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Is It Good or Evil?

Everything in the world is identified as a certain stereotype such as, good or evil. People believe in many different things no matter if they are good or bad. Society is different in many ways which is why everyone will always have a different opinion. People identify certain things as good or evil with the thoughts that are put into their heads. Jesus is a man who gave up his life for other people’s sins. He sits on a Cross and this is suppose to represent how much Jesus has done for us. Catholics believe what Jesus did is a good thing but others do not. Others believe that what happened to Jesus was cruel. An object can symbolize both good and evil because people interpret the meaning of it in different ways and what seems right to them.

The “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding is a book that focuses on the thought of what is civilized or savage. Boys are stranded on an island and they go through a series of changes in their actions and emotions. Towards the beginning of the book when most of the boys are introduced, they set a rule for the conch. “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking.” (33) The conch was a shell used to bring all of the boys together. The boys could never get everyone to be silent while one of them was talking. It gave the right to only let one of the boys speak at a time. If one person was not holding the conch, they did not have the right to speak. The boys wanted to keep rules so that everyone would be kept under control since there were leaders, who were Ralph and Jack. The conch set boundaries for the boys and played a part in ways for them to gain respect for each other. It helped them keep an organized system and it had some type of good power to it. It represented good in the beginning because they were using it in a way so that everyone would have a voice.

In some families, hanging Crosses around the house symbolizes good. People believe that having the Cross in their home will keep the demons out and they will be protected at all times. A man named Billy Graham wrote an article called “The Meaning of the Cross”.  It talks about how the Cross shows the depth of people’s sins. Sometimes someone does not realize the actual meaning of their sins, but seeing the Cross reminds them of that. The Cross acts as a pardon for those who aren’t ready for death. “Now,” said the man, “write this beneath them all: The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth from all sin” (Cf. 1 John 1:7). Having the Cross around gives people the thought that they will go to heaven even if they have sinned. It shows that there is always a way for God to forgive everyone for all the bad they have done. In these ways the Cross symbolizes good since there is so much positive meaning to it just as the conch.

The conch didn’t last long at all. The boys were pushing away the system they had created because each boy wanted to be heard and the conch couldn’t control that. Since the boys were stranded on an island, they began to show savage-like behavior. The conch began to represent evil because before they stopped using it, they were using the conch to have a voice over everyone else’s. “You’re hindering Ralph. You’re not letting him get to the most important thing.” (34) Piggy, who was one of the other boys on the island, was never really heard from the boys. He had a little more sense of the situation they were in and the boys were not listening to Piggy, which is why the conch did not go as planned. The leaders set up these rules so that they could follow a system, but having the conch really only made one person overpower the rest. The main people being heard in the group were the leaders, but mostly Ralph.

What happened to Jesus on the Cross was crucial. People think that Jesus being nailed to the Cross was not a good thing at all since it was torture. He was treated like an animal and suffered in one of the worst ways possible. People who do not believe in Catholicism may think that what happened to him was also bad and even people who believe in Catholicism. A church in North Philadelphia wrote an article called “7 Things the Death of Jesus Accomplished”. They go into depth for the “actual” reason Jesus was crucified. The people who killed Jesus did not believe Jesus was working against the Devil but with the Devil. Jesus was being punished for what they had thought he was doing. He was being punished for not only working with the Devil but for incited riots and engaging in treason. This is a way why people think the Cross is an evil thing since what happened to Jesus was being done purposely. Since the conch began to represent evil, it’s an example of the Cross since there are both good and evil sides to it.

Enablers

Can children be born evil? Most people believe that children learn the most during their first few years of life, and during that time they are always distracted with toys, games, and the T.V. while their parents work. Therefore, the kids have the freedom to do whatever they want with their imaginations, not knowing what is good or bad because there is no one telling them what to think. When a child “acts out” or does something that is “inappropriate,” they are not punished because their peers believe children have room for growth and don’t explain to them why something is wrong. Young people get away with bad behavior because their peers enable them to behave however they want.

In the novel “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding, a group of young boys on a plane crashed onto an unknown island. The boys unite together in order to survive. One of the things the boys agreed on doing was keeping the fire going so they can get rescued. Shifts were established between the boys and at this moment in the book it was Jack’s, one of the hunters, turn. Despite that, Jack ends up leaving the fire to seek after the pig. “I was chief, and you were going to do what I said. You talk. But you can’t even build huts-then you go off hunting and let out the fire-” (70). Ralph, the chief, was aware of the inappropriate behavior from Jack since the beginning of their time on the island. His rebellion against the chief could be because he was jealous of him for being the leader of the boys, thus giving him a reason to act out. As a hunter, Jack would kill animals which can be defined as violent behavior. Because of his unsuccessful first attempt, he was even more motivated to catch it this time. Although Ralph addressed the problems, he did not punish Jack. He allowed him to remain a hunter which is enabling his bad decisions and actions. Jack apologized to end the argument between them, but he wasn’t sincere because he does not believe he did anything wrong. In his eyes, it was a great accomplishment that he killed the pig and was looking forward to doing it again. Not only did Ralph allow the hunts to continue but the other boys loved it. They admire Jack for his bravery and skills in hunting which normalized the violent behavior. Their admiration gave Jack confidence and power which only enabled his behavior to progress for the worse.  

Throughout the novel, the idea of a “beast” arose from a littlun. The beast frighten the boys even though there haven’t been actual proof of its existence. Jack, who is portrayed as the brave one among the littluns, was driven to find the beast in order to befriend it or kill it. One night, they all thought that they spotted the beast and attacked it. The boys believed that they were defending themselves against the beast but in reality, they were murdering Simon, a fellow survivor. “At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws” (99?). They were determined to kill the beast because they only pictured it as something bad. Their imagination urged them to hurt it back because they were surrounded by aggressive and brutal behaviors that were often praised for, such as killing the pigs. When they realized that it was Simon, they ignored the fact that it was him because they were used to the murderous acts. Also, there was nobody there to tell them that it was wrong or to punish them for the murder. The boys came from an environment full of war so killing and violence was often present in their lives. This gave them reasons to think that they did what they had to do in order to protect themselves. Even though Ralph knew it was wrong, he didn’t do anything to explain it to the boys, therefore, enabling their evil behavior.

Violent behavior is also present in the real world. School shootings are one of the most frequent incidents that are happening in America. One of the world’s most fatal school massacres is the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting on February 14, 2018. Nineteen-year-old Nikolas Cruz was charged for the murder of seventeen people. Prior to the shooting, Mr. Cruz showed numerous signs of his disturbed behavior.  “A Snapchat video shows Nikolas Cruz cutting his arms and talking about guns.  A message sent by Cruz to a Mississippi bail bondsman says, ‘I’m going to be a professional school shooter.’ An anonymous tip warns the FBI of Cruz’s potential of ‘conducting a school shooting.’” Nothing was done to prevent the incident despite the clear warnings that were given. Multiple people (students, teachers, police, FBI, his guardians) let him be his mentally and emotionally unstable self. His behavior could have trigger because of the passing of his mother in November 2017. Not only was he already challenged in life but he fell into a great depression after her death. If he was approached about his behavior, he could have learned that shooting people is something he should not do, someone could have been watching him, or he even could have gotten help. Instead, his uncommunicative environment only became an advantage for him to express his fascinations for guns. This is similar to the novel where Ralph did not stop Jack from killing despite knowing all the signs of what he was capable of.

Although what Nikolas Cruz did is unjust and horrific, young girls send him fan mail praising him for what he did. The families of the victims are disgusted at the fact that he can receive mail in jail knowing that his court case has not been determined yet.  “Cruz is getting mail, too, including fan letters from teenage girls. ‘He’s famous,’ Finkelstein says. ‘They want to be connected to him. They’re star-struck. I’m ready to call the parents and say, ‘You need to know what your daughters are doing.’” The girls are admiring Mr. Cruz similarly to the boys admiring Jack. This only makes him think that what he did was acceptable in some way. If he wasn’t getting the mail, he wouldn’t know what people were thinking of him. The girls are supporting his murderous behavior that should be corrected as unjust and evil. The parents of the girls are enablers because the girls think similarly to Mr. Cruz and are not being informed of the problems. They are normalizing violent behavior and seize to see the wrong in the shooting. This is like the boys following Jack’s commands and beliefs when they murdered Simon.

Enablers are why bad behaviors are becoming widely accepted among young children. The children are not informed of or punished for their mistakes, therefore they continuously grow worse. In cases like the novel and the real world, people get hurt and die because of evil behaviors and the person who should be held accountable are the people who allowed it to happen. People need to teach children that violence is not acceptable. If this was a standard lesson, then these problems could have been prevented. Simon didn’t have to die and those teachers and students didn’t have to part from their families. It’s unfortunate that we have to learn why awful things happen this way but now we can learn from these incidents and continue to fix our ways for the better.

The Bird Talk

Taj: We have recently finished Maya Angelou’s first autobiography.

Nasir: Today we have a lot to discuss about “I Know Why the Caged Bird sings.”

Karima: We have recently finished the first autobiography by Maya Angelou.

Taj: So how did you all like the book

Karima: I honestly loved the book, because I’m just the type of person that loves books that are based on true stories.

Taj: Nasir?

Nasir: I read this book in 8th at first I thought it was good but I wasn’t really interested in it but reading it a second time and understanding the book more I actually started to really like it and I understood everything that was going on in her life. Not only she talked about her life but she talked about society back then and what it meant for her to be black during a time where racism occured.

Taj: I think it was a very well written book. I would recommend it to anyone who likes these types of books, but this is not my type of book. I enjoy fantasy and dystopian future writing. So I did not enjoy the book very much. I have no problems with the book it is just not my prefered genre.

Taj: What do you think the themes of the book are?

Nasir: I think the themes of the book were to always be who you are and racism. I think the theme always be yourself was a theme in the book because maya couldn’t figure what she was as a person. She always questioned things about her like her sexuality and and her womanhood. But going towards the end of the book she figures out who she is. The other theme, racism, was in the book because in the book she talked about a lot about racism.

Taj: I think the themes are growing up and racism. The theme of growing up is very relatable to me. Since I am only a few years away from being an adult and soon I will have to mature and prepare for adulthood. Maya discusses the problems with her and her brother growing up. I may have some of these problems growing up. When it comes to racism I have only encountered one racist person in my life, but I am bound to encounter more. So I can learn from her mistakes.

Karima:I think one of the themes is to just be who you are no matter what, and also like Taj and Nasir said Racism was a big part of it as well, it was one of the main themes. I can’t really relate on racism, but I can kinda relate to the not being myself back in elementary school I moved to the U.S and I didn’t really know any English or anything like that and my where I came from was really really different so I always tried to be like the other girls and I always just tried to fit in with them, I changed how I dressed how I talk and everything.

Taj: Compare society from her life to society today.

Nasir: Life in society back in her day wasn’t as good as today even there are some dark spots in today society. I’ll say society during her time was so crucial because there were a lot of lynchings happening and segregation was on big thing that happened back then. Now if you look at society today it got a little better but it gets worse with mass incarceration and young black kids dying. But, I’ll say back then was worse than what is happening today  

Karima: I think one big part that’s the same from both Society is boys taking advantage of teen girls, like reaping them and stuff like that, Another thing is racism racism is still going on in today society. 43 `

Taj: Maya’s society was completely different than today’s. In Maya’s time racist were much more of a problem than they are today. Same with sexists. Both problems still exist today, but on a much smaller scale. In Maya’s society any questions that she had she had to ask her parents or guardians, but in today’s society everything can be found on the internet. Maya would have never talked to her mom about being a hermaphrodite if she could have googled the answer.

Taj: Any other questions today?

Karima: No

Nasir: No

Taj: Ok then. Goodbye goodbye goodbye from the bird talk.

Talk Show

SCRIPT:

Alex: Juanito Hernandez, Big shirt and shorts, sandals, black socks, sunglasses, I was with a gang named los Cholos. I lived my life just protecting the neighborhood and I used to smoke a lot of weed. I’m only 20 years old and I’m a dropout. I never really liked reading  but the book Wild by Cheryl made me turn my life around.

Lucas Name: Charlie Akoni. Jamaican beanie jamaican colors, lived off land for four years because of Jamaican poverty, spiraled into drug addiction but is clean, met a hyper religious Buddhist man who taught me discipline, and sent me on the road to be a part of the Jamaica Defense Force, got injured, retired, moved to USA, read many books I felt I could relate to.. was disappointed while reading wild because of how Cheryl made it easy for herself.

Cheryl: will I am cheryl and we read the book

Everyone on the talk show will have a brief introduction of themselves

PROPS; sign names for everyone. The “wild show” sign in the back. Water bottles with “the wild show tags”

SETTINGS: in school. In a clean pretty place.

Juanito: Sup fools, I’m Juanito coming from Huejotzing0, Mexico.   

Questions

1. How do you relate to cheryl? What problems do you have/had in Life?

Charlie- I can relate to the wilderness survival aspect of her hike, I lived in poverty for four years, age 16- 20 after my parents died. Also, I had a brief period of strong drug addiction as she did before her hike.

Juanito- Yea fool, me and Cheryl relate way back because at some point in our lives we were both drug addicts. You know fool my momma died long ago and I feel her pain.

2. .Would you do the same thing cherly did, cross the PCT?

Charlie- Yes, in fact I would do the PCT hike as a passtime one month, and would not use cars and stoves. Why did you go on the PCT if you just hitchhiked most of the way and gave yourself so much extra help in the beginning?

Juanito- That’s what I did fool.

3.what do you think of my book?

Charlie- I think that the book is a little misleading. It’s name is “Wild” about it was the rash on your foot. I believe that you shouldn’t have    it seem like a survival book where you struggled on a trail with land living if it is not that at all. It’s a pure misnomer.

Juanito: I loved your book fool, I loved how you went from your life falling apart to yet again bring yourself back up there. You know, you changed the path of your life fool and that’s tough.

4.What do think of the people I encountered(not just on PCT), like Paul, Doug, you all those people?

Charlie- I think that these people also helped you too much and that if your intention was to do the trail and have an almost spirit-walk type of journey you shouldn’t have surround yourself with people who had privileged themselves so much.

5.What do you think of monster, what should I have done about that huge problem?

Charlie- your backpack, was too overencumbered, and overpacked for the journey that you wanted to take.

Juanito- your bag was too much fool, come one please, you over exaggerated. I only took my sandals and 3 pairs of every clothing. My tims as well.

6.  What should I have done on the trail, instead of ride cars most of the way?

Charlie- It’s not what you did on the trail, it’s the misnomer in the title and what you made your journey out to be in your book.

Juanito- To be honest fool, i think you should have walked the full way but your feet were in bath condition fool, so you did the right thing.

7. When do you think it’s sometimes better to turn away from your problems?

Charlie- When you feel that your problem is not worth solving, and when you feel that the answer would be to run away, most times, I like to face my problem head on though.

Juanito- When you feel like you can’t take all the stress, I think that’s the best time to turn away from your problems because it’s time to meditate fool.

8.Do you think wild is a misnomer for my book?

Charlie- Yes, an extreme one in fact. I feel that your title appealed more to people who have interests in the wilderness more than its actual audience. The summary of your book also leads people to believe that it is something that it is not, a survival book, about a challenge through wilderness.

9. How was your experiencing hiking different from mine?

Charlie- I didn’t do that specific hike, however, I did live on my own off of the land for four years, which hiking was a big part of. I had nothing besides the few artifacts that I could salvage from my home before leaving.

Juanito- It’s different because I walked the whole thing.

10.how would you react with your family with doing all that, like coming home after waking/riding cars up the PCT?

Juanito- I don’t have family anymore.

11. I had a lot of support from people when I hiked the PCT, did you have anyone with you when you hiked the PCt as well?

Juanito- I wish I had someone, I was alone. Don’t get me wrong though, it was a nice feeling because it was just me and mother nature. I could relax and find my true identity.

The Final Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnglQlrqN9k&t=32s

Alaska - Hasciya

Toni with and I - Eden

Pudge- Michaela

Jake - Bella

Camera dude- Ethan Chen

Toni with an I (TI)- Hi everybody! Welcome back to Camerica. I’m your host: Toni with an I. Today we have some very “special” guests for you. From John Green’s book, Looking for Alaska; here are Milo and Alabama!

~Studio audience applause and boos~

Alaska (A)- *Under her breath* It’s Alaska

Pudge (P)- Um, It’s Miles, but you can call me Pudge.

TI- Ok Pooj! I have some questions for you two about your love life.

A- Oh, we don’t have a love life. We never had a love life. HE does not have a love life. I do.

P- *exasperated* Hey!

TI- Tell us about that Arizona.

A- *through gritted teeth* Alaska. Well, I have a boyfriend. I love him very much. We actually had a nice date last night. I mean, sometimes I flirt with Pudge. It is just a joke though.

~Studio audience goes “ooooooooh”~

TI- Oh goodness. What are your thoughts on this Fudge?

P- Sure it was a joke. If it was a joke, why’d you make out with me?

~Studio audience gasps~

TI- *le gasps* Seems like there is some romantic tension. Let’s bring Jack, Agnes’s boyfriend, in now!

A- What? N--

Jake (J)- (enters) ~studio audience WILD applause~

J- It’s Jake. *winks at camera*

~cue fangirl sounds~

TI- So, Jek, what is your opinion on this matter?

J- What matter?

~studio audience gasps~

TI- He doesn’t know!!! Alexa, would you like to tell Jay?

P- *whispers through gritted teeth* Nooooo…

TI- What was that Puddle?

P- Nothing.

TI- It’s your turn Ally.

A- *Deep breath. Sigh.* Before I say anything, Jake, I want you to know that I love you so much. Um… Pudge and I… We may have made out last night.

~Studio Audience boos~

J- *Angry shouts* What?!?

A- Jake, I--

TI- *Looking into the camera* Ooh. The tension is growing. We just found out Aska is cheating on Joe, with her friend Mark.

A- Cheating? No. It was a dare. We were drunk.

J- *Glares at Pudge* What do you have to say about this?

P- I… Uh… What she said. Drunk. Dare. Yeah

J- Alaska. When was this? Where was I?

A- It was last night. You were with your parents for the weekend.

J- But we had a date that night!

A- I know… This is too much. I need a smoke. *Pulls out a fake cigarette*

TI- Woah woah woah. No smoking on this set Ava. Er, if you need to smoke, please go outside.

A- I don’t give a *beep* what you say *in a mocking voice* Toni with an I. *Leaves*

*Toni with an I, Jake, and Pudge sit there awkwardly for 5 seconds.*

*Cricket noises*

TI- Well, uh, we’ll see you after this quick break.

CUE COMMERCIAL BREAK

Static

Announcer- Are you sick and tired of plain old good food? Well we have something for you! Now at McInedibles, we have a new McInedible meal! Complete with our new fries that have more sodium than ever! You also get a triple double woohoo burger with meat from- uh... TBD- and a high calorie bun! Get yours for $6.90 today!

*Fast voice* Only available at participating stores. Not yet FDA approved. Side effects may include vomiting, nausea, extreme migraines, feeling stoned, type 3 diabetes, and death.

*Show Jake* “Uh, what am I doing here?”

State farm logo and jingle.

A arguing with TI, low sound, beeps

TI looks at camera, fixes her mic

TI- Annnndddd we are back!

A- *Grumbles under breath*

TI-  So Moss, what do you have to say for yourself?

P- I uh… It was a dare? *scoff from Jake* I mean we were both very drunk and didn’t think much of it. Looking back at it now, it probably wasn’t the best idea

J- Ya think?????

A- Jake, calm down. It didn’t mean anything, I promise. I still love you.

P- Well-

*le argue*

Sound fades out

In “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding a transportation plane crashes on a random island, the only few people that survive are surprisingly a group of young boys and most of them are strangers to each other. This island was not their destination, they’re not prepared to survive on an island, but that doesn’t matter anymore as they’re forced to make choice if they want to survive on this island. As young boys it’s hard, but they must make choices on this island, not solely for their own survival, but as well as every other boy on the island. With most random boys not familiar with surviving on an island the boys aren’t sure of their choices. Once they select Ralph as their leader it seems as though they all understand he is in command and what he says goes. When choosing to follow Ralph, their choices aren’t  dependent on their own knowledge and instinct when under command anymore, they’re dependent on what the other guy is doing. In an rulership, when it comes to following an order complying to what everyone else does and how everyone else acts is natural . But once apart of whatever the crowd does. Without knowing it, people comply to whatever everyone else does, and that begs the question;Is there a silence that fights against the orders of a commander in the form of a question or an idea when it comes to people following orders? Comfort zones are no longer of any importance when the sitation at hand seems normal to those around you

Once the boys all find each other on this island they finally begin to understand that they’re gonna be here for a while. They decided to put somebody in command.Once it came down to determine who their leader would be,the boys voted for Ralph to be their leader by raising their hands. Some of the boys, such as Jack weren’t okay with Ralph officially being elected as their leader. When Ralph’s title as leader was established Jack was disappointed in the decision, but Ralph later gave him control over the choir boys and hunting.”The circle of boys broke into applause. Even the choir applauded, and the freckles on Jack’s face disappeared under a blush of mortification. He started up, then changed his mind and sat down again while the air rang” (23).The boys applauding in a situation like this is a way of them expressing content and delight for Jack’s decision as leader. However, the boys clapping could also be to send a message to everyone else about the emotion they want to be comprehended for, content and delight may not be their true feelings. Jack accepted that what he felt was right didn’t matter anymore after he accepted the boys decision and broke into the emotional state of mortification. Him sitting down was him signifying that he accepts the situation at hand and understands that what has happened is glued in place.

In Lord of the Flies by William Golding some of the boys aren’t always comfortable with what their doing. When it came to hunting there was a boy named Jack who overall took control of the leadership role when it came to hunting. Ralph wasn’t a fan of hunting, but since it had become normal to the hunters he decided to give it a shot. While traveling, the boys ended up along the pig track and that is where Ralph spotted a boar. He took aim with his wooden stick, and stuck it into the boar. The boys chased the boar down to the see, but lost track of it. Ralph felt accomplished with his shot after. “I hit him,” said Ralph again, “and the spear stuck in a bit.”

He felt the need of witnesses.

“Didn’t you see me?”

Maurice nodded.

“I saw you. Right bang on his snout Where!” (113)

Ralph is rolling with a new crowd when hunting down the boar. He’s not used to this feeling, it felt really good to him because he wanted to have the attention for his accomplishment. He seeked out attention so everyone could celebrate along by his side about his huge accomplishment, but sadly Ralph didn’t understand that not only did his shot not kill the boar, but on top of that, this wasn’t irregular to the hunter, this was in fact normal to them. Hunting while stranded there would be enough spear’s plunging into the flesh of  prey and the feeling of witnessing that wouldn’t excite the boys, but Ralph failed to see that. At the end of his begging, Maurice gave him a nod most likely just to quiet Ralph down while they still tried to catch the undead boar that was running away from them. How the group wanted Ralph to feel was of little importance to the boys as they didn’t see this as an achievement worthy of celebration, rather than just another ol’ day in the life of a hunter, nothing special, it was normal.

Conformity is trying to match people’s feelings and beliefs to be the same as anybody else’s in the crowd. In today’s world conformity is seen in everyday lives, at school, work, or even riding the bus. Part of this reason is because of people being unaware that they’re conforming to another group. For example, acts such as smoking and drinking in a highschool environment may seem normal to those around somebody, but when somebody decides to partake in the same actions as the next person people may come to find out that they’re not comfortable with what they’re doing. People’s own comfort begin to become less important when going along with the crowd becomes more important.  Back in 1935 a Psychologist published his experiment about conformity. “Asch used a lab experiment to study conformity,whereby 50 male students from Swarthmore College in the USA participated in a ‘vision test.’ Using a line judgment task, Asch put a naive participant in a room with seven confederates.” In this experiment the questions asked in this test were obvious when using common sense, however with 7 confederates there their job was to try to get the one participant to their answers, instead of the obvious answer. Even if the participant was not comfortable with the answer he chose it because he trusted in what the 7 other confederates answers were. This real world example connects to Ralph’s decision to try out hunting. Even though he wasn’t comfortable with it, he still chose to do it because everyone around him were hunters and felt comfortable hunting.

Hernan Cortes was an explorer. In 1521 he conquered the Aztecs with the help of his men. He traveled to mexico with 500 of his soldiers. Once he went from wanting to explore to wanting to conquer the Aztecs all of his men were not on board with his plan any more. One man tried to assassinate him for his change of heart, but Hernan Cortes found out his plot and had him hung. None of his other men tried anything like this again. “Cortes and his men were in the center of the city, and would most likely have to fight their way out no matter what direction they took.” Cortes men ended up being in the city anyway and attacking the Aztecs and torturing their people. His men winded up fighting no matter what there comforts were. They weren’t on board with Hernan Cortes’s plans but they never tried to rebel against because of the first failed attempt by their fellow soldier

Comfort isn’t important to people when it’s normalized amongst those around you. How comfortable somebody is at times may not be that important to that person, or what they’re conforming to may be more fun or exciting than their own comfort so they decide to take a risk. This could be a good or bad thing but in general, it's natural. In conclusion, the world has shown accounts of this since the beginning of time, but being aware of the conformity you partake in is what makes somebody different from everyone else.

Work Cited

1.Conformity, Compliance, and Obedience, www.units.miamioh.edu/psybersite/cults/cco.shtml.

2.McLeod, Saul. “Saul McLeod.” Simply Psychology, 1 Jan. 1970, www.simplypsychology.org/asch-conformity.html.

3.“Fall of Tenochtitlan.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Apr. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Tenochtitlan.

Script

Alaska’s mom’s death Scene:
Cindy: Welcome back to MNCC News. I am Cindy. Today’s breaking news is a mother of a 9 year old child, Alaska Young has passed away from aneurysm. We have Carol at the scene, take it away.  

Carol:  

As you can see I’m at the Young house where Ms. Young passed away late last night.  Sources say that Ms. Young was feeling fine later that day but passed away because of an aneurysm at January 10,1997.  Her daughter Alaska Young found her passed out on the kitchen floor. In shock she could only stay still as she watched her mother passed away before her eyes.

Cindy: Thank you Carol and that would be today’s news. I am Cindy and you were  watching MNCC News.

Night at the barn Scene:

Alaska: You won that round. Now what’s your worst day?

Pudge: My worst day was in seventh, grade when Tommy Hewitt pissed on my gym clothes and then the gym teacher said I had to wear my uniform or I’d fail the class.

Alaska: The day after my mom took me to the zoo where she liked the monkeys and I liked the bears, it was a Friday. I went to my room, and she sat down at the kitchen table, I guess, and then she screamed, and I ran out, and she had fallen over. She was lying on the floor, holding her head and jerking. And I freaked out. I should have called 911. But I just started screaming and crying.

Car Accident Scene:

Cindy: Breaking News. Today, a young girl from Culver Creek Boarding School has died from a car accident. Now we have Carol on the scene. Take it away.

Carol: I am on set of the car accident. Moments ago, a junior at Culver Creek High School, student Alaska Young had passed away from driving under the influence. We are on scene with the cop that Alaska Young ran into

Police: I seen plenty, but I ain’t never seen that. She didn’t tarn. She didn’t brake. She jest hit it.  I wasn’t more than ten feet from the cruiser when she hit it. I thought I’d die, but here ah am.

Obituary

Carol: Thank you police officers, Back to you Cindy

Cindy: Thank you Carol for the intense story.That would be all for today’s news. I am Cindy and you were watching MNCC News.

The Eagle talks about the Alaska’s death at the auditorium Scene:

Cindy: Welcome back to MNCC News. I am Cindy. Today, we have another story on the death of student Alaska Young from Culver Creek Boarding School.  On the scene is Eagle Martin, talking on the life of Alaska Young.

Carol: Is everyone here?  

Nickell: No, Alaska isn’t here.

Carol: Is everyone else here?

Nickell: Alaska Isn’t here.  We can’t start without Alaska.

Carol: Last night, Alaska Young was killed in a terrible accident.  And then she was killed. Alaska has passed away. She was on I-65 just south of downtown.  She hit the cop car without swerving. The police said they smelled alcohol.

SLA RADIO - DAY

EXTERIOR ESTABLISHING SHOT:

INTERIOR MEDIUM SHOT:

ZOE

Alright welcome back to SLA Radio. Today we bring you a story all the way from the west coast and specifically around 1050 miles into the Pacific Crest Trail.

ANTONIA

That’s… far.

ZOE

Let’s meet Cheryl Strayed, an aspiring long-distance hiker hailing from the Minneapolis area.

CUT TO CLIP OF CHERYL:

CHERYL is sitting in a forest eating dried fruits.

CHERYL

So… today is my 105th day on the trail. I think I overpacked a bit.

Many random items spill out of her nearby backpack

CHERYL

Just a bit.

CUT BACK:

ANTONIA
Cheryl is hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. The PCT is a 2650 mile long trail that stretches from the Canadian border all the way to Campo at the Mexican border, right by San Diego.

ZOE

Holy [censored]. I could never do that.

ANTONIA

Yeah it takes most people who aren’t Olympic athletes about 5 months.

CUT TO CHERYL:

CHERYL

I think I just saw a moose?? I’m really bugging out over here.

CUT TO STOCK IMAGE OF LONGHORN BULL

REVERSE SHOT

CHERYL

I’m almost out of money too. The next pit-stop isn’t for another 130 miles so I don’t know if I’m gonna make it.

CUT BACK:

ZOE

Well we wish you luck.

Cheryl waves goodbye.

ZOE

Alright so now I think we’re going to let some callers phone in so if you have something to say just call in at 21SLARADIO. That’s 217-527-2346.

ZOE and ANTONIA sit in silence for about 3 seconds while easy listening music plays.

ANTONIA

Alright here’s our first caller phoning in now, welcome to the show!

CALLER 1

Hey I’m Paul from Tallahassee, long time listener first time caller. Just from what I’ve heard so far Cheryl doesn’t really sound prepared for this hike. Is that just me?

ZOE

No it’s not just you Paul. Honestly I’m afraid I have to agree. I’ve done a bit of backpacking myself and even I know that you’re not supposed to pack that much.

CUT TO CHERYL FALLING OVER

ANTONIA

Yikes. Yeah I’m looking at an article here and it says that the average backpacker should carry no more than 30 lbs of resources. Looking at Cheryl’s pack, I’m guessing she isn’t in that range at all.

ZOE

Yeah it’s important to only carry the necessities. But I mean, even the most experienced hikers always carry something that isn’t a necessity. Like a memento or a small book - something to remind them of home.

ANTONIA

That makes sense. Especially because the trail is so far away from civilization. There are actually some parts of the trail that are so remote, hikers don’t see any people for weeks.

ZOE
That’s insane! So what would you bring with you?

ANTONIA

Not sure. What’s so important to someone that they could carry it for over 2,000 miles?

ZOE

No idea.

PHONE RINGS

ZOE

Oh it looks like we have another caller! Antonia you want to get this one?

ANTONIA

Sure. Hey there you’re on SLA Radio. Can you tell us your name and why you’re calling?

CALLER 2

Uh yeah. My name is Anna and I actually have a friend that hiked the PCT. She ended up losing a bunch of toenails and got a huge scar on her arm from falling on a sharp tree branch. I just wanna know if anything like that happened to Cheryl.

ANTONIA

Oh my god that sounds terrible. Cheryl can you answer that?

CUT TO CHERYL

CHERYL

Oh yeah. I lost at least two toenails and it hurt like [censored]. It ended up being because my shoes didn’t actually fit. To anyone of those listening GET THE RIGHT PAIR OF BOOTS. I can’t even go to nail salons anymore my feet are so messed up.

ZOE

Ouch. See that is why I would hike with someone. If I got really hurt, I would like to have someone nearby to help me out.

ANTONIA

Yeah but isn’t part of hiking the PCT the isolation? I mean, after something as terrible as losing your mom, I get why people would want to be alone.

ZOE

Well if you hiked with a stranger or an acquaintance, you would still get that same feeling of being alone - because you wouldn’t really know the person - but if you got attacked by a mountain lion, someone would still be there to call for help and patch you up.

ANTONIA

I guess that works. Honestly if I had to hike with someone, I would hike with someone I knew. There is basically no chance for hygiene on the trail and I wouldn’t want a coworker I barely know seeing me like that.

ZOE

Haha yeah I get it. I walk for just twenty minutes in the heat and I’m ready to take a 3-hour long shower!

ANTONIA

Oh yeah. And most hikers don’t even carry deodorant because of the extra weight.

ZOE

Ugh I wouldn’t even want to be near myself if I smelled like that!

…

Ok guys! We are going to take a quick break and then one more call before the end of the show! See you then!

(easy listening music ?)

ANTONIA

Okay everyone we are back! So Zoe, one last question -

ZOE

Yeah?

ANTONIA

What would you do if you saw a wild animal on the trail?

ZOE

Well what kind of animal are we talking here? Big, small, scaly, furry - I need some context.

ANTONIA

Hmm okay let’s say the wild animal was a bear. What would you do?

ZOE

I would run.

ANTONIA

...anything else?

ZOE

Nope. I would just run and try not to die.

PHONE RINGS

ANTONIA

Oh it looks like we have our last caller!

(antonia presses button on phone)

Hi there you’re on SLA Radio! Can you tell us your name and why you’re calling?

CALLER 3

I’m calling because you people are dumb.

ZOE

Excuse me?

CALLER 3

If you saw a bear you wouldn’t run! You should back away slowly and maintain eye contact. If you ran it would see you as prey and you would be mauled to death.

ANTONIA

…

ZOE

…uh thank you?

CALLER 3

Psht - idiots. And as for my name - you don’t need to know.

DIAL TONE

ANTONIA

Okay then! That’s all we have for this show! Hopefully next week we will find a better way to block strange numbers.

ZOE

You got that right. Thanks for listening and we’ll see you then!

Talk Show

Moriah, Justine, Rene, Vincent

4/7/18

Setting: Conference room

Props: Papers, Artificial applause,

Script

(Applause dying out)

Rene- Welcome back to the Black-eye-of-the-Month club.Today we have a very exciting show planned for you with special guest Junior from the Absolutely True Diary of a part-time Indian.

(Applause)

Moriah- In fact, that's what our show is about today!

Rene- For those of you that don’t know, The Absolutely True Diary of a part-time Indian is about a kid, named Junior. He describes different problems he faced as an Indian and stories of his teenage life on the Spokane reservation. Even though the story is a young adult fiction there are many things in there that did happen in real life.

Justine- Okay, before we talk about anything can we please talk about Penelope and Junior. They were so cute together.

Moriah- She was a horrible girlfriend

(Audience gasps)

Moriah- She is, how did she forget Valentines Day?

Justine- Not everyone has a perfect memory.

Rene- Well technically, that wasn’t his girlfriend. And he wasn’t the best “boyfriend” either. Who takes someone to Denny’s without having the money to pay for them.

Justine- Not everyone is rich.

Moriah- Who’s everyone’s favorite character?

Justine-Penelope of course. She was so caring amd had a great sense of humor. I love the fact that she wanted to help homeless people during Halloween by donating to them.

Moriah- I love Rowdy. I think he really challenged Junior throughout the whole book. It makes it more interesting to read.

Rene: Now let's play a quick game before we introduce you to our special guest, Junior.

(Audience claps)

Rene: Before we get started we should go over the rules. Two of you Justine and Moriah are basically playing trivia but the answer is only him (junior) or her (penelope). Now there are only three questions but each question wrong you get slapped viciously across the face

Justine: wow ok

Moriah: sounds good

Rene: Number 1, This person has a brain disorder

Moriah: his mom

Justine: (slaps moriah vigorously)

Rene: that's gotta hurt but now for number two, who forgot valentines day?

Justine: penelope

Moriah: Junior

Justine: (Slaps moriah even harder)

Rene: yikes, Moriah this is your chance. Whose name is albert?

Moriah: penelope

Justine: junior you idiot (slaps moriah)

Rene- Bonus question,who won the rematch game against wellpinit?

(special guest enters)

Moriah- rowdy?

Vincent- (slaps moriah) actually, it was me

(crowd cheers and applauses)

Justine- OMG IT”S JUNIOR FROM THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART TIME INDIAN

(more applause)

Rene- well Junior, can you tell us about that day?

Vincent/Junior: It was an Intense game.. Especially against my bestie jawn but at the end of the day we came up with a W.

Moriah- What was life like growing up as poor indian?

Vincent/junior: It was a struggle but i got by. My grandmother was as support system that got me through it but like you guys know what happened, but it was fine it is where my bestfriend came from but, its my home

Justine- So what happened with you and Penelope after the book ?

Vincent/ Junior: Well we got serious but she cheated so yeah it's whatever

Justine- What can we expect in your future, drawing? Writing?

Vincent - I mean I am a writer but i will always love drawing

Moriah- Well thank you for coming here.

Vincent- Thank you

Rene- We’ll be back after this commercial break…

(applause)

End of scene

No Country For Old Men

I loved No Country For Old Men. It was tense, well-written, the performances were phenomenal. There was nothing about the movie I can think of which didn’t floor me. However, after looking at the movie in relation to the Bechdel (And Mako Mori) Tests, I found that it definitely fell short.

I’ll start with the Mako Mori test, because holding the Mako Mori test to this movie is a joke. There are a small handful of women in the movie, most of them unnamed, who serve solely as plot devices for the leading roles, all of which are male. Carla Jean, the wife of Llewelyn Moss, one of the leads, barely speaks throughout the movie, presenting a shallow, very two-dimensional character. And she’s the closest to a strong female character in the whole movie. So, the Mako Mori Test? Hard fail.

As for the Bechdel Test: Initially, I assumed it failed hard as well. However, after doing some research, I found there was a scene in which Carla Jean speaks to her mother about medication. It’s barely a conversation, and there is also some contention as to whether or not it passes the first part of the Bechdel Test: There being two named female characters. In the translation from Cormac Mccarthy’s novel of the same name, a few characters were watered down to condense it to a film format. Carla Jean’s mother, Agnes Kracik, who was named in the novel, was never referred to in the movie with a name, save for a split-second scene in which her name is written. The movie technically passes the test, but so slightly that a fail is entirely debateable.

Ultimately, it’s clearly not the type of movie the creators of the Bechdel Test had in mind as an ideal. It is a story by men, about men, for men, and the fact that the movie had to be scoured for a pass makes it questionable. I loved the movie, but it’s definitely not a feminist piece.

The R/Niceguy Test

A Niceguy (Or Niceguy™) is a term for men who claim to be nice, and believe that being nice entitles them to women. Popularized by the reddit.com subreddit, r/NiceGuys, these men will often become abruptly hostile when rejected or ignored, proving that, despite the term, they are not really nice guys.

A common theme among said Niceguys, is the idea that they would be better partners to people they are romantically, or sexually, interested in than their current partners. Since I found this subreddit, I’ve been looking closer at different forms of media, and I’ve found a striking number of books, movies, songs, shows, etc. which have an empathized character who believes that they are the right choice for someone, better than others. So I came up with the R/Niceguy test.

A media piece fails the test if any of the following happen:

• A protagonist is persistently interested in someone either uninvolved or uninterested.

• A protagonist openly resents another character for not being romantically or sexually interested in them.

• A character openly resents the significant other of a character they are romantically or sexually interested in.

• A character leaves their significant other for the protagonist.

The last rule might seem a little too intense. We all know the story where the two leads are truly made for each other, but each tied down by their own commitments. They struggle to be with one another, struggling with both their surroundings and themselves, but, ultimately, make the right choice in the end, and walk, hand in hand, into the sunset. We all know this story. And that’s the problem.

This teaches people that they should pursue people, be persistent, don’t take ‘no’ for an answer, because, ultimately, the people they like will come around and make the ‘right’ choice. This leads to characteristic Niceguy behavior. Which leads to much worse things. So, I decided to hold one of my favorite movies to this standard: Fight Club.

Fight Club

Once again, a movie based on a book. And once again, I loved this movie. I’ve always struggled with how to perceive this movie from a gender-based perspective: The movie delves heavily into topics of masculinity, misogyny, gender roles in society, and there is great contention as to what is satire and what is not. The unnamed protagonist lives a boring, corporate life. He spends his time working, or furnishing his apartment, which he, himself, admits is worthless. He befriends a man named Tyler Durden, who lives an entirely opposite life from the narrator: Tyler rejects capitalism. He rejects what he perceives as the societal emasculation and castration of men, as society drifts further and further from hunter-gatherer societies. The movie explores what it means to be a man, settling on some very skewed beliefs and practices: One being the titular Fight Club, a club for men only where they beat each other senseless just to feel like men. The movie never really expresses which form of existence is better, and the story has inspired many young boys to delve into very toxic masculinity. However, that’s a different debate. I want to talk about Marla Singer, and her love triangle with the Narrator and Tyler Durden.

The narrator first meets Marla Singer in a support group for people with testicular cancer. A very fitting setting given the material. Neither the Narrator nor Marla have testicular cancer, but they both find thrill in attending the support groups. They talk briefly about why they attend support groups for diseases they don’t have, exchange numbers, and don’t see each other for a long time. Then, the Narrator meets Tyler Durden.

Marla calls the Narrator further into the story, asking to see him, and the Narrator is dismissive. Not wanting to be involved in her life, he decides not to see her, and leaves, but finds out later that Tyler Durden picked up the phone which he had left unhooked, and went to see her instead. They begin to develop a sexual relationship, which the Narrator quickly becomes jealous of. While it is unclear whether the Narrator is jealous of Tyler for his relationship or of Marla for Tyler’s attention, the Narrator is clearly resenting another character’s significant other.

I’d like to talk about the plot twist of the movie, so this is a spoiler warning.

It is revealed at the end of the story that Tyler Durden and the Narrator were the same person the whole time. This complicates the love triangle a bit, being that the Narrator resents himself for being the significant other of the person he is interested in, or maybe resents Marla for being the significant other of himself. Ultimately, however, the story presents the Narrator and Tyler durden as two seperate people, so I’m inclined to count it as a fail, because the message is still there.

Ethan: Host

Tyler: Recorder   

Jakob: Actor (Junior, Dad, Rowdy)

Sukainah: Actress (Penelope, Mom)

Script

The first day:

Ethan: Hello and welcome back to The Talk With A Noodle Show. I am your host Ethan Chen and for the next 2 days we will be in a absolutely true discussion about the newest book “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.” Our first guest that we will bring out is the narrator of this book. Please give a warm welcome to Junior.

(Junior comes out, while people are applauding)

Ethan: Hello Junior, it’s nice to have you here today with us.

Junior: It’s my pleasure to be here.

Ethan: Throughout your book, you explained that your family is poor. Talk about that…

Junior: Yes, my family is poor, and even though we have tough times, my parents try their best to keep me happy, which is all that matters.

Ethan: I like how even though you go through a lot of things, you are always finding ways to make yourself happy. Is there a specific person that makes you happy as well.

Junior: Rowdy and Penelope are people that make me happy.

Ethan: Elaborate on this.

Junior: Well, Rowdy is my best friend. Rowdy is always there for me no matter how hard it gets between us. Also, Penelope likes me for who I am.

Ethan: Seems like you have a lot of positivity around you. I would like to thank you for for coming here tonight.

Junior: Thank you; it was a pleasure being here.

Ethan: After the break, we will have another special guest, which is Penelope. We’ll be right back!

(Crowd is cheering/ Applauding)

1st commercial:

Junior: Oh hey… didn’t see you there. This is my new book and it talks about my first year in high school. Be sure to check it out at your local bookstore.

Ethan: Welcome back to the talk with a noodle show. Our next guest is someone who played a major role in Junior’s first year of high school. Let’s give a big welcome to Penelope!

(Crowd is cheering/ Applauding)

Ethan: Hello Penelope. How are you?

Penelope: I’m great Ethan. How are you?

Ethan: I'm good. I’m glad you were able to come here with us tonight, because I would like to discuss a few things with you. The first thing I would like to talk about is your relationship with Junior. How did actually become a couple?

Penelope: Junior is a very understanding person. Most people only care about my looks, while he actually cares about me, which makes him different.

Ethan: One of the things that shocked everyone was when you accepted that Junior was poor. Can you elaborate on this?

Penelope: Everyone’s life isn’t perfect, which means you shouldn’t judge people just because there’s struggles going on in their life. You should try to give them positivity in their life and trying to him them.

Ethan: Wow… powerful words. I would like to thank you again for being able to come tonight.

Penelope: It was a pleasure being here.

Ethan: Tomorrow, be ready, because we will have 2 new guest. Good night everybody!

(Crowd is cheering/ Applauding)

The next day:

Ethan: Hello and welcome back to The Talk With A Noodle Show. I am your host Ethan Chen and today is the final day that will have a discussion about the newest book “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.” Please give a warm welcome to our first guest of the night, Rowdy.

(Crowd is cheering/ Applauding)

Ethan: Hello Rowdy. Glad you can be here with us tonight.

Rowdy: I only came, because Junior told me to.

Ethan: Alright… well let's begin our discussion. In the past, you and Junior weren’t best friends, because Junior went to a different school, When you guys weren’t best friends how did that make you feel.

Rowdy: (Starts to get mad) You know what I hate talking about the way I feel. This whole thing is stupid, and I don’t even know why I came here in the first place. I’m leaving.

(Rowdy leaves, and everyone is quiet)

Ethan: That was extremely awkward, but after the break, we will have 2 new guest. We’ll be right back!

2nd commercial:

Junior: Oh sorry… didn’t see you there. Reardan is hosting a basketball tournament on April 7th- April 10th. Tickets are $10. If you want to come, be there!

Ethan:  Welcome back to The Talk With A Noodle Show. Before the break, Rowdy stormed off, because he didn't want to talk about his feelings; but the show must go on. Our next two guest is Junior’s mom and dad. Let’s bring them out.

(Crowd is cheering/ Applauding)

(Mom only comes out)

Ethan: I thought it was supposed to be you and your husband... where is he?

Mom: I’m sorry, but unfortunately, my husband couldn’t make it.

Ethan: Why?

Mom: My husband is an alcoholic, and whenever he’s drunk, he doesn't come home until he is sober.

Ethan: I’m sorry to hear that. I brought you here tonight to discuss some things with you. In the book, “The absolutely true diary of a part- time indian”, Junior had a lot of accomplishments. Are you proud of Junior in any way?

Mom: I am very proud of Junior. He is different than the rest o my family. He’s very intelligent, and I can see that he will live a very successful life in the future.

Ethan: This is beautiful, I love it! Another thing that was brought up in the book was the death of your mother and daughter. It seemed like you were very upset about this. How are you feeling?

Mom: Everyday I get stronger and stronger, and even though it’s hard, I still get through it.

Ethan: Powerful words there. I would like to thank you for coming out tonight, and I wish you and your family the best.

Mom: Thank you. It was a pleasure being here.

Ethan: Alright that wraps up the show for tonight. Thank you for tuning in.Have a good night! Goodbye!

(Crowd is cheering/ Applauding)

Do you ever get looked over? Or have people think less of you? Usually being bullied leads to suicide. In today’s society many are being bullied or thought less of because of their past or who they are. This leads to many things such as depression and or spiritual and physical suicide. People target those who are less of them, less stronger, and more shorter.

In ¨Lord of The Flies¨ by William Golding, a group of kids on a plane crash land on an island. Trying to be organized yet still have fun, being bullied or looked over occurs throughout the novel many times. While trying to figure out every boys name that was on the island, a character named Piggy was unexpectedly made fun of. ¨You’re talking too much,¨ said Jack Merridew. Shut up fatty¨ Laughter arose. He’s not a fatty,¨cried Ralph ¨His real name’s Piggy! Piggy! Piggy! Oh Piggy!¨ (25). As being made fun of because of his weight Piggy only wanted to establish order and make friends. Instead he got made fun of because of his weight.        

Also in the novel, Piggy the victim that's being bullied or shown not respected is being told that he did nothing. Jack just tells him that he did nothing and just sat down waiting. ¨We haven't made a fire,¨ he said, ¨What's any use. We couldn't keep a fire even if we tried.¨ Piggy said this with the response of Jack saying. ¨A fat lot of you tried,¨ said Jack contemptuously. ¨You just sat.¨ We used his specs.¨ Said Simon.¨(42) In the novel this particular scene is very interesting because instead of trying harder to make a fire all Jack does is complain that Piggy did nothing yet they used his glasses to try and start something. Also Jack wants to make it seem like Piggy has a lack of effort, he isn’t trying to get off the island or try and help.      

The scenes in the novel also correlates to the real world. Being bullied usually comes from someone's past, how they look, or the way they act, or even their interests. Also being bullied leads to more things that is not good for a healthy lifestyle. It leads to more low self-esteem. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year.  

Josh was bullied at the age of 11 years old. He was excited to start middle school for the first time. He did not want to stay home instead, he wanted to go to school more often. Soon he was bullied, coming home with injuries almost everywhere on nis body. After recess he would find notes on his back saying ¨kick me¨ or ¨loser¨. Everyday in lunch he would get food pelted at him, soon enough he would sit in the hallway instead of the cafeteria. On the third week of school, he went home with a broken foot, soon after he went back the kids told him, ¨When that one heals, I’m gonna break the other one.”

In Conclusion, being treated as trash is not a good thing. Being bullied leads to more unhealthy lifestyles. Some get bullied because of how they look, what they wear, how they act, and more. Usually telling adults does not help, they respond with, ¨Just ignore it¨ but you cant ignore something that's hurting you. In the novel, Piggy soon enough steps up for himself. Josh stood up for himself, he punched his bully in the back of the head. People target those who are less of them, less stronger, and more shorter.

Work Cited:

Modifica, Lisa. “Josh's Story: Getting Bullied at School.” Parenting, 21 June 2016, www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/combatting-bullying-or-is-this-just-the-new-normal/.

“What Are the Causes of Bullying.” NoBullying - Bullying & CyberBullying Resources, 18 Apr. 2017, nobullying.com/what-are-the-causes-of-bullying/.

Sides of A Leader.

What do humans value in a leader? Do Humans want somebody strong or weak? Does their character plays a role? The idea of a good leader varies from person to person. This was expressed in  William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. The main characters, Ralph and Jack, get into many arguments  about which of them are the better leader. They are polar opposites and butt head on every issue till the end of the book. Even though the leader has loyalty and control of their followers leaders will use force and fear to make other people change to their side because they cannot turn off the need to conquer everything.

In the book, a group of english boys crash land on an island where they are the only people there but island has plenty of fruit and pigs for them to eat. After evaluating their circumstances they elected Ralph for leader of the group. Jack did not like this, believing that he should be leader thus starting off the rivalry between Jack and Ralph. To accommodate Jacks uneasiness with not being leader Ralph made Jack captain of the hunters. This kept little balance. While Ralph was in charge, the boys didn’t do much work or keep up on the island. It was mainly Ralph and Piggy ( a nice kid who stood by Ralph since the beginning) doing work, building huts for the littluns, and keeping up the signal fire so they can signal any ships passing by so they could be rescued. Most of the boys were focused on a “monster.” There was no real monster, it just a personification of the boys imagination and fear. Jack decides making the monster top priority and needs to be hunted down. The believers of the monster join his crusade leaving Ralph who isn’t really worried about the monster and just wants to get off the island. Eventually all the kids have been persuaded or tortured to join Jack's tribe leaving Ralph and Piggy to survive on their own.

When the kids left Ralph to follow Jack in his savage ways it lead to the idea of switching sides and what makes people want to switch sides. After doing research, an article about switching sides came up. Most of theses ideas came from a book called “Nudges” by Richard H. Thaler, PhD, and Cass R. Sunstein, JD.The authors study behavioral science. The article says that two main tactics for switching one’s side is lying or torturing. Lying is like persuading. It's a way to convince people that they have what they want or joining they side is at their best interest. Torture is more of a force. They use tactic to force them onto their side. Making fear and pain their persuaders.

In chapter 8, the boys divides into two groups. Jack was leader of one of these groups and he ruled with an iron fist. He left Ralph because they had completely different views on how they should survive on the Island. He gets tired of Ralph’s ways, he says,” I’m not going to be apart of Ralphs lot-- I’m going off by myself. He can catch pigs on his own. Anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come too.”(27) His group started off with just the kids from choir and a few others but it grew. The boys started to realize that Jacks way was more prosperous and more fun. What he said  before he stormed off was a way persuasive talking. To the other boys he’s the only one who knows how to actually hunt. He also gave them a choice. When they first came to the island they made Ralph leader and that was it, now they can choose Ralph or Jack. Choice gives people a sense of power so now they may follow him because of the things that Jack has to offer. It was up to them to choose their own path and leader. After he gives them the choice, those who didn’t join over time were forced to join. There was a point in chapter 11 where all the boys joined Jack's tribe except a few including Ralph and Piggy. The tribe took Piggy’s glasses to make fire leaving poor Piggy blind. So for Piggy and to make their own fire the remaining members of team Ralph travel up to Castle Rock to retrieve Piggy’s glasses. When they get there the Tribe is hostile and Jack and Ralph get into an argument that turns into a fist fight in the midst of it Piggy gets pushed off a cliff side by a boulder and dies. Ralph runs for his life and those of team Ralph who stayed were tortured into joining the tribe, “ You got to Join the tribe.”(182) Now they are using force and fear. This tactic is used when words don’t influence others. Jack has all the boys that were easily persuaded now he needs the ones who need a nudge to join his side. A leader who has used fear in the past is Ivan the Terrible. He was a darranged leader. A wiki site described him as “intelligent and devout, yet given to rages and prone to episodic outbreaks of mental instability”. The fact that one minute Ivan was chill and sensible and the next he could be angry and sentence his followers to death scared people. As a servant to Ivan they would never know where they stood. That’s a scary thought knowing that one slip up could be your life. So in fear the people, of Moscow kept quiet and followed Ivan without question. This shows that fear is a strong controlling factor and leaders use it to control followers and demand loyalty amongst them.

When Ralph was leader, this wasn’t the case. Ralph was chosen to be leader because he had charisma and a plan. Ralph came out the plan barking orders. It was Ralph’s idea to blow a conch that would signal to the boys for them to meet up. Ralph wasn’t good leader just because of his ideas he also had charisma. Charisma is compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others. But after reading that definition it can be said that he had limited charisma because he could only get a few boys to actually do work and after a while he lost the boys devotion and they changed sides. As time went on Ralph no longer had what the boys wanted in their leader.

That’s the thing with leadership. The moment the leader no longer has or is what his followers want, his people want a change and sometimes that means a new leader. Jack went on his own because he believed that he would make a better chief. A better leader. He convinced  and forced the boys to join him and prove that his leadership is the best. The boys fell for the two main ways of coaxing one's thoughts. Persuading and force. They were young so it was easier. If they were older, more force would have been involved. So what makes people switch sides  is a change their mindset or an overwhelming force that's more controlling than their mindset. If the leader can scare them into the other side, fear of the leader will make that side the better choice, against their better judgement. A great way to control a group is by using fear, but it is not always the best way. Lord of The Flies was a great example of what fear can do to a person.

Citations:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_the_Terrible

• Wikipedia

• Ivan the Terrible

• April 06, 2018

2. http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/12/cover-coaxing.aspx

• Monitor on Psychology

• April 07, 2018

3. http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2017/05/charismatic-leaders.aspx

• American Psychological Association

• April 07, 2018