Caleb McCreary

                     Mrs. Pahomov + Mrs. Rhymer

                     English 2

                     March 26, 2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

                Works Cited:

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

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

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

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

I remember when I was very young, and I was playing in your garden. I can vividly picture the Marigolds you were growing. They were red and orange, they were as vibrant as you were. I remember you holding me in your long arms, as I played with your dark hair. When I look at you now, I do not see her.You are not my grandmother; You have lost your beautiful hair. Who has taken your life away?

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.It’s my fault, really. Mom’s visited you dozens of times and I’ve come up with an excuse not to go with her every single time. I think the last time I saw you was two years ago on your birthday, right around when you began treatment. All of your hair was gone - and you were so weak.I was terrified. I remember going home and crying for hours after seeing you. I didn’t want to think about you being sick, I didn’t want to think about losing you.

I want to apologize for not writing letters to you. How do you write to someone who’s dying? Dear Grandma, how’s the chemotherapy? How much weight have you lost? How much longer do you have left to live?

Grandma, I can’t look at you. I don’t even want to think about the tubes and needles this hospital’s stuck inside of you.

God, this hospital.

It took me almost half an hour to find your room! This place is a hedge maze of diagnoses and spinal taps. This place smells like formaldehyde , and the fluorescent lights are giving me a migraine! You wanna know something? A few months ago I took the bus by myself for two hours straight to get here.I talked to that woman at the front desk who reeks of perfume --- and you know what? Before she could tell me what room you were in, I left. I took the bus back home, and thought to myself -- what was I thinking? I knew even before I left that I would end up turning back.

Is it selfish that the only reason I’ve visited you today is because you’re in a coma -- Because you have no possible way of responding? I swear, if I knew that you would get this sick I would have come earlier, I swear. It’s just hard for me. I hate seeing you like this. I can’t imagine how you must feel -- though. I bet everyone is treating you like a child. I know that’s not who you are. I know for a fact that all of these gifts in here aren’t making you any happier. I don’t know why anyone thought that teddy bears and cheap Hallmark cards would make you any better. I should’ve been here to offer you something thoughtful, even if it was just talking to you, or playing the music that you used to play for me when I was younger.

I’m sorry.

Anyway, I’ve brought you flowers. I know you can’t see them right now, but I hope that when you wake up, you’ll see them and know that I was here. They’re marigolds.

I laugh in between fast breaths. My twin brother and our friends chased each other around a field fearing nothing except failure. Nothing could be worse than getting frozen in freeze tag, I thought.

As my feet hit the ground, a sudden heaviness wrapped around my ribs. Wisps of constriction began to infect my throat, and I notice that following each inhale, there is a noticeable croak. I stop running. Forget being frozen, I remember being told  ‘an asthma attack can hurt you very badly’. I reach into my back pocket, where a blue inhaler hides. By now however, all my friends are familiar with my asthma. They keep playing, my brother nods to me,

“Are you okay?” He twin-spoke, using the noiseless and lucid language that only two people on the entire planet know.

“Yes, just a second.” I reply, taking the protective cap off of the device I’ve used many, many times now. I sit cross-legged in the dirt, as I feel an invisible twine wrap around my throat. I hold the inhaler to my lips, and pump the device twice. Almost instantly, I feel medicine charge down my throat, and rip through the constriction. I inhale all the air I can, again, again, and again once more. I take a moment to stuff the inhaler back into my jeans, and I stand, catching up with my friends.

I cannot remember a point in my life where I was not carrying an inhaler. I’ve always had a weird relationship with it. When I was very young, it was something that I just carried wherever I went. Sometimes, I would pretend that it was something very special, and I was chosen to carry it. As I got older however, I became more aware that this device was made to save my own life. I was first introduced to the idea of death by asthma when watching a news segment where a woman mourns the loss of her husband, who died during an asthma attack. I remember being paralyzed with fear, and very confused. I knew having an asthma attack was dangerous, but I never imagined myself being seriously injured during one.

For a few years after that, I remember becoming aware of the fact that medicine cost money, and ultimately that inhalers weren’t cheap. Most of the time, I was afraid to check the counter built inside the inhaler, which counted how many more doses were left. If it was too low, my parents would have to buy a new one. This made me very nervous, I thought that my parents buying me an inhaler would make our family go broke. I was almost always fearing an attack, not out of fear for my own health, but out of the idea that the medicine I would always need was expensive and would be always be expensive.

After over fifteen years of living with Asthma, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are many others with the disease, and most of them live perfectly normal lives, and are able to enjoy the things they want to learn. This realization helped me grow out of the complex I grew to have, in which I believed I was a sick child who could not do things normally. Truly, you can live a normal live with Asthma, you just need to be willing to do things you’re excited for without fear. As I continue to learn more about Asthma and how it affects me, I understand my own body, and my own world better. I was intimidated by Asthma when I was younger, but as I learn more about myself, I learn how to worry less, and breathe without much worry.

I’ve come a long way since when my research into sexual health in our city began in February. In that first post, I breezed over how there is a sparisity of inclusive and helpful curricula explaining how to execute safe sex.  After that initial research, I started collecting information concerning how teens can be affected by the word around them, ultimately being detrimental towards their sexual health. During my original research with SLA’s Sex-Ed teacher, I learned that mental health and drug use strongly affect whether or not you practice safe sex, and furthermore get STDs. That research opened up new possibilities on how to create an agent of change, as there are many perspectives in this city, each dealing with different issues in their own world, and each possibly having different views on what safe sex is. That realization made me decide that the only way to realistically talk about Philadelphia’s teenagers, and how they think of safe sex, is to ask them. I cannot speak for all of them. So, I decided to make a short film, consisting of multiple answers to the same question: “What is safe sex?”

I wanted to create a short film because it would allow me to explain a subject in a broader way, when compared to a poster or a petition that would be created by me. A short film, presented the way I am presenting it, is what it is. It’s not open to interpretation, it’s just a number of perspectives answering a question. My experience actually creating the short film was interesting, as I thought it would be. The structure I created for the film would be a screen with the question, and then the students’ multiple answers to it. In between each question, would be facts I have collected throughout my research which connect to the theme of safe sex. I would try to make it look as visually attractive as possible, not unlike a Buzzfeed or Insider video, so that people are more inclined to keep watching, When I actually went ahead and started finding people to record answers for, there were plenty of people interested in providing a short answer. It was, though, pretty awkward for them. Most students provided a similar answer when I asked them to talk about what they think safe sex is: Use a condom so you will not get STDs. Only one student I talked to mentioned consent , and only one student talked about birth control.

If I could do this project over again, I would definitely spend more time planning the actual short film. I was faced with a bunch of possibilities for the movie, and I should have been more prepared, and I should have made the movie a few days before the due date, if not a whole week or more. I procrastinated, which ended up screwing me over towards the end, but I am glad with how it ended up.

In my first blog post, I discussed the lack of sex education on a national level, as well as within the city of Philadelphia. I also talked about what could happen to a teenager if precautions are not taken before sex. Pregnancy, STDs, STIs, and other issues can occur when the necessary precautions are not taken before sexual activity. I talked about our country has a really high rate of teen pregnancy, and that our city has a pretty high amount of STDs. Since that initial post, I have learned much more about this topic, thanks to a primary source.

I conducted an interview to contribute to my own research. I interviewed SLA’s health teacher, Pia Martin. During our short interview, she brought up multiple excellent points that I have never even thought of. She explained that teens with depression or low self esteem were likely to engage in dangerous sexual activity. She also explained that drug use was a huge issue with teens, and said that it contributed to the STD statistics for teens. I looked into this claim, and found multiple sources that explained that drug use increased the chance of STDs.

The new information gathered from my interview added to my pre-obtained knowledge by providing great insight that could be translated to new information to cite, and widened my own perspective of the topic of safe sex among teenagers. In terms of personal opinions, I think that although it’s irresponsible to have a child or engage in sexual behavior (without protection), it’s a problem that’s bigger than the child itself, and more can and should be done to prevent it from happening. I still believe that it is essential to provide a decent sex education to ensure the safe future of teenagers. I also think that the idea that mental illness is involved with this issue brings a whole new dynamic to what needs to be done. We should also be concerned of the mental wellbeing of our teens! It should be a no-brainer, but obviously, there still needs to be change.

For my ‘agent of change’, I wish to design and distribute posters. I would ideally put them inside the school, and around the city. On the poster, I would put some scary statistic in bolded red, such as “Scary STD kills 2000 kids a second.” (something like this). This would be an interesting endeavor because not only would I have to compile information that could be useful for the poster, I would have to design the poster in such a way that would attract people walking by.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

I have zero personal connection to this topic. The people I know that do choose to have sex usually do it safely, and make it a casual and not unusual thing. I admire this, because I feel like there is a weird stigma towards safe sex, or rather, having to worry about putting a condom on, having  a conversation, or making sure you’re ready before sex. It matters to me that this stigma is wiped away, and replaced by an enthusiasm to be safe! That being said, it is important for teenagers to realize that it is essential to take precautions and be careful before, during, and after sex.

Within the various resources I explored, I grimaced at the various statistics, stories, and other sources that ultimately paint a disgusting portrait of chlamydia, different pregnancy rates between races, and infertility. The CDC reported in 2015 that 229,715 children were born to 15-19 year old women. While actually being lower than previous years, the CDC incidentally reports that that the U.S has a “teen pregnancy rate [which is] substantially higher than other western industrialized nations”. While unwanted teen pregnancy certainly affects the individual, it’s essential to consider how the people living among this problem go through. The CDC has also reported that “teen pregnancy and childbirth accounted for at least $9.4 billion in costs to U.S. taxpayers for increased health care and foster care, increased incarceration rates among children of teen parents, and lost tax revenue because of lower educational attainment and income among teen mothers.” Pregnancy and STIs can be avoided using multiple tools and dialogue. There are multiple tools (condoms, lubricant, dental dams, etc.) that make sex between you and another person safer, and more comfortable.

Such as the ones included in this photo, there are many ways to use birth control. Often, you can find condoms or other methods to prevent pregnancy/STDs for free in school, or outside location.

ANN BIB