

   At one point in the book, some of the boys kill what they believe is the beast. When doing this they had no remorse for it and didn’t stop until it was lying lifeless and still. Once this happened the fear of the beast was alleviated in some way. They carried themselves in a different way after the “death” of the beast. They no longer had as strong of a fear following them while on the island. They felt as if the beast was able to come back they would be able to kill it again since they did it before. Killing the beast brought the boys a form of closure in this situation. This killing of the beast was a way of having a parent tell a child everything will be okay when having nightmares. The points of closure to a person's fear is what destroys the fear piece by piece.

   Fear has a strong effect on many people's lives. The beast influenced many of the boy's choices because they didn’t know what it could do to them. Children fear their nightmares because they never know when they’ll happen or what they’ll see when they have them. People don’t like the feeling of fear because it causes problems outside of it. With nightmares, it can cause a loss of sleep and with the beast, it can cause you to think some things aren’t what they really are.  It affects people in many different ways some stronger than others.

WORK CITED

1. Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin, 2006.

In William Golding’s dystopian novel, The Lord of the Flies, the boys initially celebrate the absence of adult supervision and attempt to create a new civilization.

When they first go to the Island Ralph is there with piggy and Ralph ran down the hill and fell then piggy told him “My auntie told me not to run”(PG.9). After that Ralph says to piggy “Ass-mar”(PG.9). As you can tell but if you can't I will tell you. There are too different people on this Island the ones that want the comfort of a adult like piggy, and the one that is happy of the fact that there are no adults on the island and will have fun more than survive. In this quote there was a meeting and jake had to conch and started to agree with what Ralph was saying “We have got to have rules and obey them. After all, we are not savages. We are english and the english are best at everything. So we have got to do the right things.”(42) This quote by Ralph shows that they were trying to make their own civilization without supervision or guidance from adults. But they do not want to even listen to there themselves  They try to survive so they set a plan to appoint a leader and a group of hunters to get food. However, the leader and the hunters have a argument about what to do and then they separate into two tribes.  

In the book “Lord Of The Flies” by William Golding Piggy, one of the main characters to wake up on a island and one of the first things he said was. “This is an island. At least I think its an island.That's a reef out in the sea. Perhaps there aren't any grownups anywhere” (8). When Piggy said “perhaps there are not any grownups anywhere”, to me I think that he was relieved and yet he was scared because no one was there to supervise him. It seems like today's civilization operates the same thing within the government. Relieved that there are some things that are out of the way and accomplished yet society is scared of what might happen if that “thing”, such as resources, laws, organization, etc. fail that they have. Or they will make work, so to me it seems that they forgot the simple answer to the problem and that then made it more complicated. In a study talking about why teenagers are more impatient than adults. In a paragraph in the article is says that  The structural connections between two key areas activated during decision making are not yet as strong in adolescents as they are in adults. So I think this means that when the kids were on the island they were trying to think of the fastest way off. Instead of trying to survive long enough to think of a good plan off the island. Another way to prove that the kids were have thing a hard time working on there “new Civilization” without parents is, when they were at the meeting about what to do and Ralph tells piggy to shut up and Ralph says the same thing piggy says After that piggy gets angry. “ That's what I said! I said about our meetings and things and then you said shut up-”(PG.43)

Another article that I found talks about why teenagers don't really want to be around their parents     

In the book, “Lord Of The Flies”, by William Golding, kids are not understanding how hard it is to create a civilization. Without any guidance from adults they can not really tell the wrongs from the rights and that's why some of them did not make it off the island in one piece.                

Work Cited

Golding, William. Lord Of The Flies.New York: penguin, 2006

Why Adolescents Are More Impatient than Adults | Max Planck Institute for Human Development, www.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/en/media/2015/06/why-adolescents-are-more-impatient-than-adults.

A PARENT’S GUIDE TO CPS and the COURTS - SF Superior Court. www.bing.com/cr?IG=0B1EEFDA0B1A44BD92D14EF7EE34B3D3&CID=125909FB71466B7A1B24023370E96A6F&rd=1&h=aeZte1aNkqUHJXzamVkkIBpjys8XmCEhCGJt-1s-aY8&v=1&r=http://www.sfsuperiorcourt.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/2669 ParentsGuide.pdf&p=DevEx.LB.1,5068.1.   

Teyonna Little

English

Ms. Pahomov

April 6, 2018

Leading By Fear and Cruelty

As a leader, what people say, do, and act upon is what others follow. Rather or not it is good or bad doesn't matter, it’s how ineffective or effective people are at being what they claim to be. Leadership qualities and skills are essential when leading a group of people who fully relies on their leaders and what they teach. In today’s society and in the novel, Lord of the flies written by William Golding, there are specific persons in leadership who controls the citizens under them and scare their opponents with intimidation simply because they have the power to do so. Leaders can be most effective by asserting their authority through fear and cruelty. This ability can help them even get power over other leaders.  

In the novel, a group of young boys are stranded on an island and left to fend for themselves. One of the main characters, Jack is a leader upon a part of the group of boys. Throughout the book,  he takes this responsibility for granted by intimidating his followers and opponents. When all of the boys gathered round for an important meeting talking about the beast, everyone shared their ideas for how to deal with this beast. Jack responds to some ideas in rude ways. For example, “And you shut up! Who are you, anyway? Sitting there telling people what to do… I’m chief! I was chosen!”  The tone of his character is ultimately authoritative, but it is not a take control of the situation, it is a “control” by force situation. He wants to feel rather superior and in doing this he leads through fear. The way he talks to his people is rather scary and this only makes it easier for him to get what he wants. In this particular moment, he uses the phrase “I’m chief” to also remind people who he is. They might already know, but saying this is a demand of remembrance, so they know exactly who to listen to even if other people comes up with ideas or takes the place of a leader for a split second. Leading this way gives him leadway to have controlling power.  

Leading by fear is a common thing among leaders today. After researching examples of leaders who leads through fear, I found the website businessinsider.  This specific article gives 18 influential and well known people who leads by fear and provides specific details of what they had done. Most people that appeared on this website are bosses or someone at a high level of leadership. The one that was surprising the most was Martha Stewart. The report noted,  although she is cheerful, “Martha Stewart can be a very intimidating boss. She’s not great at giving up control either.” Research also shows she “pushed down” 2 CEO’s within a year. Usually in business, when saying “pushed down”, this means making someone want to quit or resign from their position. In this case, 2 other leaders. The connection between Martha Stewart and Jack is clear that they both are very aggressive. They use this to their advantage to get their followers to do what they want how they want it. When it comes to oppressing their opponents, they succeed in getting this fear that their followers have to spread to other leaders.  

Although Jack’s influence is yet effective, his actions can sometimes be intensely unpleasant and cruel. As readers know, Jack as a leader possesses good and bad leadership qualities, one of his worst tactics to rise to power would be cruelty to others. In this case, Jack is attempting to prove his power to the other boys, including Ralph and Piggy, 2 other leaders of the boys. He explicitly shows the transition from just an ordinary school boy in charge of the choir, to an angry boy who lust for power and leadership over everyone and the island. The book reads, “... and the wails of agreement from the hunters drove Jack to violence…  He took a step, and able to last to hit someone, struck his fist into Piggy’s stomach… You would, would you? Fatty! … Jack smacked Piggy’s head.”(71) When leading by fear, there is a strong lust for power, and there are different ways people use to get to that level. Cruelty can be used and expressed for different reasons and different ways. This strategy cannot just be used to put other people down, such as people who do not follow that specific leader, but to gain control over other leaders. And may I remind you, Piggy has the quality of a leader, but is in no shape to be one.

Surely, many should be aware of the presidential election of 2016, and the reputations of the candidates and the series of events leading up to this point. During the campaign, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton go head to head to be president. Everything is out there, when you run for these spots in society. Leading through fear and putting people down can ultimately scare people into being their follower. Research was done to obtain specific details of Trump putting other people down just as Jack belittled Piggy. Here is one example of Donald Trump belittling women indirectly, these were his words, “beauty and elegance, whether in a woman, a building, or a work of art, is not just superficial or something pretty to see.” It is acceptable for a leader to be angry or frustrated, but it is unacceptable when they use this for control. Not only is this cruel treatment, this is cruel treatment to the ones following the leader and the opponents.

There are many tactics that leaders who are not bad, but have bad qualities use to gain control over people and things.  Two of these tactics are to lead by fear and cruelty. These unnecessary, but yet effective skills can help them gain power over other leaders. This is not something people would  want to be acknowledged for, but try to be acknowledged for their good qualities, like confidence and patience. 

Works Cited:

1. Golding, William, Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin, 2006.

2. Cohen, Claire. “Donald Trump Sexism Tracker: Every Offensive Comment in One Place.” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 4 June 2016, www.telegraph.co.uk/women/politics/donald-trump-sexism-tracker-every-offensive-comment-in-one-place/. I found this source by researching specific leaders who put other people down. I know this source is credible because it contains evidence of each thing listed and backs it up with explanations and it is a timeline. This influenced ,my thinking by drawing certain connections to the book and my thesis statement.

3. Nisen, Max. “18 Executives Who Lead By Fear.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 12 Sept. 2012, www.businessinsider.com/18-executives-who-lead-by-fear-2012-9#film-and-theater-producer-scott-rudin-7.  I found this source by researching people who leads by fear and how they do. I think this source of credible because it gave several leaders and well-known people and descriptions of what they done to lead by fear.

Fear may be one of the most paralyzing experiences, not because it can physically kill human beings, but because it can damage them emotionally. Human beings are afraid of being outcasts, and therefore, they attempt to join groups so that they do not feel so isolated. The fear of not being accepted forces human beings to adopt behaviors and personalities that are not our own. In a society where people are heavily influenced by one another, it is easy for human beings’ overwhelming fear of being alone impacts who they choose to be and how they choose to act. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding challenges readers to witness the many ways young boys, such as the littluns, follow the sometimes irrational leads of the older boys because they fear they will not survive otherwise. Humans will change their behavior and follow group trends when the fear of being an outcast outweighs all other factors.

Human beings often feel the need to fit in, and throughout each generation, the need to follow others’ lead grows stronger. In the case of Lord of the Flies is we see the younger boys try to follow the older ones in the means of finding a place to belong. In the beginning of the chapter, readers have limited access to the histories  of the different characters in the novel. Before the boys elect a chief,they begin to figure different things out. In this moment they are learning each other names and when they boys call piggy ¨Fatty¨ Ralph is quick to correct them and tell him his name is Piggy when we all know that is not his actually name. It than states ¨A storm of laughter arose and even the tiniest child joined in. For a moment they boys were a closed circuit of sympathy with Piggy outside¨ (21)  Here, even the tiniest of the boys laughs, but we do not know the child’s intention. Because everyone else is laughing, the littlun joins in. He at the time may have not knew what was going on because they were so little but because they saw others laughing they decided to join in. If the child had chosen to ignore the laughter and remain quiet, he would have served as an outcast,image if he had not joined in with the others and then he too would be next to be the joke of the island. There was this fear of better him than me and that was the compelling reason for them to join in with the laughter rather than stick up for Piggy. In what we are trying to address it’s natural to want to belong and there will always and forever will be a need to belong. This behavior is also exhibited in the real world as well. According to Today’s Psychology, there is psychological evidence for the reasoning behind us wanting to follow the crowd. One reason others influence us is because humans are social. Based on several studies we have survived because of our ability to band together, seeing how early humans who formed groups were more likely to survive than those who went solo. Both the real world situation and the book corealate, in the way they go about join the groups. It is as if they are not willy joins the groups but are doing it by force because they fear the outcome if they don't.

In chapter seven of the novel, the boys have been on the island for quite some time now and learn that in order for them to survive they need to hunt for their food. At this point the boys are already losing faith in their hopes to go back home. That afternoon while wondering the island looking for the beast, the boys find pig droppings. It is then Jack suggests they hunt the pig while also looking for the beast. It then continues to say “Well. We shan’t find what we're looking for at this rate. One by one they stood twitching rags into place.” (135) In a decision that is made by the chief they  they now go out and hunt for food in the hopes that they will find what they are looking for, but instead it causes for the boys to bring a side of themselves they have not seen before. The boys decide to follow the lead of their chief and side with best the decision they believe is best at the time, though they did not have any other choice at the time I believe they did this out of pressure, because if one were to go against the rules of society.  the one that was placed on time being on this island alone. It would not only leave that person a stray but also be harmful for that person because they would turn on him as well. This forces them to do thing they have never done before and this solely because they don't want to be an outcast. I image not everyone was comfortable with the idea of killing, but to say if they did not help than the would not receive any food.there would be consequences if the boys did not follow after Jack, but there is also the conquest of knolling that they have lost their insconces. An example of this behavior is represented in the reaklworld as well. There was a case of a man who did not want to be muslim anymore and for that reason he was banished from his home and was forced to move away. If there a family member that felt the same balfieds that would not speak up after witnessing this because them too would become an outcast.

In conclusion, though there are a myriad reasons why our brains tell us that we need to be like one another, there is also a part that tells us we should be different. Just as it shows us from what is right and wrong. In a world that is fixated  on following other people’s lead, r it is only a hope that we will break free from this pattern.We know there is such a thing as a leader and a follower, but followers can also serve as leaders.

Traumatic events cause different reactions in people depending on their personality, but they have a higher chance of being  detrimental to children. Think of a child getting lost in store for a second that child thinks they are all alone in the world, and that memory can stick with them. Some children refuse to speak after trauma, while others act out in destructive ways, and many children become numb to the trauma. In The Lord of The Flies by William Golding, one may see savages and boys reverting to natural, predatory, tendencies. But through a psychological lens, the reader can take  a different view. The boys are not acting on savage instinct, but rather coping with the loss of adult figures and the stress of being on their own.

A group of boys ages ranging up to 12 get stranded on an island. They vote for a leader, Ralph, who remains the leader throughout the book. The boys create a character called the beast who one boy, Simon, says that the beast is just a man.  After the boys behavior really gets out of hand and the boy, Simon, ends up dying. Piggy, who seems to remain a voice of reason throughout the book is comforting Ralph after the Murder of Simon and Ralph says, "I’m frightened. Of us. I want to go home Oh God, I want to go home." pg 157  I want to go home is a statement that shows the youth of Ralph. He was placed in a position of power and now we can see his weakness. Out of the loss of theadults they attempt to make their own civilization the death of Simon is the beginning of the fall of their society. They created the character of the beast to personify their fear and when that idea was challenged they lashed out. Now that Simon is dead, Ralph feels that he has failed as a leader and he now longs for home where everything is in order and he doesn’t have to run his own life. If he was acting solely on savage instinct this wouldn’t be part of his reaction. If he was only acting on primitive instinct he would feel guilt or be mourning Simon.

The boys behavior can be examined from a psychological perspective. In an article written about Children and Teens with PTSD.  THe following was said, “They might also think there were signs that the trauma was going to happen. As a result, they think that they will see these signs again before another trauma happens. They think that if they pay attention, they can avoid future traumas.” The article is talking about how if a child initially saw signs of the traumatic event they may act out in order to stop another similar event from occuring. In Lord of The Flies the boys do just this. They are in a plane crash so their original social order failed them and in an attempt to create a new social order another tragedy, Simon’s Death happens so they readjust and moe more and more away from the systems that failed them.

boys have the ability to reason. They listen to Piggy which is rare occurrence. They listened to him which means they aren’t savages they are just looking for a leader. The last point of structure is the conch and they still see rules. The whole structure falls after the conch is destroyed.

When you were young did you ever lash out when you were scared? Traumatic events cause different reactions depending on who a person is, but they can be most detrimental to children. Some children refuse to speak after trauma, while others act out in destructive ways, and many children become numb to the trauma. On this island, the boys act out in violent ways. Through a societal lens, one may see savages and boys reverting to natural, predatory, tendencies. But through a psychological lens one may get a different view. The boys are not acting on savage instinct but rather coping with the loss of adult figures and the stress of being on their own.

People imagine all kinds of possibilities for their life like for example what their dream job will be, what kind of house they’ll live in, and what their future family would look like. But when it comes to fear, our imagination tends to wander and over exaggerates what is currently happening from a small incident to a big life threatening risk. People repeatedly conceptualize potentiality however when it comes to fears or concerns our imagination tends to roam and overestimate what is presently happening from a minimal circumstance to a serious life threatening incident.

The boys on the island over exaggerated a mighty beast out of fear and believed there was on the island and their imaginations included what the beast looked like and where it came from. Their imagination made them believed one of their own friends and the corpse of a fallen soldier was the beast without confirmation that what they saw was real. In the real world the world sees this similarly with police officers on a case at night and they imagine their suspect is armed with a gun when their suspect is actually not armed and they shoot without hesitation because they imagine their lives are at risk.

In Chapter 5 of “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding, the survivors stranded on the island fear of a beast roaming on the Island based on talk of the little children. While this is happening they also start to act uncivilized in many ways. After seeing these Issues Ralph calls an assembly to address these issues and then ends it with trying to debunk the talk and fear of the beast. “You! What were you mucking about in the dark for?” (pg 85). This shows that the fear in the little children about a beast was there imagination and that what they thought was a beast was actually Simon as he was walking around at night. When Simon went out

In an article made by Shaun King about Police Brutality. This article relates to my thesis as it talks about how Police are trained to shoot the imagined possibilities instead of waiting for confirmation and reality of the danger. This connects to the children as the police images the danger of each case while the children image the danger of a beast roaming around on the island which lead to them to fear that their lives are coming to a close end.

Later on in the book the boys are more split than ever with Jack leading the Hunters as savages. During a thunderstorm, after discovering the corpse of a dead soldier that crashed on the island Simon grabs the parachute off the corpse to tell the others of his discovery. After finding the boys he is quickly mistaken as the imaginary beast they believed was real and then assaulted by the savages and died in the water. “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). This shows how powerful imagination has on people’s speculation and quick actions without any real proof their thoughts are real and not false images. Being far from the fire and with the lightning behind Simon all the boys saw from him was just his darkened figure with the parachute in hand so the others believed Simon was the beast out of fear and because they had no logic to proof that it was Simon because all they saw was shadows and their imagination took over their true senses.

In an article on LA Times talks about a police shooting that happened not too long ago that caused a whole commotion. The police involved in this article were on a case about somebody breaking windows and running through people’s backyards. They had a police copter flying over and saw the guy they were about to shoot and lead the officers as the guy was running and ended stopping in his grandmother’s backyard where the police caught up to him. On the article there is a video from the body camera of the officers and then one of them say something similar to “He’s got a gun!” and then they shot about 20 shots at the guy. What the officers thought was a gun was actually the guy’s phone.

Imagination has lead us to our entertainment but the darker side of imagination lead us to fear inanimate objects or fear ourselves and those around us. Imagination also is what makes us believe something is something more deadly. This is a problem we see in our own life from police on duty, and in “Lord of the Flies” with the boys at night.

Works Cited

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin, 2006.

Winton, Richard, et al. “Stephon Clark Shooting: How Police Opened Fire on an Unarmed Black Man Holding a Cellphone.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 Mar. 2018, www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-stephon-clark-shooting-sacramento-explainer-20180323-story.html.

The Projection of Fear

Projection is a natural occurrence where humans press their feelings and emotions on to other people or sometimes even imaginary things. Humans project their emotions into theoretical things because they want to try and make their fears less scary by including them in reality. Many would identify projections as a hallucination, but does this justify the irrational or violent actions that can be caused by them?  The savage behavior displayed by those who project their emotions could be completely avoided if the fears were never instilled in their heads. For some people there is nothing more frightening than the unknown. When humans allow these fearful projections to take over, they engage in violent and other unsafe behavior.

In the book, The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, a group of young boys survive a plane crash on a deserted island and are left to fend for themselves. This causes them to begin to hallucinate and project their greatest fears into something they call “the beast.” One of the boys, Simon, has had the most encounters with the so called “beast,” even having a conversation with it at one point. Later, the beast is renamed as “The Lord of the Flies” and appears to Simon as a talking pig’s head on a stick. “‘Pig’s head on a stick.’ ‘Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!’ said the head.”(143) One of Simon’s greatest fears, along with almost all of the other boys on the island, was this so called “beast.” Due to this fear, Simon hallucinated, or projected, this onto the pigs head to include the beast as a part of his reality. As the reader sees in this scene of the book, Simon thinks that he is speaking with the “beast” in the form of a pig’s head, when really, this “beast” is just a projection of his fear. Simon’s withdraw from the real world and adults, causes him to fear the things he has never had to do himself. His fears of starvation, dehydration, and death, are the ones who cause him to project his emotions into the beast.

In a later scene of the novel, Simon makes it back to the camp where the boys were living and things take a turn for the worst. The other boys believe that Simon is connected to the “beast” and end up murdering him for what they think is their own safety. “With the running of the blood Simon’s fit passed into the weariness of sleep. He lay in the mat of creepers while the evening advanced and the cannon continued to play.”(145) The boys projection of fear lead them to go as far as killing one of their own allies. This so called “beast” triggers them to do irrational things, such as killing one of their own allies who they believe the beast is connected to. This is a prime example of how the projection of emotions can lead to atrocious and deadly actions.

Although the book is fictional, the world sees situations like this happen all of the time in the real world. For example, in 2014 two teenage girls attempted to murder their friend because they were convinced that if they did not a fictional character called “the Slenderman” would kill their families. People create unrealistic scenarios in their heads because they are unable to live with their fears, and this can sometimes can cause the person themselves to become the one to fear. In a article about the case from the LA Times, it states, “The two girls came to believe internet folklore about Slender Man so strongly that they thought he would kill them or their families if they didn’t attack.” This is a prime example of how projection can lead people to commit outrageous acts and sometimes even go mad themselves. The girls who tried to commit the murder are now both serving time in mental facilities and will be there for 20 plus years.

Much like the girls in real life, the character’s in the book were fearing the unknown. The boys in the book greatest fears being  starvation, death, and dehydration, while the girl’s fears being the death or harm of their loved ones. These fears can lead some to try and commit fatal actions, but others could be lead to actually committing them. The fear of not having control over something is enough to drive people mad, so people are willing to do anything to conquer this fear and feel like they are the ones in control of the situation. When people fear things they tend to let it take over them, but with projection, people push that fear on to other things, rather than themselves. For many this is a way of coping. But does that justify irrational or even violent actions that may come along with that? This debate continues in real life, as the sentencing of the two girls did not go how many thought it would. Many people disagree with the fact that the girls are serving their time in a mental facility instead of an actual jail.

The projection of fear can lead to crazy things. Humans see this in real life, and in fiction everyday. Some people blame fictional characters as to why people may do bad things, others would just blame the mental health of those responsible for the actions. Looking through a sympathetic point of view, one could think that the girls in real life, and the characters in the book only have the mental health of themselves to blame. They both allowed their projection of fear to take over and this lead to their violent and semi-fatal actions. Although their actions were wrong, because of their state of mind, one could argue that they could not help their own actions. All of these savage actions could have been avoided if the fears had never been planted. If everything is presented as the way it is created to be, then then there would be no fear to project.

Works Cited

Golding, William. Lord of The Flies. New York: Penguin, 2006.

Cosgrove, Jaclyn. “The Story behind 'Slender Man' and How Fear of This Fictional Character Nearly Ended in Murder.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2017, www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-slenderman-sentencing-20171222-htmlstory.html.

“Psychological Projection.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Apr. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_projection.

There are different types of friendship, such as the ones that have known each other for years and consider themselves "Best Friends", and those who just met. Friendship is a strong thing to keep, with that power, you and your friend could discover new things. Sometimes friendships can be destroyed by the people and the things around them, while others friendships can be very influential, and last very long . Someone’s surroundings is the most important things towards friendships because it can cause either a tremendous downfall or an increased rate of gaining friendships.  The environment around someone is the most important factor in the strength of a friendship.

In the 20th century, there were two valuable British authors. These authors went by the names of  “J.R.R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis”, their art was very beautiful, and was able to allow their readers to personally connect to their writing, or just enjoy their style of writing on just a reading level. They were not just regular authors, they were authors that had their own styles, and was able to target people who don't even speak their language. As you may think that even though they were very creative authors, they didn't really have a great relationship at first. The people around them made them think that they wouldn't be able to work together. Tolkien met Lewis at Merton college, just like others, it wasn't ¨friendship at first site¨. They didn't have any problems with one another, Lewis actually described Tolkien as a ¨smooth Pale. After they found out that they both shared an interest in Norse mythology, their bond began to grow them together like some type of magnetic force. Throughout the years that they shared in college together, they found more interest such as Writing books together. The ¨The pair agreed the fantasy and science-fiction genres, while enticing in their promise, lacked entries they actually wanted to read. That quote shows that they both felt as though that authors in their timeline were not doing their job, which was to entertain their readers through there writing. They both understood that they were not ordinary Writers, they both agreed that they enjoyed caring about stories that no one else cared about. That is very important because that is one of there most valuable moments, they understood that they were different. So they did what any upcoming potential authors would do, they Began to work on their own ¨Book¨. ¨Tolkien¨ was very excited about his work, so he decided to show ¨Lewis¨ what he had so far, And Lewis as a ¨Great Friend¨ told Tolkien to keep writing and too never give up. If we look back towards My Topic Sentences, you can tell that everything that they are doing, is just being translated into words. Both of the Authors known their surroundings, because they were able to interpret their surroundings on a higher level than others, they were able to use that which allowed them not to influenced into different directions which would have to spit them up.

     In the book Lord of the flies by William Golding, the characters go through several different events that pull them together. The events Allowed them to express who they really are. The reason why this is a good thing is that as I stated before, it formed a friendship. Today we won't really need to focus on 1,2, characters, but we will focus on all of the characters. Being able to relate to something with someone is very important because it shows that you both had to go through something serious, or just a simple event. Before the children landed on the island, they had no insight of who one another was. Them surviving the plane crash is the thing that allowed them to come together, all of the boys were able to relate to this event because they all went through it together. The environment somewhat influences them to come closer. Even though they didn't really have a way of the island just wet, they knew that they had to work together to survive. All of the boys came together to assign jobs. As I stated before, friendship is when you have respect from another, and that's what the children had during the assembly. They had to give someone an important role in becoming their new leader. The leader wasn't someone who can make someone do something such as get the leader some food but to make sure that everyone is doing there specific task. In chapter 1 “the sound of the shell” the character Piggy has been through a lot.  Piggy feels "intimidated by the uniformed authority and the off-hand superiority in Merridew's voice" and draws closer to Ralph (21). The reason why I chose this quote is that this quote shows how piggy feels towards the character Ralph. Some of the other children were laughing at how the characters name was “Piggy”. As a friend should do, Ralph had Piggy back. He shut down all of the laughter that the other children were doing and explained how piggy was his real name and why it wasn't funny, with that only, you can tell that Ralph was acting like a true friend. The character piggy wasn't too open, or in other words, he wasn't very friendly. He was able to keep things to himself, but while the kids were giggling and making fun him, As any kid would react, piggy began to become angry. Over time, their friendships began to expand, and they became more open with one another. “Piggy was so full of pride in his contribution to the good of society, that he helped to fetch wood." That quote is important because if we look through his perspective from the beginning of the story vs now, you can see how much the other characters allowed him to open up. Before we end off, I want to look at this last quote. “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy. This may be one of the most powerful quotes in the story, it shows that at times the most valuable character is your friend, and sometimes, challenges are things that bring people even closer.  

The characters in “lord of the flies” and  “J.R.R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis” share rare similarities. They both had to face one of the most challenging events ever which are the term Friendship. Being a friend comes with huge responsibilities, you have to be there for your friend, go through some many obstacles, but the most important, Never Give up. In the book, the characters went through a lot, but never gave up, in the end, they were able to find their way off the island. That's because they had each other and never gave up. Lastly, “J.R.R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis” both went through remarkable obstacles together, and the¥ stayed together, which signifies true friendship.

  Everyone needs a taste of friendship, it allows people to meet new people, and to express their feelings to their friends. Without Friendships, you feel alone, and I know that through experience. Friendships bring people together and learn new things. So that's why friendships are important.

Sources

1 “Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin, 2006.”  

2- “How C.S. Lewis Helped Encourage Tolkiens Lord of the Rings.” Newsweek, 9 Mar. 2017, www.newsweek.com/men-letters-jrr-tolkien-and-cs-lewiss-bond-563509.

This quarter, I did many different art pieces for each individual assignment. We focused on things from shading, to mainly just color. While doing my pieces this quarter, I hit some hard bumps along the way. Most assignments were meant to be very accurate and intricate. There were not many assignments that were very free hand, which was very challenging. I tried to approach each assignment with a positive outlook on everything and do each one in a creative manner. The outcome for each assignment was very different each time. Which is something I am not very used to. I used to have one way of how I wanted the pieces to be structured for each assignment that I did.

It was really fun to do new things that I have not previous done, for example the mandala assignment. I did not realize how hard it would be to create a mandala until I started attempting to draw one. A lot of things had to go into it when thinking about the shapes, lines, and colors. It was one of the more time consuming assignments. I think that one the most difficult assignments was the bicycle. Although it does not sound all that tricky to accomplish, it is. There are so many structural elements in a bike that made it very challenging to interpret onto a sheet of paper. It was the assignment I was the most unhappy about. Overall, I liked all of the assignments that I had to complete. I think that this quarters assignments were the most challenging compared to the other ones which was difficult but also really exciting. Even though it was tricky, it gave room to converse with others in the classroom who were having the same difficulties and problems.

Mamadou Samassa

Mrs. Pahomov

03/31/18

English

Is Pride Always Hidden

In Lord of Flies by, William Golding shares a deep understanding of how much pride a person can maintain within themselves when being cherished by those around them. Sometimes it is hard for people to see their true colors, could it be that they want to be different? There are people that use their pride as a way to get ahead of everyone, others who use it to look bigger than they really are, and this is all the result of being influenced by their own action. This pride people are so daring to try is like a drug one good taste of it and there is no return, it becomes a habit an addiction. Pride is the destroyer of hearts, the grave for the arrogant, the cause of losing someone important. A person becomes a liability when pride barricades them from other people. The author of the novel presents Ralph the main protagonist in the story as having arrogance because he wants to show how pride turns friends into enemies, and how pride leads to guilt.

            An example of this arrogant behavior also took place during 1301 BC. There was a ruler during the  Moses, named Ramses ll, he was the third pharaoh of his dynasty, his father, King Seti the first. Ramses ll lead many expeditions including the Levant and the battle of Kadesh. Ramses led several campaigns south of Cataract to the land of Nubia which was later taken by him. He was a cruel leader which loved to see his people in great agony. According to the Old Testament and the Quran, Ramses ll was the same man who was a contemporary of Moses and the Jews. He was also the one who adopted Moses when he was only a baby. After Ramses ll took the throne at the death of his father he became a very arrogant, prideful, and even calling himself “God” he had possession of all the riches of Egypt, and was the most powerful man of his time. Muslims mention that he was also married to Asiya which was one of the most honored women in Islam, amongst Mary, Khadija, and Fatima (peace be upon them). She was tortured to death because she refused to call her husband Ramses a God, and made sure to discontinue his self-pride. Ramses eventually received a punishment from God after constantly refusing to give the Jews freedom, and saying he is the greatest later dies at the crossing of the Red Sea. According to the Quran Allah (God) says, “So this day We shall deliver your (dead) body (out from the sea) that you may be a sign to those who come after you” (Quran 10:92). Allah ordered the sea to drown the Pharaoh then to spit him out whole, without any decomposition streaking his body so that he may serve as proof to the people who believed in him and to us today. His arrogance put him in a place where he forgot the one with supreme power over all things.The quote can be found true today because if you visit the Museum of Cairo today this man is found in the Royal Mummies Chamber and he is preserved and displayed just like Allah promised. When Allah says “so that he may be a sign for those who come after”, he was speaking of people which act with so much arrogance, and are full of themselves just like the Pharaoh. Arrogance is dangerous because it causes a change in a person, making no longer a person, but trying to become something more superior, and it destroys the friendships and love, the Pharaoh lost his son, his wife and his people because of his arrogance for himself, the Prophet Moses came to him day after day telling him  your Lord orders you to free his people and he refused, he knew the truth, but refused, for what to show people he is strong?

It’s time for the election and the boys are deciding on who should be the leader, and who has the capabilities to sustain a healthy living community of survivors, however a leader which will also have no second guess as to what is best for their community. Jack seemed to be the obvious choice for becoming chief, and piggy demonstrated a lot of intelligence. Ralph on the other hand “appeared” very attractive, without even having a stable qualification was deemed to be the leader of all the boys. "Shut up," said Ralph absently. He lifted the conch. "Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things." (22). This quote clearly shows how prideful Ralph was, he was the one which brought forth the idea of even having a supreme leader, as for Jack was arrogant after saying, “ I ought be chief”, but Ralph was self-conceited he said, “It seems to “me” we ought have a chief to decide things” referring to himself, he was showcasing that he was the only one capable of being chief, he didn’t tell the others he had floss when he was spoken good about, and always had something to saying if anything negative was said about him.

Ralph has now been on the island for quite a while starting off when he and his group of survivors first arrived at the island, to know where he is alone. Once upon a time in solitary with Piggy, Simon, and Samneric, now they are no more. He hides in the thick underbrush wondering in isolation how he’ll be able to heal his rib wound, he desperately wants to wash, but there is no guarantee that he won’t risk being caught by Jack and his group of savages. He finally realizes he is the one who caused all this grief and suffering, he is the reason why Piggy no longer is by his side. “And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy. (222). The phrase that shows Ralph was arrogant the whole time was “Ralph wept for the end of innocence” he knew he was never innocent, he knows why he brings the brutal truth after the loss of his closest friends. The darkness in his heart is due to the regret of not looking out for his people before himself. Sometimes being a chief means the loose joy, it means doing the good for the people over the individual, something he missed interpreted. Ralph wept in despair and regret, just like a sinner who sinned their whole life and felt that sense of repentance after coming back. It had taken him all this time to finally realize, he lost everything, he had forced himself to a place which never belonged to him, he knows what was bad for him, but still stuck to it because it made him feel good. It could be that something which he liked was bad for him, while something which made him feel bad might have been good for him, as there could be some many benefits that come with it. Ralph revoked seeking others aid, while he focused on himself, and anyone that had possession of what he was looking for, which was respect, honor, power, but what use is having all these blessings if those blessings are not shared back?

In conclusion Ralph from the very start, Ralph gave signs of his self-pride which later evolved into arrogance. Ralph became boastful of himself, forgetting the people that cared for him, once he lost those people he learned their worth. In society, the greatest rulers occasionally forget what it means to be a leader it means to be equitable to all the people, audacious whenever and wherever, it means having discretion. Pride is a major reason why relationships no longer share a strong connection, pride is a damning human characteristic.   

Work Cited  (MLA) format

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin, 2006.

Meaning of the Verse "So This Day We Shall Deliver Your (Dead) Body (out from the Sea)", islamqa.info/en/72516.

https://islamqa.info/en/72516

“Why Pride Is Nothing to Be Proud Of.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/intimacy-path-toward-spirituality/201506/why-pride-is-nothing-be-proud.