Iman Ahmed

English 2

March 25, 2019

Lord of the Flies & Presence of Civility

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sources Cited:

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

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

Jermira Butler

                                                                                                                 SilverStream

                                                                                                                  English 2 ( D )

                                                                                             March 25, 2019

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

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

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

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

Cameryn Roach

Ms. Pahomov

English II

25 March 2019

The Loss of a Leader

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

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

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

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

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

Works Cited:

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

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

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

Hector Sanchez

Mrs. Pahomov

English 2

25 March 2019

Anthony Nelson 3/21/19

Pahomov

Silver Stream

Trump Vs. Jack

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

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

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

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

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

Sources Used

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

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

Donald Trump Make America Great Again Speech - Video Results

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Work Cited

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sources Cited:

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

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

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

 Caleb McCreary

                     Mrs. Pahomov + Mrs. Rhymer

                     English 2

                     March 26, 2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

                Works Cited:

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

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

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

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

Tayah Brunson

Ms. Pahomov

English 2

March 22, 2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

Works Cited

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

History. Accessed in March, 2018.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Work Cited

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

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

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

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

Ida McGrath

Ms. Pahomov and Ms. Rymer

English 2

26 March 2019

Impact of Authority Figures on Morals

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Works Cited

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

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

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

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

Justine Koffi

Ms. Pahomov & Ms. Rhymer

English 2

26 March 2019

The Devil or You?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Work Cited

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hillary Hernandez

March 25,2019

How far does your ego take you

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sources list:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jonathan Rodebaugh

Ms. Pahomov

English II

5/25/18

Taken For Granted

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

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

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

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

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

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

Works Cited



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

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

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

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



Brooklin Johnson-Coles

Ms. Pahomov

English  2

26 March 2018

Ruled by Hate

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

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

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

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

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

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

Works Cited

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kankoue Folly

Ms. Pahomov

English 2

26 March 2019

“ Progression Due To Workers”

In the Lord Of The Flies, written by William Golding, the author explores the development of individuals when placed in a society without any laws to govern them. In the novel, the stranded individuals are a group of boys after their plane crashes. After Golding introduces the first two characters, Ralph and Piggy, Ralph finds a conch, and Piggy advises him that it can be used like a trumpet and explains how. Once Ralph blows the conch, the sound calls the rest of the boys scattered around the island to gather. From this moment the conch was established as an item that gave an individual power. Soon enough, the boys established a society, only for it to collapse in a short time. The society, as we would soon learn, was only sustained by a few working individuals, whom everyone benefited from. This relates to the general situation of our current society, in which, the individuals who make progress from labor are ignored by those who benefit from it.

   The idea that progress is only sustained by workers who in turn are ignored by the individuals who benefit from the incentives of progress goes beyond the novel. This could even be applied to the United States where there is a billionaire president and most of the Supreme Court Justices and Governors are millionaires in their own rights, as stated by Vox. Given the duty to represent all Americans and their values, these government officials actually only represent 6 percent of Americans. 6 percent of Americans who are millionaires or more. With the nation’s population consisting of 52 percent of people who are workers, this raises forth the question: why does the minority rule the majority? When investigated through a modern lens, it becomes clear that the minority elite prioritizes their needs over the needs of the community as a whole, as suggested by the economist. This creates the social imbalance in which the progressors work for the minority, without any consequence for both parties.

   In the novel, the idea that society’s progressors are ignored by the elite is metaphorically represented when Piggy, the established progressive, is stripped away of his right to use the conch as a medium for his voice and ideas to be heard. “I’ve got the conch Piggy said in a hurt voice, I’ve got the right to speak,”(44). Piggy’s freedom to speak and express ideas has been stripped away by those who are on top of society, notably Jack and Ralph. Despite Piggy’s assistance in creating a society and his knowledge and understanding their current circumstances, he is stripped of his voice, because it benefits the elite of Golding’s society to rule from the fear and work of their peers. This is much like how the rich elite of our society benefits from the work of the working class.

   As continued in the novel by Golding, a social imbalance begins to occur, in which tension starts to take place between the working class and the nonpareil class. Ralph, the newly established working class, has a disagreement with Jack, leader of the hunters, the established elite class, Golding starts: “ The rest of the hunters came back hours ago and. They’ve been swimming” Golding continues to write: “ we want meat ” (51). This moment of disagreement and tension further exposes the idea of how the established elite, will prioritize their needs over the necessities of the majority, even if it is deemed less important. 

    The nonpareil prioritizing their wants over the necessities of the working majority is still prevalent in today’s society, notably when it comes down to taxation. Over the course of many years, the working class has been asking for tax cuts, however, these wishes were never granted for the working class. Now under the Trump administration, these cuts were made possible for the upper class and mega-corporations. Trump, a billionaire in his seventies, argues that these tax cuts will “bring jobs back to America”. These jobs coming back to America is seen as the necessity of the working class, when in fact this reform, will only serve as another source of income for the upper class. Yet another example of the elite prioritize their wants over the needs of the working people.

The exploitation of the working class to form a source of income for the upper class is a large issue in society, however, the problem goes beyond this point. The elite also exploits the working class to further stabilize their position in society, this, as stated by Stuart Jeffries of The Guardian: “The bourgeoisie has learned to make the exploited pay for its crisis and to use them to disarm its adversaries.”  When applied to today’s society, a clear example of this would be mega-corporations such as Apple and Nike using the labor of underpaid workers to make quality products to compete or distance themselves from their competitors. As suggested by the Huffington Post.

The bourgeoisie exploiting for their own betterment can also be applied to the Lord of The Flies, in which Jack uses the notion of bravery to exploit the mind of the boys to help him get into a position of power. With this newly established control over the boys, Jack uses it to bring havoc upon his adversaries, Ralph and Piggy. “ We’ll hunt, I’m going to be chief…..I say this. We aren’t going to bother about the beast… We’re going to forget about the beast !” (Golding, 133). This act of bravery made by Jack gets establishes him as the leader of the boys, Jack distances himself from his adversaries as fearless.

The exploitation of the working class for the betterment of the social elites, is nothing surprising,  especially when analyzed and explored through Golding’s Lord of The Flies and further examined through modern eyes. Ideally, we can see how the social elite and mega corporations use working people as a means to augment their social impact or financial status, as exemplified by Nike, Apple, and the president himself. The imbalance of social power and status that braces civilization today is a topic of concern. It is imperative that we create a society in which the social elite do not rule and benefit from the progression made by the working class because a society ruled by the elite, is for the elite.

  Sources Cited

Carnes, Nicholas. “Working-Class People Are Underrepresented in Politics. The Problem Isn't Voters.” Vox, Vox, 24 Oct. 2018,    

www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/24/18009856/working-class-income-inequality-randy-bryce-alexandria-ocasio-cortez.

Gibson, C. Robert. “How the iPhone Helps Perpetuate Modern-Day Slavery.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 Nov. 2014,

www.huffingtonpost.com/carl-gibson/how-the-iphone_b_5800262.html.

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

“Government of the Rich, by the Rich, for the Rich.” The Economist, The Economist Newspaper, 17 Feb. 2011,

www.economist.com/free-exchange/2011/02/17/government-of-the-rich-by-the-rich-for-the-rich

Jeffries, Stuart. “Why Marxism Is on the Rise Again.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media,                                                                                                                4 July 2012,

www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jul/04/the-return-of-marxism.

Seabrook, Jeremy. “The New Class Struggle.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 7 July 2006,

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2006/jul/07/themakingofthenewbritish.

Vigo, Julian. “Modern Times And The Crisis Of Labor.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 19 Dec. 2018,

www.forbes.com/sites/julianvigo/2018/12/19/modern-times-and-the-crisis-of-labor/#5f61f21b50ca.

Andrew Semisch

Pahomov

English II

26 March 2019

Each Pray’r Accepted and Each Wish Resign’d

A pig’s head, buzzing with flies, speaks to a boy. A macabre moment in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, following a group of young boys stranded on an island torn between savagery and civility in their own new world, perfectly illustrates the religious cult concept and the mind altering aspects of cult teachings. Explored within the novel is an eternal duality. Egoism versus mutualism, Locke vs. Hobbes, the right of the individual vs. the power of the state. Somewhere in a grey middleground is religion and cult-like behavior. Cults can manipulate people to conform to a rigid belief system and use said system as a weapon, to consciousness-altering effect. How can people be inducted into these organizations so easily, without force or violence? How can leaders like Charles Manson or Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh hold so much power over the human mind? These questions have led me to posit this: Cult leaders have an answer that their followers need to know. Humans’ natural paranoia of the unknowable attracts them to these figures who claim to hold the universal secrets that their students have been longing for, and so become dependent upon.

“Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill… You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you?” (143). The pig tells the boy, Simon, this within a hallucination or dream state. Much like Jesus to God, Simon is written as a martyr and the successor of the deictic. The Lord of the Flies, through the dregs of the boys’ slaughter, enlightens Simon to humanity’s true fears. That the beast is within, and its presence is inescapable. Throughout the novel, the new island inhabitants go from extreme to extreme in their endeavors to suppress their fears, and to live comfortably - until rescue that is. This only acts against them, though, and their paranoia grows. There is nothing more terrifying than that you cannot fight back against. It’s for this very reason that we have the term “existential crisis”, it’s a state of fear induced by the uncontrollable and the Lord of the Flies cashes in on this fear, in a sense. With its grim charisma, it twists Simon and man’s fears into urges and commands. It says, “You’re not wanted. Understand? We are going to have fun on this island!  So don’t try on it, my poor misguided boy, or else.”

Between the years of 1969 and 1971, Charles Manson led a cult, dubbed the “Manson Family” in a series of nine murders. He often spoke to them of “Helter Skelter”, his prophesied race war of apocalyptic consequences. Although his ramblings were evidently delusional and he had been diagnosed with mental disorders such as schizophrenia and paranoid delusional disorder, his follower base stood loyal, often committing these murders in his name as a sort of effigy or tribute to the man. He was able to keep this power over the Family through the same means as the Lord of the Flies. He said once, “Anything you see in me is in you. If you want to see a vicious killer, that’s who you’ll see, do you understand that? If you see me as your brother, that’s what I’ll be… I am just a mirror.” This short quote, jumbled in with the ramblings the man was known for was a glimpse of surprising profundity. He frames his crimes and flaws as not personal, but human. Preaching this doctrine to the right, susceptible people had great consequences for anyone involved, including Manson. His godlike power over the Family led to the prosecution of the lot of them in court, as well as the deaths of nine innocent people.

Unlike Manson there is no such punishment for the vocalized fears, speaking through this hog’s body. That’s what makes it godlike in an even deeper sense. It has complete control of Simon but only through the ability of Simon’s self. The Lord of the Flies is nothing more than Simon’s own rope, tied to himself. His unshakable fears are simply so because they are primally instilled upon him. If the novel did not place the boys on their island, they would not have returned an animalistic nature and their animalistic fears. “What set me on fire was the thought” Manson once said. Perhaps the primitive state that the boys’ secluded society reverted to wasn’t the cause of their existential and internal conflict but the exact opposite; The lack of authority and answer found near constantly in adolescence was the domino that crashed, releasing the shackles suppressing our primeval instinct. This is the same primeval instinct that our societies and religions are built upon fighting against. From the clothes on any individual’s back, to capitalism or any other monetary system, to the idea of infrastructure which quite literally defaces the natural world, formed by millions of years of erosion and the chaotic allocation and reallocation of Earth’s matter. We have been trained to fight back against this most natural foundation of our planet in favor of our own system.

Manson gave people an attractive alternative. An alternative that went against the rhetoric proposed by any religious acolyte before him. Thinking about the word of any one large group’s God, what are the faithful as well as the non-believers told? In the end any given group will tell the world this:

Our deity is the truth and the truth is bound to reality. We are all bound to that God’s rule and that God knows all. Our God is not connected to the natural world; our God is it’s sculptor and controls every action that occurs within it. Our God is the great decidor.

Charles Manson was not without his god complex but his ideology was freeing to those who longed for a divine answer yet refused the binding nature of conventional faith. In essence, his followers were seeking the fire to their thought. They required the chaos of nature, completely eradicated in modern religion - no doubt tied to the doctrine of the superiority of people that theology teaches. The idea that we are greater than a bonobo, or a jungle orchid, or the moon.

Manson does not make his “children” in his image. Summarized from his 1991 interview (mid-conviction) with Ron Reagan Jr., he does not order his followers. He reminds them of their own personal demons that haunt them. The Lord of the Flies does not command Simon, but tells him what Simon, the Manson Family, or even Judas of their own actions which they cannot control. Manson knew how we, people, worked too well and served as a catalyst to the wrong-doings of the Family. In a sense this makes him the Lord of the Flies. He who does not speak to our sins but knows what they are nonetheless. He who has has embraced the nature world as his own but is far from its controller. Alexander Pope once wrote, “How happy is the blameless vestal’s lot! The world forgetting, by the world forgot. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! Each pray’r accepted, and each wish resign’d ..”

Works Cited

Abelard, Peter, et al. Letters of Abelard and Heloise. To Which Is Prefixed a Particular Account of Their Lives, Amours & Misfortunes. By the Late John Hughes, Esq. Together with the Poem of Eloisa to Abelard. By Mr. Pope. And, (to Which Is Now Added) the Poem of Abelard to Eloisa. By Mrs. Madan. Printed for W. Osborne and T. Griffin, and J. Mozley, Gainsbrough, 1785.

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

Reagon, Ron, reporter. Interview with Charles Manson. Prison Interview with Convicted Murderer Charles Manson - Ron Reagan Jr., 10 Sept. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXq4FgZV1FI.

Lord of the Flies Essay

In 1991, there was a plane crash in the Arctic and the people thought that they would be rescued in about an hour, and throughout the Lord of the Flies, Ralph and the other boys thought that they would be rescued right away but they couldn’t keep the signal fire going. Just as with the real-life plane crash, the boys had been on a plane that crashed. Ralph is focused throughout Lord of the Flies on getting rescued.

He says, “And sooner or later a ship will put in here. It might even be Daddy’s ship.  So you see, sooner or later, we shall be rescued.” (Golding, 37). Unfortunately, try as they might, the boys struggled with managing to set a fire because they didn’t have any matches. Ralph says to Piggy, “Piggy have you got any matches?” (Golding, 40.)

Then they get an idea and use Piggy’s glasses to make a fire. “Ralph moved the lenses back and forth, this way and that, till a glossy white image of the declining sun lay on a piece of rotten wood. Almost at once a thin trickle of smoke rose up and made him cough.” (Golding, 41) It was ironic that they were not rescued until after Jack set the whole island on fire. “Then Ralph was running beneath trees, with the grumble of the forest explained. They had smoked him out and set the island on fire.” (Golding, 197).

“While most of the 18 aboard the plane suffered cuts and burns and broken bones, all were alive immediately after the crash. But in the 30 hours that it took for the first squad of military paramedics to arrive, five people, including the pilot, Capt. John Couch, a 32-year-old father of two, had frozen to death. The airlift of the survivors did not begin until 40 hours after the crash.” (https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/05/world/after-a-plane-crash-30-deadly-hours-in-the-arctic.html.)

When the boys in Lord of the Flies were finally rescued, it was a bittersweet feeling because Piggy and Simon had been killed. The survivors of the plane crash had a similar feeling because in the 30 hours that it took for the first military paramedics to arrive on the scene, five people, including the pilot had frozen to death. The survivors were not airlifted until 40 hours after the crash. “Yet the crash site was a mere 12 miles from the Alert settlement. Survivors had expected rescue within the hour.” (https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/05/world/after-a-plane-crash-30-deadly-hours-in-the-arctic.html.)

I wonder why it took so long for the boys to be rescued, as well as the survivors of the plane crash. After all, they were sending out smoke signals so they could be rescued. In the same way “the lights of Alert had even been sighted from the cockpit.”(https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/05/world/after-a-plane-crash-30-deadly-hours-in-the-arctic.html. ) The fact that there were any survivors in either The Lord of the Flies or the real life plane crash is amazing to me!

References

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin Group, 1954. Print.

https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/05/world/after-a-plane-crash-30-deadly-hours-in-the-arctic.html. 5 November 1991. 19 March 2019.

Randy Le

Ms. Pahomov

English 2

26 March 2019

The “Authority Figure” Effect

How do people act with the knowledge of there being no authority figure observing them? In any group of children, it is inferred that some may act in an inappropriate manner when a matured figure leaves the scene. More specifically, children tend to get a sense that responsibility is brushed off their shoulders when an authority figure is not present but the moment authority is established again, responsibility becomes a motive to become more civilized. When people are observed by an authority figure, their thought process and actions gravitate towards a state of civility. In contrast, the absence of an authority figure pushes people into a place where they lack self control.

In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, different scenarios are brought up that illustrate components of human ideology and behavior. From the beginning, a group of boys are stranded on an island with no adults around. In turn, this creates a gap where the boys transition from civilized to savage, under the knowledge that an authority figure is not observing them. One of the boys, Piggy, says “What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages? What's grownups going to think? Going off--hunting pigs--letting fires out--and now!” (Golding 91). This shows the awareness that there is no longer an authority figure to be obedient towards. Building off of that, there is an establishment of fear in Piggy’s voice which sparks the transition from civility to savagery. Piggy notices that the boys are rather living based off their primal instincts and are devolving into savages. Without there being an authority figure, the boys have already changed their line of thoughts and structured their own community apart from the moral-based civilization with an authority figure. Piggy seems to comprehend the dangers of the primal acts but has no say in such a nonfunctional community.

In primary school, students wish for the day that a substitute teacher takes the role of their actual teacher. The desire to be in a learning environment is lost as this gives the students opportunities to misbehave. Sammy Kayes was a substitute for more than three years and in his years of being a substitute teacher, he conducted his own research of why some students may behave differently around substitutes. Through a process of asking teachers (including substitutes), Kayes was able to get an answer of students desiring to “get away” with their tasks but most importantly, their responsibilities. Responsibility comes through as a hidden theme throughout his experience and Kayes states “My initial theory was that students are trying to “get away from” whatever they’re doing. I actually wanted to be wrong.” From here, a conclusion was drawn that classes with substitute teachers behave poorly because of the fact that students would prefer to do something else. Kayes goes further to notice that the problem is more of a systematic problem rather than a problem on the teachers. In a community where behavior varies so vividly, a clear problem can be seen that may pertain more towards the people than the ones teaching.

Towards the end of the novel, the boys, who have been engulfed by savagery, target Ralph who had desired a society structured by law and order. Before the savagery could take over and possibly end Ralph, a Naval officer arrives, causing the boys to stop. They begin to cry and notice their actions throughout the story. Just from the presence of an authority figure, the boys were able to fade away from their untamed thoughts and notice the wrong acts they have done. Elaborating, the Navy officer stated “I should have thought that a pack of British boys一you’re all British, aren’t you?一would have been able to put up a better show than that一I mean一” (Golding 201-202) which criticized the behavior by saying they should have been organized and enlightened as should the British were (who were civilized). In addition, the sudden pause of action is enough to determine the impact an authority figure has on a community. The boys were able to recognize their actions and stop any more violence from occurring which shows the importance of an authority figure.

In comparison, students in a classroom may have different reactions when subsubtites are present versus when they are not. Returning to Sammy Kayes, he says “What I noticed was that every day, in almost every class, students would cheer and dance that I was there instead of their regular teacher. Students loved having a substitute teacher. They really wanted to get away, so much that it was a celebration when they finally could.” His line of thought correlates with the idea that there is some type of relief when no authority figure is present. In addition, he presents the idea of the students “getting away” by leaning towards an ideology of not only taking responsibility but distancing themselves from it. All in all, the process of becoming uncivilized accordingly to the absence of an authority figure becomes a prominent theme even when taking a look through the lens of a substitute teacher.

Taking everything into account, the absence of a authority figure shifts the behavior of human beings from civilized to more or less, savage. Glancing at the transformation of the boys, the readers can see how the absence of an authority figure can take a pivotal role in the behavior of humans. The boys ,who were previously classified as civil, became more like savages which connects with the “substitute teacher effect” when students would behave differently around substitutes. In addition, Sammy Kayes and his story as a substitute teacher further elaborates the definitive truth behind authority coupled with human beings. Ultimately, this proves that people will act differently upon the knowledge of an authority figure observing them. Whether it be performing a task or presenting yourself to the public, the large message is that people will act in a civilized manner when an authority figure is present but will act in a savage manner when the authority figure is no longer present.

Works Cited

Bodenner, Chris. “When Students Physically Dominate a Sub.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 26 Sept. 2016, www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/09/substitutes/501227/.

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

Kayes, Sammy, and Sammy Kayes. “The ‘Substitute Teacher’ Effect.” Student Voices, Student Voices, 12 Feb. 2017, mystudentvoices.com/the-substitute-teacher-effect-adc1a4a801c0.