Eliana Alfaro-Allah

English 2

D - Band

In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, we see a rift and blur between the lines of civilized and savage. But when someone is pointed out as being the latter, what is it about man that becomes so violent? So upset and disgusted when a mirror is shined in their face? When humans are deemed savage by other humans, they go to extremes to convey their denia about being savage.No human likes to be looked down upon, we all would prefer to be looked at as civilized.  But to mask their true nature is commonplace for humans, and we don’t just see it within Lord Of the Flies, but in our own society.

In the book, on page 156, after the murder of Simon, Ralph takes it upon himself to confront Piggy and tell him what it really was- murder. Piggy is disturbed, and lashes out at Ralph, blaming Simon for his own death. “It was dark....There was the lightning and thunder and rain.  We was scared!...Anything might have happened. it wasn't --what you said…. "I was an accident…. He had no business crawling around in the dark...  He asked for it." Then he changes, "It was an accident.""By Piggy saying that Simon was ‘asking’ for his own death when Ralph tells him that it was murder, Piggy knows that Simon ca  nnot speak for himself, and they both know full well that Piggy didn’t do anything to stop the killing. Piggy still wants to distinguish himself as civilized and not savage, and is enraged that Ralph is now showing Piggy his true colors.

This  instance isn’t lone in the world of the book, in fact, it’s not just in the world of William Golding. When it comes to savage acts, humans are not the only ones to blame. In 2013, a documentary by the name of ‘Blackfish’ took storm, earning rave reviews and a whopping 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s a somber story of a killer whale named Tillikum, that after a long psychosis of being trapped in Seaworld, it begins ruthlessly killing its trainers. On February 24th, 2010, Tillikum killed a female trainer by the name of Dawn Brancheau by causing blunt force trauma to the head, neck and torso before dragging her underwater and drowning her. Even though it tore through the nation, and media was quick to capitalize on the tragedy, Dawn Brancheau was blamed for her own death. When giving addresses, Seaworld stated that Dawn was at fault, due to her hair being tied in a long ponytail on the top of her head that Tillikum grabbed onto. This caused outraged among her friends and family, making them feel wronged that Dawn was being blamed for her own death, when she wasn’t even alive to defend herself. Seaworld was quick to defend themselves instead, and in turn by denying they had any involvement by abusing their whale, they blamed the woman who died for her own death.

It’s prevalent in society today for people, instead of owning up to their own guilt and moving on to be a better, more experienced person, they deflect blame childishly and opt to refuse to listen. This is seen in the book, on chapter 11, page 270. Golding writes, “The booing rose and died again as Piggy lifted the white, magic shell. “Which is better –to be a pack of painted Indians like you are, or to be sensible like Ralph is?” A great clamor rose among the savages. Piggy shouted again. “Which is better –to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?” Again the clamor and again – “Zup!” Ralph shouted against the noise. “Which is better, law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?” Now Jack was yelling too and Ralph could no longer make himself heard. Jack had backed right against the tribe and they were a solid mass of menace that bristled with spears.” This is insanely child-like, which while being simultaneously applicable to the boys’ level of innocence as children, but the extremes they go to in order to convey their denial. Jack is enabling the kids, and leading them to instead of listening to the rational concerns of Piggy and Ralph, but to heckle them and boo immaturely. It’s indicative of modern society, and very dismally, it’s not just applicable to children, but to grown people.

In 2018, an article came out about a college student named Heather Price, who was raped in her own dorm. After the incident, she stayed silent, as do a lot of rape victims, but eventually wanted to come out about her perpetrator. She soon found out that in her college, she wasn’t alone, and forged relationships and found solace in the other victims on campus. And while that sounds uplifting, there is a very harmful part of this story - which is, these women weren’t believed. When bringing up their accusations to higher authorities, not only were they not believed, but they were heckled by other students, saying that it was their fault for the crimes that were acted upon them, telling them that it was their fault for the clothes that they were wearing on the nights of their attacks. This goes to display the level of injustice, where innocent people are being blamed for crimes committed against them, and when they attempt to remind their attackers of their own guilt, they retaliate immaturely by blaming and heckling them. No better than a group of uncivilized schoolboys.

In Lord of the Flies, we see an abundance of varying cases involving the boys on the island being shown their true selves, and lashing out in their immaturity to display the denial of the acts that they are charged with. This specific happening is displayed not just in the world Wiliam Golding has created, though. Humans are capable of many incredible things, this we know. But humans, as products of our emotions, over time, have created ways to delude ourselves into an alibi while putting victims of actual crimes down. And while it’s been happening for a long time, this has become prevalent in our society as of late when heinous behaviour is more likely to be called out in the current political climate. And while it’s unfair that truly guilty people are able to walk free because of it, these unchecked acts of rage can come from a mask of denial to hide away guilt.

Jermira Butler

                                                                                                                 SilverStream

                                                                                                                  English 2 ( D )

                                                                                             March 25, 2019

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

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

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

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

Cameryn Roach

Ms. Pahomov

English II

25 March 2019

The Loss of a Leader

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

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

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

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

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

Works Cited:

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

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

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

Hector Sanchez

Mrs. Pahomov

English 2

25 March 2019

Anthony Nelson 3/21/19

Pahomov

Silver Stream

Trump Vs. Jack

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

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

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

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

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

Sources Used

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

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

Donald Trump Make America Great Again Speech - Video Results

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

Lucas Capitolo

Ms. Pahomov

English 2

25 March 2019

Dividing a Community

In William Golding's, The Lord of the Flies, a group of English boys are stranded on the island, with no adults. This gives a raw sense of mutability to the plot, and the characters, six to twelve year old boys. This establishes a hierarchy, the “bigguns” being the government and the “littluns” being whom they govern. There has essentially been formed a society on the island. Naturally, the main problem revolves around the bigguns. Very early in the book it is known that there lies tension between Jack and Ralph. Ralph was elected leader fair and square, but Jack thinks that he is more fit and yearns to prove himself to the other boys. This is basically our government in the real world. Now, and in history, we always find ourselves in the midst of a problem caused by the views of those who are higher up in the power pyramid, and have even been known to split in two like, like how the boys do in the book when Jack brings upon the idea of separating his and ralph’s loyal companions. Knowing that the boys are very representative of a society, how does a real world community or society respond to civil disagreement?

In chapter eight of the novel, Jack is trying to usurp Ralphs throne. He feels that Ralph is making bad decisions when it comes to running things, and thinks that it’s more important to hunt and gather meat than to build shelter and signal possible rescuers. He takes the conch and calls a meeting, and criticizes Ralph for following Piggy’s advice. However, he does not win this. No one had voted for Jack while he held the conch, the conch being a symbol for democracy and order. Jack cries after this, and says, “I’m not going to play with you [Ralph], not any longer.” (127) This is when he confidently states that he was leaving anyway, and despite the rest of the choir boys voting for Ralph moments earlier, Jack seems to have lured them away from Ralph with the promise of  a better tribe with meat and lots of hunting. The Choir obviously sided with Jack only after he picked up the “I don’t need you guys but if you need me then join me” act, which promised plentiful food and loser rules and more fun. Being 12 year old boys, it was hard to turn that down, especially when Ralph and Piggy are “dragging on” about work and rescue and their plan.

The whole concept of a problem in the hierarchy of a community causing a split in population mirrors a war that started in 2013 and continues today. The South Sudanese Civil war. This war was started when the president, President Kiir, accused some of his officials of plotting to overthrow him. This sparked battles and violence between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the government. Those who are fighting against the government believe that they are too restricted by the government as well as looked at as lesser. In the article on BBC News titled South Sudan: What is the Fighting About? The question, “Was there a coup plot [plan to overthrow the president].” In response it reads, “It is not clear. It started as a political squabble and has escalated into ethnic violence. President Kiir believes there was and has pointed the finger of blame at Mr Machar.” This shows that the presidents accusation of there being a mutiny is one of the reasons for all of the disagreement and violence. In the book, it is not an accusation made by Ralph being made but an intention of Jack’s. It’s easy to see the representation of government and society from how smoothly the event from the book and the one from the real world compare and fit into each other.

There’s a lot to look at and take out of most books, especially The Lord of The Flies, and although there are other ways to connect the text to the real world, the topic of dividing is a major contributor to the plot of the story. Comparing “the split” in the book to the split in Sudan to each other makes a lot of sense in the sense that both events involved the idea of mutiny. This shows that not only will a community divide at the sight of disagreement or internal conflict but often times there will be people stabbing each other in the back and committing acts of betrayal and/or distrust. In the novel, betrayal lurks within the boys early on as Jack seeks to take leadership over Ralph. In Sudan it was the leader who could not trust his subordinate, in fear of betrayal. In conclusion, it's justifiable to read and perceive The Lord of the Flies as a simply-put representation of government and societal issues inevitably causing divide amongst groups and foul play amongst individuals.

Works Cited

“South Sudan: What Is the Fighting about?” BBC News, BBC, 10 May 2014, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-25427965.

“When Do the Boys Definitively Split into Two Hostile Groups?” Enotes.com, Enotes.com, www.enotes.com/homework-help/when-does-group-definitively-split-two-hostility-64141.

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

Lord of the Flies Essay

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

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

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

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

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

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

References

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

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

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.

Aidan McLaughlin

Ms. Pahomov

English

25 March 2019

Lord of The Flies Vs. The Unite The Right March

Many comparisons can be made between William Golding’s Lord of the Flies and the August 2017 Unite the Right march in Charlottesville. Lord of the flies, is a fantasy novel about a group of boys who got stranded on a remote island after their plane crashed. The conflicts within the novel range from the self conflict experienced by Jack, the primary antagonist, to the clash between civilized behavior and the savage ideals which culminate in the killings of two boys. During the Unite the Right march, white supremacist groups gathered to espouse their views, including the idea that non-whites and Jews were “destroying” America and must be stopped. Some of them went so far as to call for ethnic cleansing. During the rally, several conflicts erupted between the Unite the Right marchers and counter-protesters. The most significant act of violence occurred when James Fields, a Unite the Right supporter, drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters striking and killing Heather Heyer.

During his 2016 campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly made incendiary comments that encouraged violence by his supporters against non-supporters, while complaining about political correctness. For the march in Charlottesville, Trump can be compared to Jack for his role in emboldening hate speech and increasing outward displays of hatred including violence, leading up to the Charlottesville rally. James Fields is like Rodger who acted on his savage impulses killing Piggy, and the internet is like the mask worn by Jack and his followers to conceal their identities and free themselves from fear, self-consciousness and remorse.

In chapter four of Lord of the Flies, Painted Faces and Long Hair, Jack paints his face using red and white clay and a stick of charcoal brought from the fire. He painted one eye socket and cheek white, the other half of his face red, and drew a black bar with charcoal from his right ear to his left jaw. After constructing his face he peered into a coconut for his reflection and was so appalled at his new face that he leapt to his feat spilling the coconut water. “He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling… and the mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness” (Golding 64). This quote exemplifies that the mask gave Jack the freedom to unleash his savage nature. At first the mask and the savagery it stood for was a thing that Jack could hide behind, but it would later become Jack. Eventually, Jack was able to stand by his savage ideals and present them publicly without hiding behind the mask-- so much so that those ideals would become the reason for his existence.

The internet provides a mask for hate group members to hide behind. Through social networking platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, video platforms such as YouTube, online funding vehicles including PayPal and GoFundMe, hate-based websites and activities on the dark web, white supremacists find each other, promote ideas of hatred and violence and secure funding for their activities. Following Charlottesville, action was taken by all of the internet companies listed above to clamp down on hate speech and the promotion of violence as well as the funding of hate groups. This has forced many hate groups to utilize the dark web where their sites can’t be accessed by ordinary search engines and where individuals can remain anonymous. Prior to Charlottesville, anyone who wished to know about the kinds of white supremacist groups that united there, could do so through any number of internet outlets without fear of being discovered. Research by the Southern Poverty Law Center found that hate group organizers, speakers and individuals used the web to raise and distribute money for the march in Charlottesville. Like Jack’s followers, the Unite the Right marchers eventually became bold enough to leave the safety of online anonymity and share their views in public while demonstrating their willingness to perpetuate acts of violence.

While the rise in hate groups cannot be laid completely at Donald Trump’s feet, there is evidence that suggests he contributed to that rise. According to an analysis of data accrued by the Anti-Defamation League, hate crimes rose by 266% in counties where Trump rallies were held. Also, the FBI reported a 17% increase in hate crimes in the first year of the Trump presidency. During or following his rallies, Trump was cited for promoting violence numerous times. For example, at a Cedar Rapids, Iowa rally, Trump said, “Knock the crap out of him, would you? I promise you, I will pay your legal fees.” This was not the first time that Trump promised to cover legal fees if his supporters became violent with non-supporters. Trump also made derogatory comments about Mexicans, Muslims and the countries of Africa, sentiments widely shared by white supremacists while simultaneously encouraging his supporters to free themselves from the burden of political correctness. Finally, well known white supremacists and rally participants, David Duke and Richard Spencer, both publicly supported Trump’s candidacy.

When Jack left the group, many of the other boys joined him and would soon conceal their faces with the clay and charcoal. One night the boys formed a circle around the fire. They began to chant and the chanting went from excitement to a beating pulse. As they saw something emerge from the forest that they thought was the beast, a deadman that they thought was a monster, they ran toward it yelling, “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” Jack’s authority and words lead the others to act like savages and kill Simon, and, like the march in Charlottesville, passions are inflamed by chanting.

Later in the book, when Ralph, Piggy, Eric, and Sam got to Castle Rock, where the Savages had their fort, to try to retrieve Piggy’s glasses, they’re confronted by the Savages. When piggie speaks, Roger, one of the savages, uses a stick to pry a boulder loose and send it over a cliff. The boulder bounded across the neck of Castle Rock and, “The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch (which was previously used for speaking) 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. Piggie fell forty feet and landed opened and stuff came out and turned red” (Golding 181). The conflict between the two groups, the freedom to express savagery that had become a part of their daily existence, and the support of his peers pushed Roger, to go so far as to commit murder.

Like Roger, James Fields was emboldened by the support of his peers. He was not the leader. He was one of the Savages who had removed the mask to make his hatred known publicly. Inflamed by words of hatred and threats of violence he acts on his savage impulse and hurls a deadly object, his car, toward the counter protesters ultimately killing one of them just as Roger killed Piggy.  

In the Lord of the Flies, Jack abandons the more egalitarian society favored by Ralph and others and draws his followers into a way of life where they think and act outside of the constraints of good conscience. Likewise, Donald Trump moved millions of people, enough for him to win the election, toward a society where political correctness is set aside and contempt for other points of view is encouraged. The rise in hate crimes, particularly in those counties where Trump held rallies provides some evidence of his impact. The mask provides Jack and his followers a way to hide their identities, to hide themselves from themselves, in order to free themselves from self-consciousness, fear and remorse. Like the mask, the internet provided a way to hide that allowed people to anonymously learn about white supremacy, share their opinions and receive validation from others. Some eventually became so emboldened that they were ready to remove the mask and march in Charlottesville. The march became like the Savage’s circling around the fire, which was made complete with their chanting. The Unite the Right marchers now experienced the freedom to express their hatred for non-whites and Jews along with the power of their numbers. Before it was over, one of the marchers, James Fields, forced the bolder off the cliff, demonstrating the ultimate savagery by killing another human being.    

Works Cited

CNN, Staff. “Five Ways Hate Speech Spreads Online.” CNN, Cable News Network, 2 May

2018, www.cnn.com/2018/05/02/us/hate-groups-using-internet/index.html.

Feinberg, Ayal, et al. “Counties That Hosted a 2016 Trump Rally Saw a 226 Percent Increase in

Hate Crimes.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 22 Mar. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/03/22/trumps-rhetoric-does-inspire-more-hate-crimes/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.e43f6a94ad0d.

MacGuill, Dan. “FACT CHECK: Did Donald Trump Encourage Violence at His Rallies?”

Snopes.com, Snopes.com , www.snopes.com/fact-check/donald-trump-incitement-violence/.

News , VICE, and HBO. “Charlottesville: Race and Terror – VICE News Tonight on HBO.”

YouTube, YouTube, 14 Aug. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIrcB1sAN8I.

Times, The New York. “Car Crashed into Counter-Protesters of Charlottesville White Nationalist

March.” YouTube, YouTube, 12 Aug. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQN7ApKL7AY&has_verified=1.

“White Nationalists March in Virginia.” YouTube, CNN, 12 Aug. 2017,

youtu.be/ZN7vm9mIPBs?t=9.

Nuala Cowen        

Ms. Pahomov

English 2

March 26, 2019

Identity, something that we can’t help but carry with us. Every mistake, fear, and insecurity imprints on our identity and leaves a scar on who we are. Many people look for ways to hide the vulnerability of their identity by using masks that they could use to create a new identity and hide their own. In William Golding’s, Lord of the Flies, the boys on the island are liberated from the captivity of adults and their morals, leaving them to decide on their own. Looking beyond the novel, it is clear that this idea of anonymity is embedded in the philosophy of human nature. When committing acts that go against society’s morals, many people look for ways to maintain an untouched identity so that they can leave their scars with their mask once unveiled.

Throughout history, people have relied on disguises to hide from society’s morals and the constraint that their disguises have brought. Robbers cover their faces before entering a bank while parents shield their children from the corruption of real life. The Ku Klux Klan was a hate group consisting of white supremacists, mainly taking place in the ‘60s during the Jim Crow Laws but still lasting today. The KKK’s main goal was to abolish the idea of equality between African Americans and Caucasians believing that white people were the superior race. By doing this they spent their nights committing violent crimes that would often end in lynching.

Possibly their most recognizable custom was their uniform. “Indeed, the image of a hooded Klansman has become a popular hate symbol itself, displayed on t-shirts and tattoos by white supremacists around the world”(ADL). Their hoods became less of an identity and more of a shield from their shame. Rather than showing superiority, the white hoods would often be correlated with fear and violence due to the numerous amounts of hangings that occurred at the time of segregation. Often we only recognize the iconic white hoods of the Ku Klux Klan, rather than the faces underneath them.

Furthermore, many people believed that the participants of the Ku Klux Klan presented themselves as madmen, outcasts of society. But oddly enough, many of them kept themselves as civilized and put together people. “Though Democratic leaders would later attribute Ku Klux Klan violence to poorer southern whites, the organization’s membership crossed class lines, from small farmers and laborers to planters, lawyers, merchants, physicians and ministers” (HISTORY). Most people correlate these types of jobs with responsibility and trust, but with masks on, no one truly knows who’s hidden underneath.  The KKK was known to be one of the most violent and uncivilized hate groups throughout history due to their lack of morals. But with a hidden identity, they could justify their actions, claiming it wasn’t them or perhaps that they were influenced by the liberation in which the mask brought them.

In the novel, Lord of the Flies, a group of schoolboys get stranded on an island due to a plane crash. The boys were introduced as well-mannered and civilized children who relied on

innocent morals to shape the laws they set on the island. Jack, one of the older boys on the island, presented himself as a coarse and orderly character of leadership, yet torn up by insecurity and shame. Only until he discovered the beauty of the painted face, was he able to hide his vulnerability to the rest of the boys. “He capered toward Bill, and the mask was a thing on its own, behind which hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness” (Golding 64). At the start of the novel, Jack was unable to face the bitter truth of violence, as he was sheltered by the morals of the society he grew to carry with him. But once he painted his face, he couldn’t even recognize his reflection and more importantly, his own identity; “He knelt, holding the shell of water….He looked in astonishment, no longer at himself but at an awesome stranger” (Golding 63). Everything that had held him back from killing the pig, and better yet the savagery it brought him was protected by the mask. It’s human nature to feel the need to protect ourselves from certain things that would sully our status so we look for other ways to purge inner need to go beyond the line of morals that we are taught to never cross.

Consequently, living on an island with little availability to food, the boys were surprised to find that it was populated with pigs. Jack, being the first to spot that pigs lived on the island, believed that it was his duty to act as the provider of the island. Thus, he pulled out a blade he had brought and drew it to the neck of the pig. “The three boys rushed forwards and Jack drew his knife again with a flourish. There came a pause, a hiatus, the pig continued to scream and the creepers to jerk, and the blade continued to flash at the end of a bony arm” (Golding 31). His hesitation was due to the vulnerability of his own self. The idea that he needed to act a certain way in order to be a civilized member of society. From this, his obsession for blood grew and his only resolution was to cover his face in paint in order to conceal himself from the pig while hunting.  Towards the end of the book, the mask became less of a tool for hunting but more of an acceptance to savagery. When Jack covered his face, he saw himself as a whole different person; someone who had no shame nor insecurities that would hold him back from feeling the need to follow rules and fit in with society.

When acting on crimes that go against our morals, we will use masks to protect the vulnerability of our own integrity and to leave on less scar on who we are. The Ku Klux Klan used hoods to conceal their faces when lynching African Americans while Jack and the hunters used paint to present themselves as less visible when hunting the pigs. But what if their main reason for hiding their faces wasn’t for appearance, rather something deeper; their own identity? In society, we are taught that innocence is one of the most valuable customs and corruption is looked down on. Both the African Americans and the pigs represented the corrupted innocence caused by the disguise of someone else: a savage.

Works Cited

Kinney, Alison. “How the Klan Got Its Hood.” The New Republic, The New Republic, 8 Jan.  

2016, newrepublic.com/article/127242/klan-got-hood.

Editors, History.com. “Ku Klux Klan.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Oct. 2009,

www.history.com/topics/reconstruction/ku-klux-klan.

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. The Penguin Group, September 17, 1954, pp. 31