Isabela Curtin

Ms. Pahomov

English II

25 March 2019

Trauma: A Cycle

Lord of the Flies by William Golding presents a story of 13 boys who crashed onto a deserted island. Over time, these children's personalities began to transform. The more separated and desperate the boys became, the more volatile their actions became. Being left alone and helpless on the island took a mental toll on the boys, similar to that of soldiers in WWII. This cycle of trauma can be seen in the real world by looking at the mental effects of WWII  in soldiers suffering from PTSD.

When the boys landed on the island, they acted like they were fine being alone and separated from their parents. This can be seen with Piggy and Ralph in their first interactions when Ralph says, "Aren’t there any grown-ups at all?" to which Piggy replies  "I don’t think so." (8, Golding). After this, Golding describes Ralph as having, “The delight of a new ambition” (8, Golding) overcome him. It’s almost as if Ralph had a fantasy of being independent from adults. This fantasy of being separated from authority figures and choosing a path at a young age can be also seen at the start and during WW2.  In the article, “World War Two Veterans: 'The people who say they weren’t frightened are liars” Clifford Guard tells the story of how he enlisted into the army at the age of 15:

I went to New York, and I met a physician who asked me what I wanted to

do with my life. I said I’d like to become an American sailor, and he said,

‘... you’re not a citizen – but I can get you in the army.’(Buist, Erica. 2015)

While the boys in Lord of the Flies, such as Clifford Guard, did not ask to be separated from their parents, some saw their journeys in a positive light. For both young WW2 recruits and the children in Lord of the Flies, this positive outlook did not last long.

As any thoughtful person would realize, taking a young child out of the safety of their home and throwing them into the horrors of war is going to cause that child to go through many emotions and will affect them for a lifetime. These effects include anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression.  Gilbert Arbiso, for example, described his reaction to being shipped out with the Navy for the first time to Newsweek: “[I wanted to go home, I was home sick,] I cried all night. Some of the older fellas said, ‘Look, son. You can’t get out and can’t go home.’”

The same reactions can be seen with multiple boys in Lord of the Flies. After a couple of days on the island, fear starts to surround the boys. Distress is clearly shown in one of the meetings Ralph calls. “The littluns were no longer silent. They were reminded of their personal sorrows, and perhaps felt themselves to share in a sorrow that was universal. They began to cry in sympathy” (87, Golding). This dread does not just overtake the little children on the island though, it takes over the older characters who are supposed to be shown as the strong leaders of this island community. The most poignant scene demonstrating this is Ralph walking along the beach, thinking about life. “Pacing by the water. . .He found himself understanding the wearisomeness of this life, where every path was an improvisation and a considerable part of one's waking life was spent watching one's feet” (76, Golding). All three of these examples show another key piece to the cycle of trauma: acceptance. In other words,  the truth of their situation is sinking in. Acceptance can manifest itself in several ways. Littluns and Gilbert Arbiso cried after realizing they were trapped on the island, while Ralph expressed what can be interpreted as pure shock.

Eventually, the kids in Lord of Flies complete the cycle of trauma they woke up on a deserted island separated from authority figures who can tell them what is right or wrong. The boys then emotionally spiraled out of control until they eventually killed people in their own group and burned down their island. They have all participated in or witnessed this destruction, which in an ideal world no child should ever have to witness. This separation and isolation is an eerily similar parallel to the experiences of WW2 veterans. Like the book’s characters, veterans also had to face the harsh question of whether their actions are moral. Many WW2 veterans faced the choice of whether to kill in order to survive the day. They also witnessed a raw, sometimes ugly, side of human nature that few in civilized society get to experience.

War the central theme in the book Lord of the Flies.  Since the book was written only eight years after the end of World War 2,  Golding most likely had this real-world event in mind. The author used little boys to represent how anyone could find themselves in the middle of chaos and conflict given the proper set of circumstances.  The boys can also represent innocence, we possess before life gives us dilemmas, and traumatic events.

This essay analyzes the journey of the boys in Lord of the Flies while showing a comparison to the experience of combat soldiers in World War 2. The essay presents how both stranded schoolboys and the innocent army recruits start off innocent and unaware of what events will hit them. As time moves on, however, both become subjected to loneliness, sadness, and life or death situations, causing immense emotional trauma A.K.A Post Traumatic Stress Disorder..

Works Cited

Buist, Erica. “World War Two Veterans: 'The People Who Say They Weren't Frightened Are Liars.'” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 6 June 2015, www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/06/d-day-anniversary-veterans-remember-years-living-dangerously.

Edition, Newsweek Special. “World War Two Veterans Share Firsthand Accounts of the War.” Newsweek,

27 Mar. 2016, www.newsweek.com/soldiers-stories-325883.

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. Spark Publishing, 2014.

“War.” William Golding, www.william-golding.co.uk/explore-search/war.

THE LIGHTS

Did everything turn off? I hear the faint click of electrical appliances shut down left and right. My mother rolls her eyes and groans. She places the dish she was washing down and goes to the basement.  When she comes back up, her confused face says it all; our power circuit was fine.

People walk past our window. I need to check this out. It’s freezing out here I don’t understand why people would voluntarily go out at this time. The night sky shrouds everyone's face but I know general confusion is in the air.

The city skyline is beautiful, the fact that it’s the only light source really makes it shine. W-wait, why are the lights turning off? There is no more light. What the hell is happening?  

Let's go home, I’m cold and tired. Everything will probably be okay when we wake up...right? Mom nods her head in approval.

This blanket is comfy, Goodnight! Love you!

IT'S FREEZING! Guess the heater still isn’t working? The TV isn’t on and I can’t hear mom making her daily batch of coffee. Something must be up?

Thank god, she left some cereal! Hmm, what this.

“Had to leave for a meeting, back at 5. I would have texted you but it seems the power is still out. Have a good day and don’t be late for school!”

                                                                          - Love, Mom

Ah shoot, I need to get ready. What time is it? 7:00 okay. I got some time.  

I can just tell I'm going to be late, but at this point, I honestly don’t care. WHEW, how cold is it going to get? The amount of cars in the street is alarming, oh the street lights don’t work, that's why.

Who is honking so loud? Jesus Christ, we get it. Wait why is he getting out of the car I-.

Oh, man, are they going to fight... yup they are fighting.

You know what I’m just going to keep it pushing because I don’t have time for any of that. That crazy though… people cango one night without power and act like they lost everything.

I'm finally here, why is everyone in the schoolyard?

Wait really, they closed the schools because of a blackout?! Thank god because I had this biology assignment to finish. What do you think caused this blackout? Really, that’s… crazy. Umm okay, see you soon!

Did she really say that the power was out for the entire country? How could that happen, isn’t that impossible? I’ve only heard that in fictional stories, but for it to come true is insane.

Okay, so the country might not have power for weeks or even longer, what can I do, oh my god what can I do!

I know we need food. Okay, okay how much do I have? Okay, 35$ I can make this work.

Take a right on 22nd and then... Okay, there it is!

I guess people had the same idea whew. Ignore them we have to get dry food, remember nonperishable.

Crackers, soup what else OH of course water. Where would that be?

“Excuse me” I swear if this lady pushes me one more time.

Done! Great now I have to shove myself through this isle chalked full of people.

“Hi yes, that all. Do I put the cash in the bucket? Okay, thank you!”

At least I have some food for me and my mom… but will it last until the power comes back?

I can't fully remember the crowded airports and hours of waiting that took place when I immigrated to Philadelphia, but my family does. “Don’t worry abuelito and abuelita I will always have you in my heart” my mother those were one of the last words I said to grandfather and grandmother before I left for Philadelphia.

I have always taken pride in the fact that I was born in Ecuador, and how my family immigrated with little resources grew to where we are today. Immigrating to Philadelphia at a young age was grueling. I would be lying if I said it was all sunshine and rainbows.

There were days where I would walk home crying because the words on the board and in books were too hard for me to comprehend. I can still recall the guttural feeling shame and fear when I walked to schools some days. My mother noticed this and decided to push me into the right direction. We started to go to the Free Library of Philadelphia. I would read for hours on end every weekend. I went from reading books about fairies to reading classics like “The Giver” and biographies about every historical figure you could think of.    

I used all my confusion and channeled it into trying to learn. I learned, grew and adapted because of my background. Situations like that were what made me the person who I am today.

My story is very similar to other immigrant families. Packing up and sacrificing for a better life down the road is a common theme for most families that immigrated to different countries.

I can empathize with immigrants because I am one. Everyone no matter where they were born should be able to empathize with people's struggles and have a basic respect for all. Sadly, there are some people who are so insecure and closed minded that the thought of people who talk or look different than them is mind-boggling.

“Hola mamá, estoy casi en casa.” I had called my mother to tell her I was coming home. She proceeds to thank me for notifying her in Spanish. I responded “De nada, hasta pronto”. Just as I said that I saw a woman look at me with a face that is hard to really describe. It was a look of disgust combined with a look of superiority. As soon as our eyes met I looked away and kept walking. I wouldn't say I felt ashamed after that but I just felt confused for that woman.

There have been so many other times where people are judged for what language they speak or just their looks. Someone I know was in their apartment lobby just waiting for an elevator. As soon as an elevator opened the woman standing next to her said: “I’d really appreciate it if you went on a different elevator, I want to be with my own people.”. My friend was so in shock that she just stood there and let the woman go by herself. When my friend told me this story she had tears in her eyes. That surprised me because I barely see her. This just shows how someone's ignorance can affect people.

Actions like this don’t just happen in the United States through I've even seen this in my own home country of Ecuador. There is currently a gigantic crisis happening in Venezuela. The inflation there is unbelievable and there is little to no medical care for those that truly need it. This crisis has caused many Venezuelans to immigrate to many countries including Ecuador. Many of these people are families that only have a bag to their name and are just trying to survive.

The problem is a lot of Ecuadorians that don't want Venezuelan immigrants in their country. I saw a prime example of this in a car ride back to my grandparents. My grandfather switched the station and he stopped on a woman talking about Venezuelan immigrants.  She was literally yelling about how Venezuelans would make the country impure. She then stated word for word "We already have enough black people in this country, what would make you think we want more.". After that, I had to tell my grandfather to turn it off because I didn't want my 9-year-old sister to hear such toxic ideas.

I do believe that immigration reform is needed in Ecuador but if you just spew hate nothing gets changed. You need to make sure immigrant families are getting jobs and education to help the country in the long term. There also need to send aid and legal reform to Venezuela itself, so they can get back on their feet.

In conclusion, All of us need to be able to accept that we are all different. We must learn to acquire the basic human dignity to respect each other. Without actual empathy from all sides nothing will change.

My element was Nitrogen. Nitrogens number is the number seven. Nitrogen has a rich history and many interesting facts. Nitrogen was discovered by Daniel Rutherford in 1772.  Being the fifth most abundant element in the universe, Nitrogen has many uses. Nitrogen helps create amonia, fertilizers and it’s a affordable freezing agent.

My imagery was the planet Venus. I chose this because Venus had been proven to some amount of nitrogen in its atmosphere. My process for making this was pretty simple. I paper sketch and transferred it into the plate (making sure it was reverse). After that I rolled the ink on the plate until I heard the tacky sound. Finally I put it on paper. If I could redo this, I would have put more depth into the plate. I loved  when I got to see my finished product. I just felt really proud of it.

If you are reading this post then you know that it's the final one. I have done two in the past two semesters.The first one was just a beginning analyzation of the Ecuadorian Oil Crisis. I talked about how oil has a huge impact on the Economy. Then on my second post , I went even more in-depth about how much oil as actually spilled and added an interview from an Ecuadorian Native.

There have been many ways this Crisis is being helped. There was a documentary called Crudo. I have talked about what I have learned from it, but I never talked about the positive impact it had on raising awareness. During Crudo the lawyers that were trying to raise awareness and gain a following. Sting's wife was one of the main supporters of this movement. She even went to Ecuador and brought reporters to spread the word. After that Sing organized a huge concert that helped fund money for the lawyers back in Ecuador.I think that when you are able to engage a crowd and make it a fun way to raise support, more people will give to the cause.

Of course, you want the public support but you also need changes in laws and government officials. In Ecuador we are currently getting major changes in our government and people are actually speaking out and voting for change. I mentioned this before but in Yasuni park has been an important part of the fight on Oil.  6.1  million Ecuadorians voted to reduce exploitation in that area. The bill passed and exploitation is now in the works. Now that the public is fighting back we must make sure it stays that way.

                                           Me presenting my slide show to my advisory,

I wanted to make a change here in Philadelphia also. Thanks to this project I had an incentive to organize an event. I had two ideas for my agent of change my first one was to do a screening of Crudo followed by a discussion. I wanted to do this but I could get in contact with the Crudo Organization so I could send the donations. I then went to my back up plan which was to do a slideshow about this problem. To do this I had to make my presentation first, I then got in contact with my Advisors and set a date. Finally I presented to my Advisory. I thought that raising awareness and educating people about a topic that they probably didn’t know would exist would be a great start.I was very nervous because I'm not that confident during presentations. One I got into a rhythm though  did well.  I do believe that I was able to start a good conversation with my advisies.

I really enjoyed this project. The You and the World Project forced me to keep pushing for one end goal and not flake out. I am very thankfull that I was able to learn and teach out this topic so close to my heart. I do belive I could have push the CRUDO orgniatation to see if they needed donations. I think I summarized what we still need to do for change.  “This injustice of explosion isn’t just one thing happening in Ecuador. There are so many countries that are dealing with the same  issue that Ecuador is dealing with. There are big companies all over the world taking people's land and resources and not paying for it. What we have to do is open our eyes. We need to be look at all these problems and learn to not just ignore them. They may seem big and whatever you do is insignificant. It may sound cliche but no action is too small. Vote for someone you know will stand for the issues you care about, educate yourself about topics that are important in today's society so you are able to have a conversation about it. Find what you are passionate about and fight for it with every fiber of your body.”. Before you go here is the link to my bibliography.

A. What is negative space (explain this concept to a fourth grader that has never heard of it)

Negative space is used to make a stencile. This stencil is used to make and copy art. By using a combonation of black and white you are able to ad realiam to the prnt.

B. Explain how you found negative space in your cut out?

Basivly I cut out the light parts on one side and vive versa. Then I  copied onto one sheet of paper

C. Why does it help an artist to see in negative space?

If an artis seen in negative space it helps define and add compistion to a peice of art.

D. Does seeing in negative space enhance drawings, why or why not?

Yes because you are able to make your picture look more 3D.

If you are reading this you have probably read my first blog post. If not HERE is a link to it you should read it to get background info on the topic. My previous blog post talked about four major things.  I first talked about how the geography of Ecuador and how it affects its economy. I also focused on how important oil is to the Ecuadorian economy. Once that topic was established, I connected it to how oil companies were leaving the country in shambles as they left.

After I did my first piece on this topic, I felt even more compelled to study and explore this topic. To achieve learning more about the Ecuadorian oil crisis I did two things. The first was fully watch and annotate the 2009 documentary “Crudo”. If you do not know, “Crudo” is a documentary that follows an Ecuadorian lawyer named Pablo Fajardo, fighting against oil companies such a Chevron. This documentary showed me two points of view of the fight against oil companies in Ecuador. I got to see the legal perspective from Pablo. He showed us how he interviewed hundreds of people to get the case as strong as possible. On top of this, he documented him and an Ecuadorian native preparing to go to court in New York.

                                        Here  is a photo of Pablo Fajardo testifiing aginst Chevron

The next perspective I got to see this wonderful documentary was the native perspective. Hearing from real people that were living in the Ecuadorian Amazon really puts everything into perspective. The stories that were told on camera where heart-wrenching. The sad thing is the people that were interviewed are most likely dead now, due to cancer and other complications caused by the oils toxins.

  Here is a Crudo add

I also learned an amazing fact from this documentary. I found out that the 18 million gallons spilled in oil spilled in Ecuador is actually bigger  than the Exxon Valdes Spill which was 11   million gallons. Putting all the oil spilled in Ecuador as the second largest oil based catastrophes when compared to US oils spills, and around the 15th biggest oil catastrophe in the entire world. Now, remember every other oil spill on this list happened in a matter of days and was eventually cleaned up. The oil spilling in Ecuador has been spiling for 30 years and there has been barely any plans to clean up the mess.

                       Here   is a photo of the Exxon Valdes spill                           

Once the sheer size of this was brought to my attention I knew what my original research had to be. I decided to interview my Grandfather who is an Ecuadorian native.  He was the best candidate because he is actually in Ecuador and I would be able to see the state of this crisis in 2018. The interview with my grandfather was wonderful. I was able to learn some new ideas from this interview. I have decided to share the most important quote from the interview  “We do need fundamental reforms immediately...We are all waiting for this president, that is backed by most of the country to make decisions that are beneficial to this Country.”. I feel like this summarizes many peoples feeling in Ecuador.

Once I strengthened my knowledge about the Oil Crisis, I had to find what my agent of change project could be. After some thinking, I decided that I might do a screening of “Crudo”. I will get in contact with the Crudo organization and see if they accept donations. If so I will sell tickets for a small amount of money and all proceeds will go to the fund. I have decided that a screening of the documentary would help bring attention to the Oil spills.

I hope you have enjoyed reading my post and that you learned something. HERE  is the link to my annotated bibliography

Our Macbeth Creative Project was a Playbill.  My group decided on a playbill because we could express our ideas about the play with it. The first thing you see when you look at the playbill is a bloody sword and a crown. We chose this as our logo due to the play being about a bloody fight to the crown. After this, you see the title “Thane of Cawdor”. This title was chosen since Macbeth got promoted to Thane of Cawdor in the beginning of the play. Once he got promoted it started his downward spiral into insanity.

Another very important part of this playbill is the color scheme. Macbeth is a very serious play and to represent that is why we chose red and black. Below this, you can see our list of characters and actors. I am not going to tell you why we chose each actor for each specific character but I will give you a quick summary. I chose Liam Neeson as Macbeth because of his voice. I believe his voice has a more serious tone to it. For the porter, I chose Jim Carrey because he can act like he's drunk anytime.

The next section of the playbill is the costumes. We decided to go for a  more modern vibe in our play so we added the car and suites to our play.The second to last part of our play was the stage. One of the ideas that we came up with was actually recreating the stage from the Globe theater. By have the stage shaped like the Globe's we add a layer of authenticity to the production.

Our final area of our playbill is the ad for the Incredibles 2. This explanation for it is fairly simple. If you are going to watch a play, it is safe to assume you are more likely to want to watch a movie. This is due to movies and plays being similar. This add would target people who are likely to watch movies.

When my slide was critiqued on my slides I learned many things. My group helped me realize that my bottom slide was too stretched out. I also learned that I shouldn’t just se basic fonts. Finally I learned that I should always make sure to prepare before a presentation the hard way. I also heard that I should speak up a little more when I present.

With the critiques I received started to edit my slide. I took away the Quito and Philly labels because they took away from the presentation. I also changed the front because I felt that front didn't represent me.  I also tried to un stretch the image but that didn't work out. I also made my text bigger because it was too small. I finally added a black border to make the photos pop.

As I look back on this assignment I have realized that research definitely made my slide better. Not only was I able to make my slide look more presentable but I was also able to understand their reasons why it looked presentable. For example I never knew about the rule of 3’s before this project. I feel that you should always be able to have a thorough understanding of what you researched. I used two main  sources for this project. One was my friends, I asked them for their recommendations and sometimes definitions. I also used an essay by Zach Holman

This is my slide. At first glance it my look bland and simple, but each part of my slide represents an important part of me. I have summarized one major part of my me magazine into my slide, this major part is me having both Ecuadorian and Philadelphian heritage. The first photo is of the sunrise in Philly. I took this photo from my balcony, I used this photo to represent my time here in Philadelphia. The second photo is of a sunset in Ecuador, I used this to represent my time in Ecuador. I used sunsets and sunrises in my slide because of my fascination with them. I used a sunset and a sunrise respectively to show that they are diffrent places. The box in the middle is my favorite color, which also matches the sunset and sunrise. I hope you have liked this presentation.

The final part of my presentation is this quote that I resonate with. I just feel like together yet separate just sums up perfectly how I feel about living in Philly but being born in Ecuador. This slide is split into three different parts. I felt like this template was the most aesthetically pleasing. I used harmony in my slide because I kept the same pallet of colors.

1. Explain your L.A.N. Local Area Network - all the devices on your internet connection.

My internet comes through comcast. Then my router/modem transfers it to my 4 phones one tablet, two laptops and an X box and my printer. These are all wireless except my printer.

2. Reflect on what you learned about networks, did you have an OMG moment that you learned something new and interesting? if now write about what you learned.

I honestly learned where and how exactly you get internet.

3. What would you tell other people that they need to know about having an ISP/Home network?

You should always try to get fiber optics if you can.