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“Your emotions are the  slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions.” Elizabeth Gilbert once said. In this world that we live in, our emotions impact what we do. Whether we get married because of our love or kill because of our anger, our emotions control what we do. But there is one emotion that even controls other emotions and that emotions is fear.  We could actually be scared of losing the person so we fall in love and get married in order to not lose them. We could be scared that someone might hurt our family so we get angry in order to kill someone else. Fear is a powerful emotion. Because of how powerful fear we fear fear itself. There are many real life examples of this and they will be pointed out today. Another really good example of humans fearing fear is in a novel called the Lord of the Flies by William Golding. In this novel and in my real life examples, the readers can clearly see that because humans are scared of being scared, they will do anything to get rid of that fear.

To prove my point, there is a section in the Lord of the Flies that I would like to analyze. In this section, the children were doing a ritualistic dance around a campfire chanting “Kill the beast. Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” The beast is a creature of the night that one of the little ones claimed he saw and has taken form in many of the children’s mind. Suddenly Simon, one of the children of the camp,  runs towards the group of children. He comes bearing news of what he found while he was away. He had found out the truth of the beast. That there is no beast. It was just their fear taking over their imagination. But of course, things does not go as planned. When the children saw Simon, they didn’t recognize him, though he was the beast and attacked him. ´¨“ The beast was on it’s knees in the center, its arms folded over its face. It was crying out against the abominable noise, something about a body on the hill.“ (152) This relates back to my thesis because the children were too scared of being scared they tried to hide the fact that they were scared and instead put on a brave front. They decided to kill the beast, the epitomy of their fear. Many people would think that this would not be them running from their fear but instead just being completely crazy. It is easy to argue that case but I myself, never liked thinking of things inside the box.

The example from the book relates to the Trayvon Martin case. In the Trayvon Martin case, Trayvon Martin was walking home from the store, when he was shot and killed. George Zimmerman, the man who shot him, claimed it was out of fear. He did it because he was scared that Trayvon would kill him. “I know that if I didn't act, act the way I did, um, I wouldn't be here.” George Zimmerman says as quoted in the Tampa Daily. George Zimmerman was so convinced that Trayvon was suspicious that he acted out of fear. He tried to get rid of the object of his fear by killing the person who emitted this fear. George Zimmerman was scared to be scared so he tried to get rid of it even if it wasn’t the right thing to do.

Another example in the Lord of the Flies that proves my point is the killing of Piggy. Piggy, is a character in the book that is very underappreciated. He is a very smart fellow and knows how to keep a calm head in the face of danger. However, because he has this much knowledge, the kids don’t like him and never take him seriously. In fact they insult him even when he presents good ideas. One day, Piggy is trying to help them out but they were all scared of listening to what Piggy said because they did not want to admit that Ralph was better, they killed him. “ Which is better- to be a pack of painted Indians like you are, or to be sensible like Ralph is?“ (180). By this point in this story, the readers would just think that the children of this island is crazy but in fact that they are just acting on normal human instincts. They just do not want to be scared so they are running away from that fear.  Like in this example, they are just running away from their fears and are trying to save what little of their human selves they have left.

People should elect a leader in order to keep everything organized so that  there won't be chaos. In” Lord of the flies” the boys chose Ralph to be their leader. We all need a leader to keep us in check and to make new laws if we need to have them and make new and available jobs. If we do not have order civilization could collapse. If the boys in “ Lord of the flies” could not have Ralph more kids could not have survived the island or just go crazy/insane. If we did not have presidents we would just live in chaos or not living at all. Mainly a president's job is to keep the country safe and away from harm but if harm may come then they need to have a continuity plan. If the world we live in now did not have a president. We would all fail as a nation and it could be chaos. I Lord of the Flies if the boys did not elect Ralph as their leader thing could have gotten way out of hand (even though it kinda did).

What is anarchy? Anarchy is something that we can have without a president, government etc. In The lord of the Flies  at first the boys did not have a leader and lived on the island in terror as they couldn’t find out what to do because it was no adults around to help them out. Anarchy can also happen if the wrong person is elected into doing something they cannot do correctly because they just want to lead or just boss the kids in Lord of the Flies or just boss people around in general. For example if Donald Trump is president anarchy is more than likely to happen. Donald Trump had said that he wants to build a wall around america to keep out the Mexicans out of America but also he wants them to pay for something that is bad for them. In conclusion this can prove that if the wrong person is going to be in charge there will be anarchy throughout the world.

“As long as their are sovereign nations possessing great power, war is inevitable.”Albert Einstein made this statement, at the end of World War II. This quote, while old; is still remarkably relevant in today’s society.  Throughout history, war has changed technology, mindsets, and the culture of everyone in the world. For example, the Vietnam war displaced thousands of civilians, spreading their culture and food throughout the world. It changed the way people view warfare, and how people treat veterans. Veterans are the people that are always affected in different ways from war, whether it be because of a traumatic injury or whether it’s PTSD. War and trauma also affects children, perhaps even more than adults, because their minds are more prone to have this disorder.

For the first quote, the plane that had the boys had just crashed. Piggy and Ralph first met each other in the jungle. Piggy was talking weirdly, in incoherent sentences. They were talking about the plane crash. “He must have flown off after he dropped us. He couldn’t land here. Not in a plane with wheels’, ‘We was attacked!”(Page 9). This quote shows how they were paranoid, and scared about what was happening. They immediately assumed the worse; that they were attacked by somebody. This quote proves that they were not only at war; but their mindsets were changed because of this. It reminds me of PTSD, or Post Tramatic Stress Disorder. People who have PTSD are often war veterans or those in plane cash and the effects it has on you. PTSD affects your mind, and your actions. People who have PTSD are in a constant state of paranoia, just like the boys were while they were on the island. People who have it become unaware of their actions, and unaware of the severity and consequences of their own actions. To quote a veteran of The Gulf War, “I had ahold of my son by the throat. I don’t even remember having him by the throat, my wife does. I don’t know what he said to me. I don’t even remember.” The kids are just like this veteran; violent, forgetful, and unable to make rational decisions while under this disease. The kids have it worse though; because their minds aren’t as developed as this veteran’s are, they can remember the severity of their actions as well as the consequences. With this quote, the reader can assume that the children had gotten PTSD from being on the island.

In the next quote, Jack and Ralph are talking. It’s nighttime, and everyone is asleep. They’re discussing the little children, or the “littluns”, right after Ralph had come back from hunting. “They talk and scream. The littluns. Even some of the others as if - “ (Page 52) This quote discusses how even the little children were affected by both the island and the plane crash.  Some symptoms of it include insomnia, night terrors, etc. This could also be the reason the “beast” was made up by the PTSD the boys had, a figment of their imagination.  This relates back to the PTSD because of the symptoms. If the beast was a figment of their imagination, part of the PTSD; then all these symptoms are clear signs that they have it.

Part of PTSD is losing interest in daily activities. In this example, the author is explaining the concept of “biguns” and “littluns”. “They suffered untold terrors in the dark and huddled together for comfort. Apart from food and sleep, they found time for play, aimless and trivial, in the white sand by the bright water.” This quote explains that the kids were changed by the plane crash, and that they were different than they were before. They thought of playing as trivial and aimless, useless in a way. They also had night terrors, which proves that they experienced a traumatic event that gave them the PTSD.  

For one of the final quotes, Jack was at Castle Rock, leading some of the boys with him. When they wouldn’t listen, he had an outburst where he was irrational and emotional. Right before the quote, the boys were listing reasons why they should make shelter where they are, because it was a good scouting point to look out on the island. “Right onto the bridge--’ ‘I say we’ll go on!’ Shouted Ralph, furiously. ‘We’ve got to make certain. We’ll go now.” (Page 108) This quote shows that Ralph is irrational, with the disorder taking over instead of him. It also shows that Ralph was having emotional outbursts, where his emotion would take over. He went from being calm to all of a sudden being furious.

In the final quote, it’s the moments after Piggy died. After he pushed down the rock, Jack kept fighting with Ralph. While there was some hesitation, it wasn’t like the first death on the island where the boys felt guilty for awhile. “Suddenly Jack bounded out from the tribe and began screaming wildly.’ “See? See? That’s what you’ll get! I meant that! There isn’t a tribe for you anymore…” (Page 181) In this quote, you can see that while there is hesitation, Jack actually is aware of his actions in this situation. He intended to kill Piggy by pushing the rock down, and feels no guilt for it. The first person to die in the book, Simon, died as a Piggy felt guilty for Simon dying, even though he wasn’t one of the people who killed him directly.

There are always people that believe in the underdog because sometimes the underdog is a more useful thinker than the favored person.

In the book “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding, Ralph got chosen to be the leader over Piggy. Piggy was more of a logical thinker versus Ralph who was more of an on the spot thinker so he didn’t really think about long term issues. “Piggy stirred . “I’ll come.” Ralph turned to him. You’re no good on a job like this””. Ralph wasn’t thinking about the more people the better. He only thought about piggy right then or as dead weight even though Piggy could have given really good input for their expedition. He could have even been an extra pair of eyes on the trip. He didn’t put much thought into how piggy could help in their expedition.   

During his second term George Bush probably wasn’t seen as the best leader by a lot of people. But he was the more popular person, probably since he was already president. But John Kerry was probably a better leader since george bush left the economy pretty bad when he did leave the office. But people still voted for him to become president. This is like lord of the flies because ralph wasn't the best leader but got chosen over piggy because of popularity.

Piggy wasn’t seen as a leader by most of the group. From the beginning of the book he was made fun of by the other kids on the island. His original name was fatty until ralph introduced him to the group as piggy. Since Piggy didn’t stand up for himself the name just stook with him. That’s another problem Piggy has he lets people step all over him without correcting them. This is probably why he didn’t picked as the leader. Can’t have a leader that’s easy to push around. A leader should be able to tell any of their followers to do something and they do it, not just laugh at him and ignore. A leader should have certain qualities. It shouldn’t be easy to boss them around or change their opinion very easily. Piggy should stand up for himself more and Ralph should become his own thinker.

A leader should be able to relate to his or her followers. If the leader doesn’t relate to its followers either he or she doesn’t have very many followers or it just becomes a blind leading the blind situation blind.

How do humans make their decisions? Many people would like to say they do what they want and don’t care what other people think, but they are lying. For some reason, they are created by peer pressure, trying to get a viewers vote, from fear or even from embarrassment. They tend to impress the folks by saying something, just by an appearance or their behaviors, instead of the actual truth. Honesty does not play a key.

In chapter 1 of “Lord of the flies” by William Golding, the children, after experiencing a devastating plane crash meet up on a part of the island. They decide to hold a poll for a leader or in the books case “chief.” “This toy of voting was almost as pleasing as the conch. Jack started to protest but the clamor changed from the general wish for a chief to an election by acclaim of Ralph himself. None of the boys could have found a good reason for this; what intelligence had been shown was traceable to Piggy, while the most obvious leader was Jack. But there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet the most powerfully, there was the conch, The being that had blown that, had sat waiting for them on the platform with the delicate thing that balanced on his knees, was set apart.” (Pg. 22) This quote from Lord of the flies shows the kids thoughts on who should be “chief”. They chose Ralph as chief because he was the person who blew the conch. With the following lines “Him with the shell.” (Pg.22) “Ralph! Ralph!” (Pg.22)  “Let him be chief with the trumpet-thing.” (Pg.22) The kids did not take the time to understand and analyze who fits the role of “chief”, but instead decided based on appearance.

The example from Lord of the flies closely relates to the election that is currently happening. According to the article by editor Carolina Moreno at Huffington Post. The article quotes Donald Trump’s statement that  “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re sending you/ They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re bringing rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” When Donald Trump made this remark he received attention, both positive and negative. This is how he got noticed, people agreed with him and his opinions. However he’s only saying the things he said to impress the people of America in order to get on the ballot and win votes for the presidential election. At the same time there is no evidence showing immigrants committing more crime than native-born Americans. However first-generation immigrants are pre disposed to lower crime rates than native-born Americans. Thus, showing Donald Trump is just making his decision or movement based on impression.

A moment in Lord of the flies that shows a decision being made from being under pressure is when Ralph began wanting to leave the island, however Jack’s plans interferes with Ralphs. He makes rules because they spotted a ship, however Jack’s “group” went to go hunt and forgot about maintaining the fire lit. This made Ralph feel like he missed out on a chance of a lifetime. Ralph says to his followers in chapter 5, “And another thing. We nearly set the whole island on fire. And we waste time, rolling rocks, and making little cooking fires. Now I say this and make it a rule, because I’m chief: We won’t have a fire anywhere but on the mountain. Ever.” (pg.81) This shows that Ralph was pressured by his surroundings. It frustrated Ralph, which prompted him to make the decision to make rules.  After seeing the ship and missing the chance at an early escape of the island, Ralph felt the way he did because Jack refused to obey Ralph’s commands.

The same situation happened during the upcoming on World War 2. The United States of America signed a treaty with Germany so they wouldn’t speak about what happened and to stay in peace, however from embarrassment Adolf Hitler plan secret meetings known as the nazi party. During these nazi party meetings Adolf Hitler would speak and his words inspired the german people to follow his commands, especially putting the blame on jews because it was there fault that germany lost during the first world war. After some time Adolf Hitler became the dictator of Germany. After quite some time Adolf Hitler made a name for himself after invading poland, and killing a large amount of jews. It reached to a point where the U.S had to step in and sent reinforcement into Germany to put a stop to this war. Adolf Hitler reached a corner in his plans and instead of paying for his crime he killed himself. The decision was based on fear.  According to History.com Adolf Hitler quotes that he was becoming paranoid, “Doctor what is the best way to kill myself?” Adolf Hitler  made the decision he made because he needed an escape route, especially with full forces coming into Germany at both sides west and east, this is why a treaty was later created making the U.S and Russia keep watch over Germany.

In conclusion we can see that both Lord of the flies and the real world examples show that decisions can be made by countless of things however these are the main ones that sparks out. From fear through good intentions we can tell that people's decision making can't be countered and would have to deal with hiding the exact truth from each other.

People have many different groups or activities they are a part of. It makes them feel safe and at home. Like they are contributing to something greater. From being apart of a certain political category or an extremist group, everyone thirst for this feeling. In William Golding’s, Lord of the flies, a plane crash left a group of British boys stranded on an island with no parental supervision. They go through many obstacles such as voting for a leader and starting a fire. Throughout these struggles, they battle with war versus diplomacy. As a society, people are taught that it is important to contribute to the success of our communities. Like voting for a president that people feel will make a difference, inputting their opinions, but in the end, unless they have power it is out of their control.

In this scene from, Lord of the Flies, the group of kids just got done the voting for a leader. They chose Ralph to be the leader and Jack was not too happy about this decision. "This toy of voting was almost as pleasing as the conch. Jack started to protest but the clamor changed from the general wish for a chief..."(22) This quote shows that diplomacy is effective because people can bicker and complain about the decision, but the decision is final. Later in the scene, Jack was given the choirboys but Ralph is the overall leader. From the choirboys perspective they have no say in the matter, they have to follow Jack and listen to his commands. They are too young to control their own decision making and leave it in the hands of anybody with “authority”. This relates to what is going on in the presidential elections and how that most of Bernie Sanders supporters are young. In an article, from newyorker.com, which talked about the attendance of Bernie Sanders rally stated, “Another was how many young people were turning out to see an irascible seventy-four-year-old senator from Vermont.” Since a lot of Bernie Sander supporters are below the age limit they are not able to vote. They are like the choirboys not able to make the important decisions because they are too young. The young Bernie supporters can voice their opinions on social media, but in the end they can’t control the outcome. They have to leave it in the hands of their elders.

In pursuit of control many people start extremist groups to create change. In a Cnn article talking about the increase in extremist groups in america it stated, “"They believe the Constitution is being raped. With hate groups, things are going to get worse because they feel like they're in battle,"” Many extremist groups feel that they have a duty to fix what they feel is wrong with society and the government. They try to put their values out there through protesting and in extreme cases acts of violence. Since they do not have political power they feel that doing this is the only way to get heard. In their opinion the “injustice” that has been committed is big enough to start a group against. These types of group is like Jack’s viewpoint. In this scene Jack had just got done getting into a heated conversation with Ralph. In which said that Jack would even get scared if he saw a beast. This got Jack real mad and he called a meeting to impeach Ralph. He stated, “...The next thing is that we couldn’t kill it. And the next is Ralph said my hunters are no good. I never said that! I’ve got the conch. Ralph thinks you’re cowards running away from the boar and the beast” Jack tries to turn the group of boys against Ralph in this quote. He even lies about what he said, like a extremist group, he is trying correct the “wrong” that he was dealt. He left the group with his minions and formed kind of a cult that sacrifice animals to the so called Beast. He tried to change the group he was in, but failed exiling himself from the group. He was able to become leader of his own tribe but made enemies of the people around him.

In this scene a boy name Roger was walking across the island and was stopped by one of his clan mates. The clan questioned him because Jack wanted them to challenge everyone they met. They talked about what was happening to Wilfred and stated, “He’s going to beat wilfred. What for? I don’t know. He didn’t say. He got angry and made us tie Wilfred up. He’s been...he’s been tied up for hours waiting.” This quote shows that power over a whole group has gotten to Jack’s head. He is becoming a dictator, punishing anyone he pleases. The followers of Jack just go along with it either fearing that they will be next or trusting Jack because he is in a position of power. Jack doesn’t tell the group why Wilfred was being punished leaving them to think that he committed a heinous crime. This shows how power can shift people’s viewpoints of you and what you can do. He harnesses the power to take over the island, something he couldn’t have achieve before.

In conclusion, power rules the way people act and treat others. Without it they are not able to change the perspective of people around them. As we can see in, Lord of the Flies Jack gaining power affected how he treated the people around him. He began ruling with fear instead of being diplomatic like Ralph. In real life the youth lacking the power to vote affects the outcome of the presidential election which is out of their control. No matter what though people are going to try to voice their but without power nothing will change.

From an early point in mankind’s rules have become a staple to our community, environment, and lifestyle. Its like,  Humans create rules, and laws to create some sort of order in their lives, and can keep in reach to control. Without them  many people wouldn’t have order. We’ve all wondered why we as humans have rules that are in place to follow. If we should bend, or break the rules for something or someone, for that matter, but usually this is for a gain of some sort.  

The book “Lord of the flies” takes place on an island that had not yet been populated, until the shipwrecked boys came,. They were very lawless.  From a third-person’s view, we follow Ralph as he ventures through this trial with the other boys who are shipwrecked. In this story we witness many grabs at power of the island, but more importantly how a society that tries to become organized, with rules crumble and become lawless. On page 58, of “Lord of the flies”, by William Golding,  we see the beginning stages of the rules Ralph and the group have set in place start to crumble. As people start to not follow them, or rebel, against them. A quote from Ralph says “ We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages. We’re English, and the English are the best at everything.”. This quote stands out to me mostly for the simple fact that, like mentioned before, rules will create a structure to their lives that will let them live without (for the most part) a worry or care. It is also intriguing how they play the fact that they are English as a key that they should follow these rules because they are “the best at everything” and as a result if they aren’t following these rules well then they aren’t being a proper Englishman. Just as it is a stereotype in popular culture nowadays that people who are English, are very proper and nice. It’s almost as if, Ralph used great debate skills  to convince them to follow the rules and not get out of line. As a way to assert dominance and stay in power of everyone on the island. As referring back to the thesis of needing rules to not only have some structure in his life but also so he can have a grip of power. Not only on his life, but the people around him lives.

While of course a book created to  depict fiction of any scenario, there are real-life examples of not only places crumbling from having no rules, but also having rules that are either so constantly broken or just not followed its as if they don't have any. And in some places they don't. For great example, Somalia is known as the lawless country. Dating back to the time that a blackhawk had fallen there, this nation has had a big problem with reestablishing a government or having any laws/rules to have citizens follow. As a result of having no rules to follow, the country has taken a turn for the worse. Civil war has broken out but slowly decreased but citizens commonly deal with problematic gangs and on a large scale pirates, and not Black beard I mean modern day pirates, which have plagued their coastlines. This country alone is one huge example of how being a lawless society can be more of a plague. This country also refers back to the quote in the beginning of the essay, that trying to be an anarchist community doesn’t ever work out for the better so we have rules in place. And sadly there are no rules in place to help progress this country, despite the many efforts that were previously attempted. This connects with people we believe, rules are in place to enforce and help. That rules are a blanket that keeps societies warm and provide shelter for them. But maybe the people of Somalia prefer to be lawless after so long. It’s become a new way of life that cannot be broken. The testament to people who believe anarchy is best that people should create a way of life that THEY would prefer to live in by the way they want. Wherever you may stand on this, both sides of the wall can be heavily brooded about.

Have you ever made a game with your friends? Or decided to play something like cops and robbers, and hide and seek because it was boring. There were almost always rules involved with these games to create a structure within. Now think, was there ever a time when your friend bended the rules to fit their needs? When one bended the rules so badly usually it is because they don't have any power in their hands. They can’t control what happens so they try to overthrow the rules and the person or people who made them. Like we saw in “Lord of the Flies” when Jack tried to overthrow Ralph. Do you often wonder if rules are pointless if people do infact bend them or break them. Maybe the Somalis are right for having no laws so nobody can attempt to control anything.

Every so often, like somewhat the case with Somali, citizens or settlers, begin to break rules and sometimes rebel against them. This is the case somewhat with this next quote from the novel, and it says… “ Hands were reaching for the conch in the light of the setting sun,. He held on and lept on the trunk. “All of this I meant to say. Now I’ve said it. You voted me for chief. Now you do what I say.””. This quote demonstrates a person, higher up, etc, losing his control on a group of people and is reacting because of it. Ralph doesn’t like the fact people are going against the rules that are established, to stay in control, and displays that in the quote. It may also be the fact he doesn't feel as though their, for the sake of it having some type of name, tribe was structured enough for his liking. Relating back to the thesis that rules are in place to give someone power and structure, and when Ralph was losing one or both of those he displayed how disgruntled he was.

What Comes with Age

Some say that age is nothing but a number, but in some cases it is also a responsibility. Ever imagine someone younger than a person being in charge of them? Not younger by a year or two, but like a decade. It’s like being babysat by a younger sibling. It seems weird. Humans are trained to believe the older you are the more ability you gain, and younger people are trained to respect that. Older people are usually in charge. Whether it’s being in charge of a small group or large country, people who hold the most power tend to be a part of an older age group, even though they may not be the most qualified to be in charge.

People rely on age for a lot of things. Just because people are older than some, they believe that they hold most of the power. In the book, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, a stranded boy, named Ralph, introduces an idea about using a conch shell to present their ideas. This plan also allows them to be able to speak during meetings. Ralph soon then present an idea of having a leader. Jack volunteers to be the leader. “"I ought to be chief," said Jack with simple arrogance, "because I'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp."( Pg. 22). Jack thinks he should have the power because he's always had it. He doesn't have any particular talent for leading. The only thing he has is that he can sing C sharp which is obviously a survival skill. He is just arrogant and confident and that can be good for the group. He is a biggun and feels no doubt that he would not be capable of having the position as the leader.

In the world it seems like leaders are mandatory. Everywhere you go there will always be someone in charge. Realize how these leaders have a greater age than most people or how them seem old enough to know what they are doing. People do not always trust their leader, but if they show any opposition they may end up in trouble. This is quite similar to Lord of the Flies. They chose Ralph to be the “chief” and he was one of the oldest. Even though he was the chosen leader people did not always agree with what he believed in, but they still followed him because he was the most dominant and oldest on the island.

The Constitution is a document that protects our freedom against those with political power.  In Article One of the United States Constitution, it gives congress its powers and limits. It states that “Senators must be at least 30 years old to represent”. Not only do grow up to believe that age provides abilities, this is a forced rule. This shows that age is a requirement when applying for leadership roles. It is just another legalized statement that shows people that age is a significant factor. This is similar to Lord of the Flies because the boys somewhat follow the rule of having the oldest be in charge. Ralph is the oldest on the island and that is one of the main reason why he was chosen to be chief.

In the book, Jack and a few of the littluns did not like what Ralph had to offer to the group. They decided to distant themselves and take control. They began to rebel and taunt the other group. They killed two of the other group’s boys and continued to act inhumane. They sung a vicious song while performing a ferocious ritual. “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” (Pg. 152) The boys are obviously not under control. Having a group consisting of a bunch of littluns resulted in violent activities. When people allow immaturity, and in this case young people, to take charge the result could have dire consequences.

In late April of 2015, riots broke out in the United States. A young man, named Freddie Gray, was allegedly murdered by police officers while in their custody. This resulted in multiple riots in Baltimore, Maryland. Majority of the rioters were young, high school students who left school for a “peaceful” protest. “Initially 75–100 people who appeared to be high school students began throwing bricks and bottles…”. A peaceful protest became an extremely dangerous riot at the hands of young people. These people took over a protest and turning it into something completely opposite than what it was suppose to be. This is just a demonstration of why young people are not the dominant ones in the world.

It somewhat seems amazing the way humans are trained to know their limits when it comes to age. People will think the world is in their hands when they turn 18. They just do not realize that there are restrictions at the ages of 21, 25, 30, and 65. Just because age increases does not mean nobility does too. Not everyone of an older age has the right amount of responsibility. And not everyone of a younger age is irresponsible. Although a lot of people can be categorized into a specific type, there are people cannot be sorted. People are all different, but there are still rules, laws, and restrictions to make sure that serenity is amongst us.

Works Cited

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

• "U.S. Constitution." LII / Legal Information Institute. Cornell University Law School, n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2016.

• "Older People Are Not the Enemies of the Young – We're in This Together | Letters." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 11 Mar. 2015. Web. 07 Apr. 2016.

• Foreman, Tom. "Riots Erupt in Baltimore after Freddie Gray Funeral - The Boston Globe." BostonGlobe.com. Associated Press, 27 Apr. 2015. Web. 07 Apr. 2016.

• Anderson, Ivie. "2015 Baltimore Protests." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 2015. Web. 07 Apr. 2016.

During periods of danger, people tend to base their decisions on what will be the quickest way to relieve themselves from the situation.  This is result of humans not being able to efficiently deal with things that cause them discomfort. They will go to great measures to decline back into a space of comfort and familiarness. In modern society, people make rash decisions with the sole purpose of protecting themselves from anything they’re not used to or do not want to deal with. A mindset that can drive people into survival mode in an attempt to deter the panic, this sudden uncomfortable fear or anxiety that can cause people to act in an unnatural behavior. This often times cause for our actions to be uncivilized;  affecting the environments around us, thus causing us to to do things that we don’t want to do sometimes breaking a law or two maybe the effect of panic. Actions are determined by the complexity of a situation and the way we choose to handle it.

In  “Lord of the flies” by William Golding, this happened to a group of small boys, who were stranded on an island due to a plane crash. Not understanding what is going on around them ,they began to cause chaos because of their panic. This was because, they were stuck on an island with no adults to guide them and tell them what they should be doing. They were scared and that was the bottom line. When someone is scared they begin to panic and most of the time they want to get their mind off whatever is traumatizing them. These boys wanted to get off of that island but they couldn’t. It was physically, mentally and emotionally impossible for them.  When first reading the chapter when the boys calmed down and were able to do something that might help them get their mind off the fact that they were stuck on the island, they decided to elect Ralph, a boy who was just about the oldest of all of them,  as the leader that’s when they put all of their faith in him to help guide them off that island and back into the arms of their parents.

Once they have chosen a leader they needed rules to keep everyone on the same page because they all had the same goal. They wanted to stay safe and alive. Generally, in the real world today, when rules are created it's to keep people safe and make sure everyone has something to do. Which brings us to the question of why, Why do humans create rules and law? When do they help and when do they hurt? In the novel, it's pretty clear that having rules and laws kept everyone in place. Rules are created all the time to make sure that people know that can not do anything that they want to do.

When the boys decided that it was time for them to come up with some rules for everyone, the one rule that was most important out of all of them was the one relating to the conch shell. It was used to signal the other boys on the island, and Ralph had full control over the conch and was going to use it to his full advantage. Shortly after sounding the conch, he continued to say, “And another thing. We can’t have everybody talking at once. We’ll have to have ‘Hands up’ like at school.” (33). The conch was key to all of the boys on the island, the one who was holding the conch could have a chance to let their voice be heard just as much as the person who was next to them.

The best thing about the conch was that it was something that someone could hold and maybe have the same feeling Ralph did when he got elected to be the leader. Sadly that’s not the case, today in the real world. Humans could only hope for something as simple yet very powerful. There are 43 case like this one, but not the same exact one. When the people of the United States of America elect someone into office want someone who knows the best thing for us and can get our message across the world.

In the real world, Laws and rules keep people safe and things organized. Without them the world would be at war right now. Wherever you go there are rules that you have to follow and/or obey and if you choose not to then you have chosen to accept the consequence that come with it. This is a quote from the novel, "We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are best at everything." Keeping in mind that these are children, the fact that they said that they have to obey the rules really is shocking the reason behind this is because they have more common sense than most people do. The author of the book seems to believe that rules are necessary but on the other had someone might stop back at the quote and look at that word “savages.”

There are many “savages” in America, now the word savage could mean many things to many different people. The way that it’s used in the book makes the reader think of people who don’t obey and follow the rules. Today those people might be labeled as criminals, rebels or maybe they are just savage. The answer to the question of why do humans create laws and rules is simply, to keep people safe. When do they hurt? They can hurts whenever you chose to accept them as rules.

Why do humans create rules and law? When do they help and when do they hurt? - This may seem like the most easiest question to answer but once you really break the question down and begin to answer it you will understand how intricate the question really is. Humans create rules and laws to ensure that everything is going smoothly and everyone is safe. Everyone wants the same thing to keep each other safe but sometimes things don’t work out like they should. We can’t just write our own life and avoid everything that is planned for us. We don’t know what are future will consist of.

Savagery

Who are the real savages? Children or adults? There is a fine line drawn between children and adults when it comes to making violent decisions. Adults have the responsibility over disciplining their children.  as, adults grow up, and develop a responsibility over the decisions they make. Kids still are taught the rights and wrongs in life, and adults establish whether to live in the norm of society. Meaning, following each rule and doing the right thing when the situation is approached. According to the novel adults are more savage, because of influences and “Reasons” behind their actions. The difference is that children are motivated by the influence of adults. Interpreting that they just follow the surroundings that adults provide them, but with adults they have the power and responsibility over themselves, which gives them more freedom, and also more ability to be savage.

On the other hand, children can act in an untamed matter, but only to the extent of the limit of freedom they are given. If a child is given tons of freedom, they can gain access to a lot of things as to a child that is contained without much freedom provided to them. However in the “Lord of the Flies,” the boys have the island all to themselves without adults and with plenty of exemption. When the boys were surrounding Robert and hurting him with Eric’s spear, there was not an adult figure to tell the boys to stop fooling around. Moments before the boys formed a circle, they were discussing their plan of hunting for animals. When they returned, they started fooling around (as boys do) and started to get carried away by harming Robert as all the boys were gathered around him enjoying the breathtaking moment. It was all fun and games until one of them was the one getting hurt.  A passage from the novel of the exhilarating scene is, “They got his arms and legs. Ralph, carried away by a sudden thick excitement, grabbed Eric’s spear and jabbed at Robert with it. ‘Kill him! Kill him!’” (Chapter 7, Page 114).  This moment from displays the fact that the boys already had experience killing something.  The idea that they were getting pleasure and joy from it all goes to show that they have the tendency to act on a savage manner to former surroundings. Being on an island led them to a desperate manner of survival and pleasure.

As said, adults have a lot more freedom than children do. The recent event of the Brussel bombing  is proof that there is reasoning behind the circumstances that get played out. What happened was that the same people who were behind the Paris attack that occurred in 2014, planted three bombs in an airport. Unfortunately, only two out of the three bombs actually went off, but just the two did enough damage to kill about thirty five people, and injured around eighty-one. The reasoning behind it all was that the terrorist were finishing the damage they did to Paris. It was also stated that because of the arrest of some of their leaders, they wanted revenge, and bombing an airport just had to do. It was the fact that the terrorist’s fellow helpers were going down, and someone was going to suffer in response. According to the BBC News Website, “The Islamic State (IS) group said it was behind the attacks in a statement issued IS- linked Amad agency.” These three or men who were involved in the appalling scene seemed to have a reasonable reaction towards the rest of their leaders getting punished. The fastest reaction that came to their minds was killing and torturing innocent human beings. If a kid had a best friend that got punished, they might lecture whoever punished their friend, but they wouldn’t go to an well known place and bomb it. First off, a kid would not have access to the particular weapons to harm another human, and the disciplinarian would have kept the kid in his or her place.

In similarity, both examples showed that the boys on the island resorted to what was entertaining. There isn’t a kid who thinks it is all fun and games until someone gets hurt. In “The Lord of the Flies,” people get killed instead of just hurt. The boys did not have a reason to kill one another. it was just the fact that they were stranded, and wanted to rough house.In circumstance, their actions brought out the savagery from their hearts. With the Brussel airport attack the adults supposedly had a reason behind their action. In both situations, the kids and adults were wrong. It was the the comparison of the reactions in response to their actions and surroundings. It was rational for the boys to suddenly lose their minds, because they were stuck on an island without adults. The novel showed a clear example after the boys were fooling around, “Jack’s arm came down; the heaving circle cheered and made pig-dying noises. Then they lay quiet panting, listening to Robert’s frightened snivels. He wiped his his face with a dirty arm and made an effort to retrieve his status” (Page 115). Being raised by your parents, and having even the littlest opportunity to be free of them, will lead to one committing an action that they would not be allowed to do.

In reality, most of the decisions people make in life determine where people stand as individuals. In the end, we are only really responsible for ourselves. Not everyone is given the freedom needed to achieve certain goals. The goals can either be beneficial or negative thing to achieve. The novel, “The Lord of Flies”  gives the reader the opportunity to ponder on the fact that what surrounds you can later can eventually become you. The Brussel’s bombing gave evidence that things can get blown out of proportion. All of it just goes to show that adults take things to another level, while children are limited to level in which they are allowed to take a situation such as being stuck on an island.

Works Cited

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

Morris, Chris. "Brussels Attacks: Zaventem and Maelbeek Bombs Kill Many - BBC News." BBC

News. BBC News, n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2016. <http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35869254>.

Rules are supposed to be followed, but what if there’s a rule that  just feels wrong? If you think about it, nothing is born with rules already naturally stored in their heads. Animals aren’t naturally domesticated, and humans aren’t naturally born obedient. From a young age, we’ve been taught what’s right and what’s not, but how can we be sure what we are told is really right? We are taught that if we disobey a rule, then we are “bad”, but what the way we disobeyed a rule was justified, and the actions taken had good intentions? Rules have a way of taking over and controlling our brains telling us whether or not a society is civilized or savage. People come to accept all rules and laws as ‘civilized’ even if they are not, because they get used to what’s expected of them.

In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, we see many examples of how rules took over the boy’s minds and we can see a total transformation in their behavior from civilized “good english boys”  to completely savage. When the boys first arrived on the island, the first thing they wanted to do was pick a leader amongst themselves. In picking that leader, the boys expect him to make them all cooperate in hopes of them one day being rescued, including making the rules and laws of the island. There is some tension because the choice is between Ralph or Jack as the leaders because they both have a powerful influence over the boys.  Ralph is elected the leader, and has some difficulty containing the boys at their assemblies. In one assembly, Ralph says to the boys “all this i meant to say. Now I’ve said it. You voted me for chief. Now you do what I say.”  (pgs. 58-59). When the boys got rowdy, all Ralph had to do was remind them that they agreed to follow certain rules, and they chill out. In their minds, the idea of having rules is equivalent to having order, and that’s why they calmed down.

The boys in Lord of the Flies have multiple assemblies to establish order and to get everyone on the same page throughout the book. In one of the first meetings, Jack says to the boys “We got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages. After all, we’re English, and the English are best at everything.”  There is so much wrong with that statement. Jack believes that all of the rules that are created should be obeyed, because that’s what makes them “good boys”. This way of order does not last very long, however. Readers can see the rivalry growing between Jack and Ralph over who should be the rightful leader, and eventually the rivalry reaches a boiling point. War breaks out and the civilization the boys had on the island splits in two, and blood is shed when the boys abandon their morals and rules that were supposed to keep them united. The boys  interpret their rules in a completely reversed and savage way and it is madness on the island until they are rescued.

The way the boys act on the island, is similar to how our government works in today’s modern society. The laws are there because a vast majority of people decided or agreed it should be there. The punishments are similar between the two situations as well. They are both cruel and unnecessary in some situations. For example, 670.000 people are incarcerated for misdemeanors that are not dangerous, and other nonviolent crimes across America. People are imprisoned for maximums of 3 years, or can be fined up to $2,500, and the person who committed the crime is now considered a felon.  According to an article I read, “Felonies don’t just land you in jail- they also result in a significant loss of civil rights.” This is a rule that the leaders of our country decided on. This rule which grants another humans to take away some of the basic rights that make us a “civilized” country. For a small misdemeanor, a person can lose their right to vote, the right to hold a political office, and can even be denied you second amendment, which is the right to bear arms. Where is the civilized action in that? Laws like these ignore and completely go against the basic morals of humanity that everybody should have.

Rules were not automatically stored into our brains when we are born. Our upbringing creates the idea that we must have rules to be civil and peaceful. People believe that we must have rules in order to function and survive. What people don’t realize, however, is that by creating rules, society is also creating an image of what “wrong” people and things to do are. Our society is naturally judgemental and it has been like that since the beginning of this country and the first laws were set. Rules are also so contradictory to themselves, and instead of stopping savagery, they just create leeways for less extreme behavior, but still savage all the same. For example, slavery was abolished, but there are still acts of racism that are allowed to take place in this country, like the KKK, who are still allowed to have meetings openly to this day.  

The lines that divide a civilized civilization from a savage one, and what’s right from what’s wrong are slowly getting blurred. Another thing that people fail to realize is that rules shouldn’t be a determining factor in how they portray the world and the goings-on around them. In some cases, the rules that are put in place are effective, and beneficial, and appropriate. Some rules are essential, and there is just no getting around them. Rules should not have to determine whether something is a success or not. They should not determine the potential something has either.  In determining what makes something civilized or savage, we have to not be biased just because of a set of rules tells us what’s justified and what isn’t. People should not succomb to all rules or laws because it’s expected of them to do so.

Works Cited:

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

2. "NORML.org - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws." FEDERAL Laws & Penalties -. Web. 07 Apr. 2016.

3. "NORML.org - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws." FEDERAL Laws & Penalties -. Web. 07 Apr. 2016.

Works Cited:

Books are a great tool for entertainment and understanding. Books answer lots of great questions that make people think really hard about. The big question I thought of after reading William Goldings’s Lord of The Flies was  who’s more savage adults or children? A reader of Lord of the Flies would choose children, because in the novel they were killers and robbers. Are children actually like that in real life? From robberies, stabbings and rape, to even various slayings, one would ultimately think that adults are the savages. Lets face it, adults and children can both be savage, but, adults have  furtherly developed brains, which in turn, allows them to know the difference between right and wrong, unlike children.

In the book Lord Of the Flies, the children who are stuck on an island started rituals. These rituals allowed them to have something in common, something they could all fall back on. In some of the rituals the children would scream some crazy things that may make the reader think of them as savages. Like a tribe, some of the characters had rituals. One of the rituals was a chant that said “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!”(186). This quotes comes from children who are under the age of 12 and are scared of a beast. These children also are in a situation where they are on there own and trying to survive on an island. Researchers have found that the brain isn’t fully developed until around the age of 25. If these children are under 12 they aren’t half way through brain development so they don’t know right from wrong as much as an average adult.

On December 14, 2012 The second deadliest mass shooting by a single person in America occurred. Twenty year old Adam Peter Lanza killed 27 people including his mother. According to investigators Lanza killed his mother at their Newtown,CT home then drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School where he killed six members of the staff and 20 students all of which were under the age of 8.  According to The Guardian“Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old who convulsed America when he shot dead 20 young children and six of their adult carers at Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut last December, was obsessed with mass murders in the run-up to his meticulously-planned attack and kept photocopies of newspaper articles on shootings of children dating back to 1891.” This show that Adam Lanza was nothing but a savage and he knew what he was doing. He had an understanding of what was going to happen and what he wanted to do. Adults aren’t oblivious to the actions of themselves. This shows that adults plan things and try to see how they are going to carry things out. Therefore they are more aware.

In Lord of the Flies some of the characters became more like a family. All together like a family was Ralph, Roger, Jack, Piggy, Simon and a few others. They were each other's shoulder to lean on and together worked to survive. The horrible decision of one person changed it all. “The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee: the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist. Piggy, saying nothing, with no time for even a grunt, traveled through the air sideways from the rock, turning over as he went. Piggy fell 40 feet and landed on his back across the the square red rock in the sea. His head opened and stuff came out and turned red. Piggy's arms and legs twitched a bit, like a pigs after it has been killed”(181). This quote was a turning point in the book. This was when Jack and Ralph were fighting and Roger threw a rock. This makes children look like cold hearted savages. This shows that children don’t think as much as adults because their brains aren’t fully developed. Roger probably didn’t think or want to kill Piggy, he probably just wanted to give a warning.

There could be many factors into why adults do outrageous things. No matter the factors it still can be considered savage. One common factor in barbaric activity is mental illness. According to the New York Times “Medical experts at Yale University had called for drastic measures to help Adam Lanza in the years before he shot and killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., but those calls “went largely unheeded” by his mother, who was also shot to death”.  It also says “based on a comprehensive examination of the medical and school histories of Mr. Lanza, 20, found he was “completely untreated in the years before the shooting” for psychiatric and physical ailments like anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and was also deprived of recommended services and drugs.” These quotes show that there’s a reason why adults may be more savage. It shows that mental illness is a factor in why adults are more savage. The mental illness could have been caused by boys mother in which over time made him more of a savage but he knew what he was doing. Adam is also more savage because he could have made the decision to get medication himself. By the age of twenty years old in the U.S. a person is allowed to make medical decisions by themselves. There is no excuse for someone to not get on meditation if the person’s doctor recommend it to them.

As it turns out adults have furtherly developed brains, which in turn, allows them to know the difference between right and wrong, unlike children. In Lord of the Flies things that were said were uncivilized and people were killed. These were children whose brains were not in far development to completely understand what they were doing. In the 2012 shooting death of 26 people, shooter Adam Lanza knew what he was doing. Adam planned it all out and knew what he was going to the school to do. What people can get out of this is that many factors play a role in being a savage, but brain development makes people more and less of a savage.

Work Cited: Golding William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Perigee 2006

Work Cited: Pilkington, Ed. "Sandy Hook Report – Shooter Adam Lanza Was Obsessed with Mass Murder." N.p., 25 Nov. 2013. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.

Many believe that adults are more civilized than children, because adults are able to control themselves, since they have more of a matured state, and have the ability to calm themselves unlike when children cannot, and start throwing tantrums. However, in truth children and adults are equally savage because adults are just as capable as children of doing bad things.

Lord of the flies has very few examples since it’s about the kids, with barely any adults involved, but that is also something savage about adults. At the beginning of the book, one of the main characters “Piggy” noticed something was wrong. “there was that pilot. But he wasn’t in the passenger cabin, he was up in front.”(8) The pilot just jumped out without any warning, telling us that he wanted to save his own life instead of trying to guide the passengers or made their protection the pilot’s. There is also a radar that has the plane’s location or coordinates, and as soon as the plane crash, or at least not move for a good 10 minutes, the adults should’ve noticed and signaled an emergency and rushed over there, to rescue survivors of the crash.

Not only is that an example of savagery from adults. At the time, there was a war going on while kids were stranded on the island, and they haven’t mentioned about any adults noticing anything about the kids being stranded, even though they should’ve made it one of their top priorities. A kid noticed a body in the sky. “There was a speck above the island, a figure dropping swiftly beneath a parachute, a figure that hung with dangling limbs.”(95) This tells us that someone tried to survive a plane crash but failed, letting the kids see something horrific.

Because there isn’t any adults in the book to talk about how children are equally as savage as adults, I’ll talk about how the children in the book are not as savage as you think. In the book, a group of kids are stranded on an island, and there are kids who wants to have power, kids who wants to survive, and kids who want to be with those who have power. Piggy is a kid who is made fun of because he is fat, and he wanted everyone to work together to get rescued, which is not savaged at all, but there are kids who doesn’t listen to him because of the way he looks like, so they have a vote on who would be leading. “Who wants me? Every hand outside the choir except Piggy’s was raised immediately. Then Piggy, too, raised his hand grudgingly into the air. Ralph counted. “I'm chief then.”(23) Although Piggy do have the specs of being a leader, there is also Jack, who leads the choir, and the type of person who wants power. Ralph who has the conch, on the other hand, just wants to survive and be able to get to safety, and also cares for others. During the vote, Ralph was appointed as leader, but Jack was irritated, so Ralph also gave some of the power Ralph was given to Jack, to make him happy, which is also not savage.

There are times where the group gets out of hand, and starts to go crazy since they are stranded and out of their comfort zone. Especially, the time where simon was the “pig” and the group were beating him, dancing, and singing “Kill the Pig. Cut her throat. Bash her in.”(75) In which is savage, but it is inevitable because adult or children, they cannot stay stranded on an island out of their comfort zone for long, without losing sanity. Which leads to a real world situation where a care worker who is caring for a elderly who suffers from Alzheimer's, and loses her sanity, leading to physical abuse upon the old woman who suffered Alzheimer’s. She has been abusing the old woman for who knows how long, but the care worker was caught with a camera of her abusing the woman for 17 minutes. And because she have alzheimer’s, she couldn’t remember if she was abused or not. Telling us, that everyone can lose their sanity and does something terrible to contain their insanity, Adult or Child.

The kids in the book do things that makes them angry which is understandable, but it can also go out of hand. So do adults, and one example where there are a married couple, and the husband had cheated on the wife, and which angered the withm which lead to her cutting his penis. Sure that maybe too far, but he deserved it. He went to the hospital to get it reattached but the wife snuck in, and cut his penis off again, which is savage because she had already done so, and the husband had already learned his mistakes.  In the book, I’ve never read anything of anyone doing something as painful as what the married couple had done. Many believe that adults are less savage than children, but in truth there is an equilibrium between the way children and adults act. There are many different ways they can act, but they can act the same way at the same time.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a novel that focuses on a group of young British schoolboys whose plane crashed on a deserted island and they are the only survivors. The book travels throughout their success and failures as a group. Throughout the book, the boys have to make decisions that they wouldn’t usually do at home. The island forces them to act more mature and this causes a loss of innocence. The more dire the situation is for a child, the more they are at a loss for their innocence.

Simon was one of the main characters in the book. He is portrayed as innocent and kind to the other boys. He is the only one to see the paratrooper is what they have mistake for the beast. While he is still in the forest, Ralph has conducted the boys into a dance group. Caught up in the frenzy surrounded by darkness and rain under the influence of hunger, the boys kill Simon, which they mistake for the beast. Later on, Piggy says, “There's them on this island as would laugh at anything. And what happened? What's grown-ups goin' to think? Young Simon was murdered.” (158) Piggy says it bluntly to the boys. Once the job has been done, there is no turning back. This quote establishes that to the rest of the bunch. If the boys weren’t on this island, there isn’t much of a chance they would compose a murder spree. Living on the island for so long distorts their minds. They lose their sense of reality. Once the sense of reality is fading, all rules are gone. “Grown ups” aren’t there to scold them or place them in jail so there aren’t consequences. In their home life, they would still be locked in their innocence where there are consequences to be dealt with when mistakes are made.  It’s more than just killing a pig, they took a human’s life. This was a big step in losing their innocence.

Anne Frank is a big symbol of innocence in crucial circumstances. She went into hiding during World War II and kept a diary to document her time and thoughts. Maturing and innocence was a topic that was highly discussed. She was torn between wanting to fulfill her time as a teenager, but noticing the effects of the war affecting her. In one entry she writes, “Sometimes I wonder if anyone will ever understand what I mean, if anyone will ever overlook my ingratitude and not worry about whether or not I’m Jewish and merely see me as a teenager badly in need of some good plain fun.”(12/24/1943.3). Anne spent a great deal of time trapped away in the  security of an annex in a home in Germany. Nazi Germany to Anne is like the island for the boys. There is no way of escaping. The Nazis are Anne’s grown ups. They have all power over her and live on the outside world. Anne explores the thought of her not only being a Jewish girl in hiding. She wants to be young carefree teenager but is forced to mature faster under the war. One part of Anne is a war victim and the other is a teenager. She is torn between two personas. One she is becoming, and one she is/wants to be. The boys are like Anne in the sense that they still have their innocence in them, but events on the island are maturing them. They can’t help but transform. Survival depends on them developing into more mature teenagers.

At the end of the book, the boys paint their faces in tribal paint to get ready to hunt. The narrator says,  “The chief was sitting there, naked to the waist, his face blocked out in white and red. The tribe lay in a semicircle before him.” (119) This scene portrays the boys as a tribe with a leader. They look strong. In the next chapter, they are found by a naval officer.  The narrator says, “The boys, their bodies streaked with colored clay, sharp sticks in their hands, were standing on the beach making no noise at all.” (219) The island made them into savages, but when exposed to an adult not from the island, they are boys. They all saw each other as wild tribesmen with painted faces but behind their gilded appearance were young schoolboys. The transition from the island to reality is shown here. Once brought back into reality by the naval officer, they are in their innocence once again. When they return back home, their personalities will return back to normal. But their time on the island will always stay with them. The death of Simon and Piggy will always be remembered along with all of their struggles. Their innocence will return, but the island will affect their growth of maturity.

Children in Syria are currently living through a war. A BBC journalist, Lyse Doucet, traveled to Syria to follow six Syrian children. The children play in flooded bomb craters and tanks. One child, Ezadine, age twelve, tells Doucet, “I'm only a child in age and appearance. But in terms of morals and humanity, I'm not. In the past, a 12-year-old was considered young, but not now. Now, at 12 years, you must go for jihad." Ezadine understands the length of mental growth under the impact of the war at only nine years old. She knows she looks her age, but knows in her heart that she is matured. Jihad is an Islamic term that means “struggling” or “striving”. A military jihad refers to protecting their faith against others. Ezadine, only twelve years old, pushed back her fear and was willing to stand up for her faith. The Syrian children can’t control the war like the boys can’t leave the island. They have no choice but to adapt and change. The boys are left to mature and try to make their own decisions like the Syrian children change to protect their religion. If there was no war, Ezadine would still act like normal twelve year old as would the boys if they were back in England.

Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, is a complex story with many interpretations and subjective meanings. Showing the reality of a grim situation, Lord of Flies captures the essence of fear in the unknown and the importance of power to humans. What these stranded boys decide to do with their individual power shows the harsh mentality of nature and the selfishness humans are capable of.  Instead of helping each other using their different strengths they attacked those who were physically weaker. Do people with power have any responsibility to help people with less power than them? In the case of this novel, the answer is no. These kids care about themselves more than others. Their behavior towards having power can be somewhat blamed on the environment they were in. Alone with no authority, but this type of behavior can be seen in real world examples like bullying.

Much like children in a school, these boys bully each other out of lack of knowledge of what is morally right and morally wrong. The only difference is on a small desolate island they have no consequences to their actions. There are no adults to punish and lecture them about what is morally correct. From the very beginning of the book, Piggy was often teased for his weight. He trusted Ralph, and told what that the kids at school used to call him. From that point on we never learn his real name, everyone calls him Piggy.  ”They use to call me ‘Piggy’. Ralph shrieked with laughter. Piggy!Piggy! Ralph-please! Piggy! Piggy! I said I didn’t want to be-Piggy! Piggy! ” (11) This quote from the text hints at what life on the island will be like already.  The boys have quickly picked out the weaker lengths and put them in their place, a choice they derived off of age and physical appeal. Although they try to follow Ralph’s rules, which were all very orderly and constructive, the group split because most of them appreciated the destructive nature of killing. It is not uncommon for bullies to create what is known as bully packs, where a group of people bother the same people over and over again. The children on this island did not care about helping others, maybe a trait they adapted from the society they lived in before they crashed on this island.

Another example from, Lord of the Flies, is when Simon is attacked after all the boys mistake Simon for the non-existent beast they created. They circle him, stabbing and screaming. Simon is completely vulnerable. “ Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! Simon was crying out- The beast was on it’s knees in the center, it’s arms folded over it’s face. It was crying out against the abominable noise. At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt onto the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws.” (153) None of the boys were sure what came over them, but when they realized they were killing Simon, not a beast, they continued. Simon, similar to Piggy, was very intelligent, but like the rest of them he was going insane. Simon found the dead body at the top of the mountain, he knew the beast wasn’t real. In a way he was their defense between reality and the crazed universe they have built to conceal it. Even Piggy and Ralph, the most peaceful of the group, gave in to the relentless peer pressure and aiding in the killing of Simon. Simon could do nothing, his strength was not enough to defend himself against an entire group of boys, similar to the case of school bullies. Bullies often round up people who share a similar thirst for control. In this case Jack and Roger taught the boys to enjoy the thrill of killing and everyone joined in, no one could deny the feeling.  These boys did not worry about helping those with less power than them. They only basked in the feeling of being powerful and moved on to their next victim.

Piggy, a character from Lord of the Flies, falls victim to verbal and physical abuse throughout the story. The others proclaim him weak because of his physical appearance and anxiety prone personality, he is seen target. Immediately he is teased and ignored despite his undeniable intelligence.

“I got the couch- Then the monstrous red thing bounded across the neck and Ralph flung himself flat while the tribe shrieked. The Rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee. Piggy saying nothing, with no time for even a grunt. ” (181) This is how Piggy died on the trapped island. Trying the bring everyone together, he screamed about the importance of working as a team and staying away from violence, holding the symbol that once held them together. Instead of listening Roger rolled a giant rock off the cliff above them and killed Piggy. The kids on the island continuously ignore reality and the truth about how wrong violence is, they refuse to work together for a good cause.

Throughout the book the reader accompanies these children to a place of complete isolation and when their personalities clash, those who are considered weak are hunted. Murder becomes something to do, a fun game for the boys and it all started with the slaughtering of animals for food. Something that seemed like a survival skill suddenly became an obsession. The weaklings were disposed of, without a thought. This aspect of bullying goes further than just shredding a person’s self image. It goes further than beating each other up, but the way the boys treat each other has many connections to modern day bullying. In many cases of school bullying, bullies actions go too far, when people start to sustain serious injuries and end up hospitalized. On this island there wasn’t anyone to stop them, but if their was none of those boys would be dead.

Work Cited:

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

The more successful or powerful a person gets, it seems they will forget about the people/person that helped them along the way. As the value of their appreciation decreases, they either choose to stick around and fade to the background, get kicked out by new help or, leave in hopes that someone else will appreciate them more. What seems to happen is that the  successful person ends up needing the person that got them to where they were, but they already left. Sometimes, when a person forgets about someone who helped them succeed every step along the way, for someone or something else, the effects are not beneficial. It can backfire and hurt more than it can help it. Without realizing, it might be a little too late to fix. As people become successful, their best advisors are those who knew them before they hit it big, but they often cast those people off because once they gain success, there is no longer any use for their advisors.

In the book ‘The Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding, Piggy is the most important character of all. The author shows his personality by interacting with other characters; the other character (Ralph) seems annoyed by him. Piggy seems very talkative and not really sensible at first. When first encountering a character named ‘Piggy’ you don’t really think much. He is concerned with no being without adult supervision and wants to go home. Piggy just wants to find ways to get everyone and himself home. Leading up to this point, Piggy just spoke on and on about how his Aunt had told him about a conch and how it was used as a device to call people with the sound it makes when you blow into it. Suddenly he remembers a piece of information that can help them, “Ralph looked up. ‘We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us--””(16) Looking at this excerpt from the text, Piggy reveals very helpful information to Ralph. His recollection of his memories that pour out of his mouth like a waterfall helps bring all of the boys on the island together. Ralph instead of thanking Piggy, does not fully appreciate his talents or his efforts to try and unify the boys and tries to take control of everyone. Ralph just looks at Piggy as though everything he does is wrong. Piggy feels this but still sticks around hoping that Ralph will appreciate him in the long run. Having hope that maybe he too will help all the boys that are stranded on the island. He will try to help Ralph as much as possible only to find that Ralph forgets about him.

An example of forgetting who has helped along the way is also found in the real world. A popular kids tune, ‘Ring Around the Rosies’ can show this. In this example it shows it in a more analogical way. Historically, it is believed to be song about how people in the 1300’s died of the Bubonic Plague; also known as ‘black death’. It was so bad barely anyone survived from this wave of sickness. The meaning of the song is very morbid but, it describes the process perfectly.  This will happen over and over again until the person that has been forgotten about gets sick of it. Think of Ralph’s behavior as a ‘disease’; the more power he earns the more he neglects Piggy. This ‘disease’ of forgetting about the people who help you most is contagious. It is used again and again to help one gain. “Ashes, ashes, we all fall down.” Figuratively, it could mean the fall of power or career. Looking at it in a literal sense, it could mean death or something terrible to happen to the person who helped them most. The main point is, it becomes a sad story told over and over again like, ‘Ring Around the Rosies.’ They will reminisce on the events and how it affected them. Feeling guilt, regret and, sadness about how the treated the person who helped them the most.

In realization that he is trouble, Ralph is hiding. He is hiding from everyone who betrayed him up until this point. All the boys, including Ralph, have gone absolutely crazy. Turning on one another and losing people left and right had become the norm on the island. Without Piggy there to count and give suggestions, the boys had turned into ultimate savages. Ralph never really had thought about Piggy’s contributions to their civilizations until now. “What was the sensible thing to do? There was no Piggy to talk sense. There was no solemn assembly for debate nor dignity of the conch.”(196) The feeling of regret and guilt that was mentioned earlier, has settled in for Ralph. Now that Piggy is gone, the sensibility went with him. Piggy didn’t help the civilization, he was the civilization. Without him all the boys had become complete savages. The idea of a “solemn assembly...dignity of the conch” would not even be a thought if it weren’t for Piggy. It had happened over and over again until it did not benefit Ralph anymore. He was all alone and the one person who always had his back had left. Now, he needed Piggy more than ever. In turn, these actions backfired and became unbeneficial.

Ralph realized that he no longer needed Piggy, but when it was too late, that’s when Piggy was needed the most. Ralph was gaining more power, but pushed away his advisor without realizing the help he was going to need from him. In The Lord of the Flies, William Golding does a good job at showing that, sometimes, when a person forgets about someone who helped them succeed every step along the way the effects are not beneficial. Also, he showed that Ralph was wrong for letting go of Piggy because he was the one person who helped him the most.

WORKS CITED

"Ring around the Rosy Rhyme." Ring around the Rosy Rhyme. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2016. <http://www.rhymes.org.uk/ring_around_the_rosy.htm>.

Winick, Stephen. "Ring Around the Rosie: Metafolklore, Rhyme and Reason." Ring Around the Rosie: Metafolklore, Rhyme and Reason. Library of Congress, 24 July 2014. Web. 07 Apr. 2016. <https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2014/07/ring-around-the-rosie-metafolklore-rhyme-and-reason/>.

Keko, Don. "Ring Around the Rosie and the Black Death." Examiner.com. Examiner.com, 15 Oct. 2010. Web. 07 Apr. 2016. <http://www.examiner.com/article/ring-around-the-rosie-and-the-black-death>.

No matter the situation there will always be a leader. For a student the leader is the teacher, for the teacher, the leader is the principal, and for the principal the leader is the superintendent. No matter what the position is there will always be a leader. Without a leader there are no rules, no order, and no peace. Without a leader there is no civilization and only savagery. The reason for this being is because, for any group to be successful there has to be a leader that is willing to take on the responsibility of managing the group and leading them onto the right path. There must always be a leader that is willing to do as the name implies, lead.

In William Golding’s Lord of The flies, the question of what would happen when a group of small boys are trapped on an island is answered. The boys are trapped on the island after their plane crashes and there seems to be no adults in sight. After the boys all find each other as well as introduce each other, the book states that Ralph says; “Seems to me we ought to have a chief”(27). The boys, who barely know each other, all quickly agree with this idea and vote for a chief. It is declared that Ralph, the one who gathered the boys, is the chief and leader of the band of boys. From the fact that the first action the boys took as a collective was vote for a leader, the reader can see that the young boys understand that since they are in a foreign location where many, if not all, of them know little to nothing about how to survive on this island, a leader is needed. The boys are able to understand that without a leader many of them will die and not be able to succeed on the topic of leaving the island,  because as the saying states “United we stand, divided we fall”. And to truly be united there must be a leader that can help the group to become one. Therefore, the boys pick who they believe to be the most responsible amongst them, which they believe to be Ralph. The reason why they believe Ralph is the most responsible is because he is the one that united them. As many of them awoke on a strange island they heard the sound of a conch shell. This shell was blown by Ralph, showing that he was intelligent enough to comprehend that the sound will draw any other survivors. By doing this Ralph is already managing the boys, and leading them on a path that he believes will allow them to escape the grasp of the island, before he is even elected leader.  

If the reader delves further into Lord of The Flies they will reach a part where there is great tension on the island. This tension causes Jack to say; “You go away, Ralph. You keep to your end. This is my end and my tribe.” At this point in the story Jack, the only person that when the voting occurred in the beginning of the book was able to run for chief against Ralph, is gaining followers through the misadventures of Ralph. Ralph has set up attempts to escape the island, such as the signal fire, but they have all failed. When he attempted to organize the boys and build huts he also failed. Whilst Jack on the other hand has accomplished something that the boys have greatly wished for; hunting down and killing an animal so that they might be able to dine on meat. Under the leadership of Ralph the boys have constantly failed in everything they have done, but Jack has been able to lead his small group to success. This notable difference in the leadership of Ralph and Jack causes the boys to slowly start moving toward being ruled by Jack. From the beginning Jack has managed a group of choirboys, as the reader can see from page 19 where it says; “The creature was a small party of boys, marching approximately in step in two parallel lines….the boy who controlled them was dressed the same way….when the boy reached the platform he shouted an order and they halted” Before all of the boys are able to vote Ralph as a leader, Jack is already demonstrating that he possesses leadership qualities. Therefore it is only fitting that after Ralph has failed as a leader the boys move to Jack who has shown that he is able to manage a group of people, and even lead those people to success.

This belief and principal is also shown in the real world. After the American Revolutionary war, a new independent country faced the task of choosing a leader. According to historical records found on history.com; “On this day in 1789, George Washington becomes the first and only president to be unanimously elected.” As the American Revolutionary war proceeded George Washington became a name that everyone knew. Washington led the to be country to many victories, and essentially became a legend. Therefore when the founding fathers of America decided that there should be a president it only seemed logical for him to be president, and as history can show Washington was unanimously chosen. Much like Jack, Washington had already proven that he could lead groups to victory during the war. During the battle that occurred in the war such as the battle of Trenton and the battle of Princeton, Washington demonstrated his talent of leading groups to success, by leading the continental Army to victory. With these major victories the citizens of the thirteen colonies are seeing a person that is bringing success at a time when many people were losing hope of winning the war. From this the similarities in Washington and Jack increase even more. Washington is showing he has the potential to be an amazing leader, as Jack did, and some people even believe that if Washington was not chosen for president then the country would have rebelled and moved to Washington.

Looking at the most recent presidency, the 2012, presidency, Obama was running for re-election after successfully being elected president in 2008. Obama wins this election and is able to be president for another four years. According to a website called Chicagonow.com one of the reasons why Obama wins is because; “He has a strong incumbent in a country that is searching for a leadership miracle worker.” The fact that the website chooses to use the word “strong” shows that even when given the option of removing Obama the country will not choose to release him from office because we as a country are searching for a “leadership miracle worker” and Obama has a strong incumbent during this search. This means that Obama was essentially becoming the miracle worker that the country of America was searching for. After four years under the leadership of Obama, he has led the country on what the general public accepts as the right path. Under the rule of Obama America had greatly improved from it’s previous position. Therefore unlike Ralph, Obama is being a successful leader that is quenching the thirst that America has for success. So when the choice of voting for him a second time is given it was logical for the country to vote for him.

Ralph, Jack, George Washington, and Obama are all extremely similar people. Each single one of these people are examples of times when a society/group has noted that to be successful there must be a leader that is willing to take on the title of being responsible for a group and leading the group to success. This major characteristic that is found in these people allowed them to be the leaders they were. Ralph at first showed this trait and had a brief period where he gave the group he was in charge of ideas to success, therefore Ralph led them on the right path for a very brief time. Whilst Jack, Obama, and George Washington were able to lead their respectable groups on a pathway to success, which is shown by both Obama and George Washington being reelected, and Jack’s leadership never being ended by another leader.

Works Cited

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

"The Story of the Founding Fathers' Debate Over Presidential Power." Utne. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2016.

Laith Abuharthieh

April 7, 2016

English 2

Mrs. Pahomov

Blood Born Savages

The characteristics of savage is found in everyone. If you look deep down enough eventually you will find people who are murderous or carry some type of blood lust. Age isn’t a factor unless you make it one. A person could say children are more savage because they don’t really realize or reflect on the things they do, so if they were to do something bad they wouldn’t care because children don’t reflect on their actions. Although children don’t intend to harm someone it doesn’t change the fact that they are savages. Adults have a similar yet entirely different situation. Growing up, most people are taught how to behave and are pushed far from savagery, but when an adult begins to live their life and take their own path they have no one to tell them how to avoid being savage, so the real world takes them back to their uncivilized ways.

In the story “The Lord of the Flies,” by William Golding, there are many occasions to portray the savagery of children. Children realize that they can act however they want as soon as they notice there are no grownups or parents to tell them otherwise. In the very beginning of the book when Ralph and Piggy met, they were trying to remember how they got on the island and if there was anyone else on it. Since the realization of there being no grown ups with them, the story took its curvy path. “ In the middle of the scar he stood on his head and grinned, at the reversed fat boy, no grownups!” (9) he said this while grinning foreshadowing something terrifying due to the lack of an elder power. Since there are

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no adults to tell them what to do they must choose a leader and because they are children none of them are capable enough to lead a group of children on a deserted island.

Although the children were mindless animals, you can’t blame them for going crazy. Being taught their whole life the difference between right and wrong and out of nowhere they are able to do whatever they want. Their restrained savage ways finally came to light. This doesn’t change the fact that

grown ups surpass children when it comes to being savages. For example Donald Trump, a man who says he can “make america better’’ will ruin this country.. He claims to be fair and unbiased yet lies to the entire United States knowing he has faults and is not reasonable or fair. To ruin a whole country is as savage as it gets. America was made for everyone, not just the white race. Threatening to build a wall from the mexican border and forcing the immigrants to pay for it is a great example of being a savage. No child is capable enough to do such a thing which makes them less savage.  “I will build a great wall – and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me – and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.” In this scenario Donald Trump is  older, and has the higher power in comparison to voters. He makes some very brutal statements and because of his social power, the lower classes follow him and his ways by voting for him

If someone were to compare an adult and child thoroughly it would be impractical, but if a person were to compare the older characters to the little ones then it’s possible. In other words because there are no adults the author had to show a higher power of brutality and it was shun upon the elder characters. In “Lord of the Flies” there are no grown ups, so there had to be a conflict or a sign of savagery and it was shown through the children, especially the older and stronger ones. After Jack and

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the little ones kill the pig, Simon tells them about the beast which was a man on a parachute, they were so deep into their bloodlust they totally ignored Simon and began to chant “Kill the beast, Cut his throat,

Spill his blood”(152)  until Simon layed there lifelessly. Without even the slightest thought or feeling of regret they cooked up their pig ate the meal and continued to survive without him. Jack being their leader everyone else followed what he did and eventually they became just as bad as he was. Starting out in the story the little ones actions were not the same as they were by the end. In other words they were very clueless and afraid in the beginning by the end of the book they were ready to take away someone's life without hesitation.

WIlliam Golding presents an allegory of reality through the story “Lord of the Flies”. Politically speaking that older characters influence younger ones to become more calamitous, which means that the older humans are more ruinous than the younger ones. When children are at a younger age they normally look up to the older people, while the older people act uncivilized this rubs off on the younger ones which starts a chain of unruly people that make up our society. In this case Jack who at one point becomes leader of the little ones on the island becomes very violent and delusional but because he was the older power the little ones followed in his footsteps to be just like him, therefore his negativity has rubbed upon the children. Transitioning from innocent and confused to barbarians due to the actions of their insolence leader their negativity empowered Jack’s influence on them. Looking back at Donald Trump, his attempt at leading America is in the same category but different situation. Jack would represent Donald Trump while the little ones would be everyone voting for him. His acquired power as an elder will affect the way everyone else's actions negatively.

Works cited:

Works cited:

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

Laws and rules are made for various reasons, Laws are created because of fear. Things like murder, grand theft auto, rape, among other acts that are illegal; because people fear these things will happen to them. If there aren’t any rules people will be reduced to savagery due to the fact they can do anything they desire. However, the rules of society were not set in stone before our day, they were made to accommodate to us and avoid kaios. People need a leader to make decisions and laws put in place but, sometimes, these laws help and sometimes they hurt. Although laws are put in place to conform, configure and, protect; they may not always be for the best. Laws are put in place to protect society because of a common fear, in place making people feel safe and shielded while it may conform them.

In the midst of a very intense moment of William Golding's ‘Lord of The Flies’, Piggy who is often overlooked when it comes to leadership shines when he says, “You go howling and screaming...like a pack of kids!..How do you expect to get rescued if you don’t put first things first, and act proper?” (45). Piggy created a rule for everyone, making the Group of Castle rock then realise that continuing to executing things before it is planed or explained isn’t going to help them succeed at being rescued. After Piggy tells the boys to get their acts together, the other boy’s get hit with the reality that they may never be rescued.  The way they are acting will ruin another chance of being saved, after the hunters were more concerned about killing a pig than signaling a way out. Piggy made a rule to conform the childish ways, of the Castle Rock Clan, so instead of running because they are scared of something, they figure out what it is. This way, they properly can plan for things, so the laws make them feel safe from what they are scared of; And while they feel safe and protected, it is being used to confirm or change  their way of thinking. Piggy’s dominance stroked the boys with an odd being, instilling fear because he knew the fear of not never being rescued would be a lot for a simple-minded-child to digest, in turn he hopes that they will be motivated to follow the rule biased on the fear of being on Castle Rock forever.

When leaders are at a hult they instill fear into their people so they can conform them into wanting to fight for the cause; Seeing the ‘leader’ as a protector of the big bad events that may or may not happen.  Donald expresses how he want’s to be civil but is threatened, and talks about people turning illegal immigrants would help, "We want to be very fair but too many bad things are happening...People that are looking to destroy our country must be reported and turned in by the good people who love our country and want America to be great again." Trump helps his case by saying since he is fair, along with his nation, no actions have been taken;  However, he instills the fear that if you don’t turn a illegal immigrant in, you don’t want to ‘make America great again’ and that you aren’t a good citizen but a bad one. So in turn the citizens are scared that if they don’t turn people in they will be considered a ‘bad’ person.

At times the lack of rules results in savagery. If no rules are set in place anyone, can do anything. Jack says that he agrees with Ralph in that the boys on the island must "have rules and obey them [because] after all [they are] not savages," (Golding, 42). This conveys the thin line between civil living and compete savagery. Society need a leader to make decisions and laws put in place but sometimes they help and sometimes they hurt; Sometimes rulers have trouble of realizing what is wrong or not because ultimately law does not equal what's right. The law’s that the boys made were to be followed because they feared that they’d devolve to savagery with out the rules. In both instances they are afraid if nothing is done, other things will result in catastrophe.

Some leaders make rules, and get them approved by exciting a inner subconscious fear that we don’t know we have. People think to themselves because of my mindset ‘I am not racist or afraid,’ but some part of their subconscious will keep those stereotypes packed in the back of their minds. CNN has a campaign press release stating, "Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on". Trump wants to create airline laws to ban Muslims but this was a idea for a law that was created by fear and helps keep safe in his mind and others it is the easy solution, however leaders can't ban people because of their religion which causes conflict. An subconscious fear that muslims are terrorist biased on the muslims of isis.  Some people spin something everyone know’s into a torturous threat.  Like how Donald continuously adds lighter fluid to the flame; According to  The Slate blog, Donald talks about illegal mexicans and how “They’re taking our jobs. They’re taking our manufacturing jobs. They’re taking our money. They’re killing us.” Telling people that mexican immigrants our killing us by killing and economy that already is dead. Ensuring no matter what he has instilled fear in the people, to give reason to his new law proposal. If the fear is there, there will be a push on the law and people will follow. If the law is allowed the Citizen’s will be safe.

Although Donald, Piggy, Jack and Ralph are all different people, they are all leaders in their own right. Leaders are the people we trust to make sure what we need is accommodated to. We lean on leaders to make us feel safe and protected. Like, the rules Donald is proposing, the ones made in lord of the flies were created as an accommodation by a leader to protect themselves and society of a common fear. Just as how in Lord of The Flies Piggy installed the fear that, that they might never get saved, Donald instilled the fear in americans that mexicans will steal their jobs and muslims will make you unsafe. In both instances, they used similar methods to receive the reaction they wanted. Donald want’s the people on board with making a law for blocking mexican/american border and to ban muslims and Piggy wanted to make a rule the kids to act more civil, Although in both situations they tried to instill fear into the society they were speaking to, in some instances, people conformed and some revolted. Jack and the hunters continue to be childish, while ralph tries to make more rules; people support Donald Trump and his ideas/rules while others result. Piggy, Ralph, Jack and Donald alike want to make sure that no matter how they people something to fear or if the fear is pre-existing, they will create laws to benefit themselves and/or society. Laws are created to cater to fear, to accommodate to it by making something illegal, or setting a rule making people feel protected by the word’s their leader declares, no matter how it may change their way of thinking.

Works Cited

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

Daniel Politi. Donald Trump in Phoenix: Mexicans are “Taking our Jobs” and “Killing Us”. New York/ Washington, D.C.:Slate, 2015.

Jeremy Dimond. Donald Trump: Ban all Muslim travel to U.S. : Washington: CNN, 2015

Role Of Rules

Imagine a world without any rules or laws to tell people what’s right or wrong, Out of all of the endless possible things people can achieve, those things can lead to violent things and ruin everything that is running smoothly. People tend to make laws and rules in order to have everything run easy, simple, somewhat fair and to keep everyone safe. The person who decide these rules is considered a leader,someone who is in charge of group decisions and that the group choose to be. Although, people choose leaders based on what the leaders show not what they really are. This can cause people to be hurt by it or just plain out benefit from it. Also this is the reason people might choose to rebel against them. This situation works for rules and laws as well, having these regulations only benefit one side of the community and having that said, this will cause the resting side to rebel against these rules.

The most important thing to do when starting a community or group is to choose a leader. Without a leader things would be more complicated and less controlled in most situations. This is one of the first things that is done in “Lord Of The Flies¨ By William Golding. Kids introduce themselves and form a group. As the group increases in number, Ralph, one of the older kids holds a meeting. This is where they decipher things. ¨Seems we ought to have a chief to decide things¨. (22). Considering that this is one of the first things they have decided as a group, it makes it very important to have. It is very important to decide on a leader because it definitely gives the authority to the leader to have it organized and somewhat fair. Without a leader there would definitely cause chaos between the members and arguments. In this situation they chose Ralph because he was the one in control of the meeting and was the reason they are all joined together in one place therefore he showed some characteristics of a leader. After that he appointed Jack the leader of the hunting team. To sum it all up, they chose these leaders based on what people see and what the leader display. This will come back and bite them as the story goes on while they seem not to be what they actually show.

To relate this on how the United States decides on what leader they need or is necessary they have a leader called the president. In the U.S our citizens vote for their leaders. The head of the government is the president of the United States, he proposes new laws and rules for our country. According to “ask.com”,¨The president has the ability to veto laws made by congress and can issue executive order. The president also commands the military, which is significant because the U.S...¨. This definitely answers the question of why it is important for us to have a leader and why it is important for them to make laws and rules. Although these citizens only have the option to choose their leader based on what they claim they are. They can say tons of stuff about themselves and what they are going to do but might not actually do those things.and that will cause people to rebel against this leader.

There are plenty of rules and laws created that will only benefit a certain amount of people. Although that certain amount of people would be the majority of the group. While it benefits them, on the other side of the group, it will be hurting them. Their is a similar situation in ¨Lord Of The Flies¨ when the group decides to start a fire. They begin to form a fire although they encounter a problem of not having anything to start it with. ¨His specs---use them as burning glasses!.... ¨Here let me go!¨ (40)The group is in need of something to spark a fire, and they choose Piggy's specs as a “lighter. This causes Piggy to get upset and be sad. This is a perfect example of how this rule or command is benefiting only one side of a group and hurting the other. The group is benefiting from the glasses by using them to start the fire while Piggy is walking around blind and unhappy. We can also see how this is benefiting only the majority of the group. They’re tons of situations where this is portrayed in real life, from politics to society norms.

They’re plenty of ways that rules made to affect people in a bad way but others in a good way. This unfairness can be found in society, organizations, politics Etc. In some situations, somethings can be adjusted to make it more fair although most of the time there is no way to change it and there will always be a side that is being affected in a good or bad way. In a Buzzfeed post called “25 stages of getting randomly selected by airport security also known as flying while Brown”. There is a rule in airport security where if people or their bags look suspicious then they are allowed to check them. Although, “looking suspicious” could be interpreted in multiple of different ways by plenty of different people. Most common misinterpretation is checking someone because they look muslim or like a certain race or religion a terrorist group is in. The security would check these people and take up almost all of their time while they are most likely innocent. This connects back to the thesis by showing how it is benefiting only a certain amount of people. The people benefiting from this would be the airport itself and people boarding the plane. This would probably give them more comfort while boarding the plane while on the other hand it is taking too much unnecessary time from the person and giving them uncomfort and disrespect.

To wrap up, they’re plenty of different rules and regulations that have a reason behind them. In an amazing fictional book, young kids first instinct as a group is to decide a leader. That decision is very essential to a group’s health and environment.  As well as creating rules that affect certain parts of a group in a bad and good way. In“Lord Of The Flies” there was a situation where the rules were not fair and connecting that to a real life situation. We noticed that these rules will affect the majority of the group in a good way in most situations and it will give the rest a bad result. At the end of the day, rules will never benefit everyone but only a few and being part of that “few” could be very likely or unlikely depending on the situation.

Works Cited Page:

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

Akbar, Ahmed Ali. "25 Stages Of Getting "Randomly" Selected By Airport Security." BuzzFeed. Web. 06 Apr. 2016

"Why Is the President an Important Person?" Ask. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

Kimberly Barnes

English 2

Ms. Pahomov

3/31/15

Heed to Hiercharchy

It is often questioned if leadership, needs a hiercharchy. In both real world and fictional examples, it can be agreed that it does. There are many moments in history where humans have needed leadership. Often times, upon receiving the leadership needed, people often find themselves able to see the advantages of setting up one.  A need for a leader  is driven by the unstructured or disorganized way by which things are going. This can only be solved through peaceful resolution and the understanding of one another’s opinions. Leadership makes this possible, while at the same time keeping everyone unified.

In order for leadership to be productive, a hierarchy is needed. Not just any hiercharchy but one with the potential to lead, bred, and able to handle the leadership. If not, leadership won’t be successful.

Leadership is the backbone by which organizations and civilization rely on. In order to have a productive way of leading, leaders are created from the followers. However, we choose who takes on that role, whether by looks or even by what it offered to us. No matter how that leader is chosen, people in time always see the advantage of establishing one.

In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Ralph, a young boy who is first to explore the island, after he and other boys were stranded due to a plane crash, manages to call all the other stranded boys together. Upon witnessing their chaotic behavior and their anxiety because of their current situation, he immediately realized that having a leader would help the boys become more civilized and easier to deal with, suggests a leader for the group. “There was a buzz. One of the smaller boys, Henry, said that he wanted to go home… Shut up, Ralph said absently. Seems to me we ought to have a leader to decide things. A chief A chief! They boys shouted.” (22) The suggestion of a leader by Ralph was due to the lack of control  over the boys. Without leadership, there would be no direction or any guidance on how to live on and go about the island. It was soon decided that Ralph would be a good leader. If the boys continued to panic, they would become  less civilized. So, someone needed to take the stand. Ralph did this, showing that leadership needs hiercharchy. Often times, a leader will take the scepter and take a stand, leadership cannot be productive if it is not exercised. By doing this Ralph, allowed room for structure to enter. Ralph was not just chosen to be a leader, because he introduced the idea but because of the potential he had that the boys could see.

Just as it was recognized in Lord of the Flies, that a hiercharchy was needed, it is the same in the real world today.  Both social and political systems, are a living proof for why leadership needs a hiercharchy. Without a leader, there would be a division in culture and even ideas. People would have their own views, and ways of leading. This would lead to an unsolved solution. There would be no peaceful agreement. This is why according to leadership. Org “Hiercharchy is like a container, holding, everyone’s ideas but in one place. “  The establishment of a hierarchy is used in many governmental systems today. Specifically democracy. Although democracy is a “power to the people” type of political system, there is still someone needed to organize the people and their opinions. This is to create and establish organization. If everyone was given the leading “baton” there would be no order established. This would then have a bad effect on both society and the way the world is run. There wouldn’t be someone to establish protocol or rules.   According to hbr.com, “Hiercharchy adds structure and regularity to our lives. They provide psychic nourishment, and the ability to organize.” Without hiercharchy, people would constantly seek for source or order and stability. Hierarchies are set so that all power would not be in every person’s hands. This is to avoid chaos and a scattered system. . When things are structured everything falls into place. Our voices are easier to be heard and understood. No matter the form, there is always a leading person chosen to take on this role.  

Further on into the story, we see how the setting up Ralph as hiercharchy helped the boys become more civilized and organized. Ralph’s idea to have a head “chief” began to have a big role in on both the boys and their emotions. Many squabbles and fights were avoided, because Ralph set order. Upon one point of the story, Ralph ask the boys a question that will shape the and allow them to be understanding of the need for a leader. “Which is better, to have rules and agree or to hunt and kill?” (187). Ralph asked the boys this to show them  why having a leader was so important. It made everything much better and less savage. To set and guide, so that everyone could be unified and come to an agreement on things. No one would just have a scattered voice, but one communal one. The boys were beginning to become more savage. They wanted to kill and hunt, but did not organize themselves in a way that this could be done. This created more problems for them. This made Ralph stand up and show them why it was important for a leader to be set. This was so that further arguing would be avoided. This is a common reason for why a hierarchy is needed. Often times, when leadership is structured it is easier for things to be done and agreed upon. Rules keep our daily lives in check and in tact. Humans often look for guides to get a head start. This is what Ralph was doing. He was guiding the boys so that their actions would be successful and their community. A hiercharchy is there so that people can stick together and come to an agreement. It helps organize everyone’s ideas into something that can be agreed upon.

Both in the real world and fictional, the need for a hiercharchy is always recognized. In both Lord of the Flies, and in most democracies, although a voice was given to the people, there was someone who needed to be able to organize these voices. The hierarchy was chosen, based on their potential and trust. Humans often pick our leaders, based on how much they offer and their ability to set rules in place. Just as rules were needed to keep the boys unified in together, this same rule applies in our world. Similarly, needing a leader to set up these rules. always someone that will take and organize the voice and establish order. The boys in the book and even people in general always experience the advantage of having a leader. A hiercharchy was set up for the same reason, there was a need for civilization. Ralph was chosen because of his potential and influence, just as our hierarchies in our world are often chosen by. The boys trusted Ralph to hear their voice just a we trust our hierarchies to hear ours. With hierarchies, a reliance and trust is formed because of the the expected structure that comes with a hiercharchy. So yes, even leadership needs a leader.

Works Cited

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

2. "Why Hierarchies Thrive." Harvard Business Review. Harvard Business Center, 01 Mar. 2003. Web. 07 Apr. 2016. <https://hbr.org/2003/03/why-hierarchies-thrive>.

3. Himble, Tim. "Leadership." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 02 Feb. 2009. Web. 07 Apr. 2016. <http://www.economist.com/node/13051551>.

The different environments that humans are placed in has a huge role that shapes their life. Some may not even realize or notice the changes and some may ask “What are the changes?” There are usually two alternatives of how the changes will turn out based on how the person act. It is either savage or civilized. Someone who is savage is violent and uncontrollable and someone who is civilized is well mannered and polite. However, this behavior is not permanent. A person can always change from being civilized or savage based on the different environment.

In the beginning of “The Lord of The Flies” by William Golding,  the children were stranded on an island due to an accident where no adults remain. Since there were no adults, the children that were on the island needed to choose a leader and it was either between Ralph and Jack. Ralph got the most votes which means Ralph became chief. Even though he won, he still shared his power with Jack, “Jack’s in charge of the choir. They can be-what do you want them to be” (Pg 23). Ralph was civilized by sharing his power to get Jack on his side. The audience can tell that Ralph is trying to keep everyone together since he is the leader. He even makes rules such as whoever holds the conch can talk. The conch represents hope for the boys to follow orders and to be civilized. Since they are on their own now, they can not depend on their parents as they used to.

This relates to the real world example of “Black lives matter”. Black lives matter is an activist movement that started in 2012 after Trayvon Martin was murdered by a neighborhood watch volunteer. The main point of this movement was to show that black lives matter. One example that happened in many schools is when the students dropped themselves on the floor for 60 seconds to support the movement. This is a civilized movement that does not require killing anyone. Their environment of where these events take place were placed on their own website for others who are interested to catch up on the events that are going on or about to go on. Based on their official website http://blacklivesmatter.com/, there was a quote that says, “This is not a moment but a movement”. This shows how they are approaching this in a civilized way. They are not ignoring it and killing every police or plotting revenge. In this case, it shows how they are trying to be civilized based on what had happen.  Although, there are probably thousands or millions of people pissed about the unfair case in which was the death of Trayvon Martin.

The Trayvon Martin case was a case about a 17 year old African American boy who was shot to death by George Zimmerman or the neighborhood watch volunteer which has been stated earlier. “I shot Martin in Self defense” was what Zimmerman said during the trial according to the news, CNN. The fact that he got away with this proves how savage he is because either way, he did kill him. This does not justify his death. Trayvon Martin was shot because of being mistaken for having a gun when he actually have a Arizona bottle. This could have been a fear of Trayvon Martin possessing a gun since it was an environment that Zimmerman was not very familiar with. The environment that Trayvon Martin was in was his neighborhood which caused his death since he looked suspicious. Zimmerman was afraid. This caused him to not make the right choice because Trayvon Martin was still killed by getting shot. He could have admitted that he was afraid but he did not and he still got away with it, this shows savagery. Fear is something that everyone has at least once in their life and it can be a uneasy feeling that affects a lot of people.

In the book of “The Lord of The Flies, there was a moment towards the end where the tribe killed Simon. Ralph and Piggy desperately tried to maintain the rule of the tribe but when fear approached them, everything went downhill because they became savage. They had mistaken Simon as the beast therefore killing him. “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood” (Pg 186) This quote was said before they killed Simon, they were just doing a ritual until they saw something moving. In the beginning of the book, they would have not killed whatever was moving but run. Instead, they killed the beast. This shows how this environment that the children were placed in has caused them to become savage. They were trying to be brave which showed how they were not afraid of what’s out there but in reality they feared each other.

In conclusion, based on the information that has been given, environment had a huge impact on children. In the beginning of the “Lord of the Flies”, the children got stuck on an island due to an accident and at the end of the book, the children changed. Since they had been stranded on the island for so long they became savage. Their mindset on their environment poisoned them to survive. Fear became a trouble for them and that pushed them to a crueler side making them kill for no reason just like in Simon’s case where they thought of him as the beast, therefore killing him. Same thing as the real world example but in the opposite direction. The environment where Zimmerman was at could have caused him to killed Trayvon due to fear of him having a gun which is savage since he didn’t. But they made a movement called the Black lives matter to support black people’s lives in ways that does not involve killing one another. This is called being civilized. Therefore, this proves how a different environment has an effect on a person on whether they become savage or civilized.

Work Cited

1. Golding, William. Lord of the Flies: A Novel. New York: Perigee, 2006. Print.

2. Botelho, Greg, and Holly Yan. "George Zimmerman Found Not Guilty of Murder in Trayvon Martin's Death." CNN. Greg Botelho and Holly Yan: Cable News Network, 14 July 2013. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

3. Garza, Alicia, Opal Tometi, and Patrisse Cullors. "Black Lives Matter Freedom & Justice for All Black Lives." Black Lives Matter RSS2. Black Lives Matter. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.
   

Jhazzelle Majarucon

Nurture vs. Nature

What controls human behavior? This question may have a lot of answers to it, but most people believe that humans have self-control. Some may say that it is all because of the genes; the things that a person is born with. However, not only do others believe in that but, some considers the environment as one of the factors that influences human behavior. Humans also interact and socialize with other people which builds up conflict, agreement, disagreement, and confusion. That causes change and the development of one’s mind. The environment influences the way people live, act, and deal with things. A change in behavior may occur as the environment changes.

In the beginning of the novel, “The Lord of The Flies” by William Golding, the children whose plane crashed on an isolated island showed their innocence and their child-like personalities. But, as the situation gets harder and harder each day they realized that due to the absence of the adults or any assistance, things were a lot harder. This caused most of them to transition from being modest to savage. In chapter 4 of the book, Jack, the chief of his own tribe, had a new strategy for hunting where he wanted to look like something else. So, he painted this mask on his face using a charcoal stick to conceal his features as it showed change in his personality. “The mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness.” (64) At this point of the story, it showed that the freedom offered to Jack by the island allowed him to express the darker sides of his personality that he hid from the beliefs of his past environment. The mask hides Jack away because it turned him into an aggressive and savage version of himself. The mask allowed Jack and the other children to conceal their identities as they were free from becoming a “new person”. Not only did the mask conceal Jack’s identity, but it gave him more power which made others scared and intimidated of Jack.

Rituals began to form on the island with the children as it happened on a daily basis. The rituals may have benefitted them for survival and coordination, but, these rituals had a serious effect on their minds and behaviors. The children turned out to be savages throughout the course of the book as they do things more as their way of entertainment. The island gave them too much freedom which allowed them to show the dark sides of themselves. “Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!” (114) This was the chant that they would use either at the last moment of a hunt or in celebration of their successful hunt. The words clearly shows the act of violence in the children and how they connect violence with entertainment. At this point of the story, they were chanting for the excitement of having a fresh flesh from the pig as it showed their satisfaction of killing a pig. Based on their experiences on the island the children’s mindsets have changed in a way that violence wasn’t feared among them. But because they see violence as entertainment they still tend to have the mindset of a child. If they were a grown up, violence would be done in a serious manner and not in a jokingly manner like the children in the book. I think that Golding tried to show the difference between the mindset of a child versus the mindset of an adult based off of an unfamiliar situation in the wilderness while showing the relationship between the people and their environment.

In the real world,  children are more likely to be influenced by their surroundings because of their “nature” which is the gene and “nurture”, the way the person was raised growing up. According to Judith Rich Harris, a psychology researcher who is also the author of The Nurture Assumption, heredity and environment are two things that shapes a child. She described the difference between “nurture” and  “nature”. She says that using nurture as a synonym for environment is based off of the assumption about what influences a child’s growth, apart from genes, is how the child was brought up along with its surroundings. “The environment is just as important as the genes. The things children experience while they are growing up are just as important as the things they are born with.” (nytimes.com) She is saying that not everything is genetic; human minds are shaped by how they were raised and what they are surrounded by. Not only do genes make people who they are but the surroundings impact a person’s individuality.  This relates back to my thesis statement and my examples from the paragraphs above because it shows the importance of the environment in shaping individuals just like how the island shaped the actions and thoughts of the children.

Another example in the real world that relates to my above examples from the book is from the source, environment.yale.edu talking about “How personality traits are associated with environmental engagement”. Scientists and psychologists have done studies about different personalities that correlates to environment engagement. They knew that to change a person’s behavior towards the environment, they had to understand the personality of the person. “Personality informs people’s beliefs, values, and attitudes, and scientists have found that personality factors can influence our likelihood to engage in environmentally sensitive practices.” (environment.yale.edu) What the author is trying to say is that the change in behavior in an environment is all because of the psychological factors that affect a person’s attitude. Personalities does affect the environment just like how the environment affects a person. One can’t take away someone’s personality because it is already built into that person’s system, but it can always be altered by the environment. No matter how much a person’s behavior is affected by its surroundings its individual-level personality traits will always remain.

In conclusion, there are a lot of ways that a person’s behavior can be changed or developed. The children in the book had created new personalities to themselves because the island gave them a lot of freedom to express themselves and liberate their real identity. The change in environment resulted in the change of behavior. We are always built with our own traits but it can always be altered by our environment and the people around us. In short, it’s not always about the genes or the things we were born with; our surroundings moves and shapes us and it will determine what a person’s future self will be tomorrow. To end all this, I conclude that the environment does affect us as individuals and a person continues to develop itself in the surrounding that it is in.

Works Cited:

Golding, William. Lord of The Flies

New York: Perigee, 2006

Harris, Judith Rich. "The Nurture Assumption." Nytimes. The New York Times Company, 1998. Web. 7 Apr. 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/h/harris-nurture.html

Thomas, Liz. "How Personality Traits Are Associated with Environmental Engagement." Environment.yale. Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, 31 Mar. 2014. Web. 7 Apr. 2016. https://environment.yale.edu/yer/article/how-personality-traits-are-associated-with-environmental-engagement