Hillary Hernandez

March 25,2019

How far does your ego take you

How far are you willing to go, in order to conserve your power? In The Lord Of The Flies by William Golding, has his cast of boys constantly fight for control over the group. This is shown with one of the main protagonists, Jack. He is always in a constant battle over the protection of his power, ultimately leading to his downfall. An example of this in the real world is when President Richard Nixon attempted to maintain his power by orchestrating the Watergate scandal in 1972. Jack’s character shows that the eagerness towards conserving power, ultimately leads to a greater downfall?

Could you imagine yourself attempting to kill someone, just because cause you seem them as threat to your power. For starters, in the book The Lord Of The Flies by William Golding, the book starts off with a group of school boys onboard a plane evacuating from Britain's nuclear war, when suddenly the plane gets stuck down, the schoolboys are the only ones to outlive the plane crash. Jack, one of the older boys is consistently at a battle over conserving his position as chief, over the younger boys. Jack sees Ralph, another one of the older boys as a threat to his power. On page 127 Golding says, “hands up,” said Jack Strongly” “Whoever wants Ralph not to be chief?” The silence continued, breathless and heavy and full of shame. Slowly the red drained from Jack’s cheeks, then came back with a painful rush. He licked his lips and turned his head at an angle, so that his gaze avoided the embarrassment of linking with another’s eye.” We constantly see Jack, having to prove that he is worthy of being chief. Jack says, “I’m going off by myself . Anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come too.”(Golding 127) “At last the immediacy of the kill subsided. The boys drew back and Jack stood up, holding out his hands.”(Golding 135) “Roger spoke. “Chief-.” Jack sees Ralph as a threat to his power, so we see Jack proving to the boys that he is worthy of being chief.

Moreover, throughout the book  we see Jack as this strong, savage character but I believe that he is truly frightened, that he will be stranded on this island forever. Ralph is seen at a constant battle over power with ralph, he see Ralph as a threat. Ralph, becomes this savage boy making everyone fear him, “They made us . They hurt us-” said the young boys. Ralph soon learns that Jack has sent out a hunt for him, on page 194 it says “The chief and Rodger-.They hate you, Ralph. They’re going to do you tomorrow. They’re going to hurt you tomorrow” Jack’s eagerness to sustain his powers leads him to make savage decisions. Jack is so caught up in trying to hunt down Ralph that he isn't fully conscious of his decisions, “The fire must be almost at the fruit trees- what would they eat tomorrow?”(Golding 198) Jack lights the whole forest on fire when on his mission to kill Ralph. Unconsciously of his decisions, he burned down their source of food, how would they survive. What would they eat, if Jack had burned everything down. Jack’s need to maintain  power ultimately leads to his downfall.

Subsequently, we see an example of greediness to maintain one's power lead to their own downfall, in 1972’s Watergate Scandal, when President Richard Nixon re-election committee set up a burglary at the Democratic national committee headquarters. The burglars were caught stealing important documents and attempting to wiretap their  phones. At first President Nixon, denied all allegations to the scandal, but soon came to light that his re-election team had orchestrated the burglarization. President Nixon was winning the election by nearly two times his opponent, but that wasn't enough he wanted to win by the biggest margin ever in a presidential election. He had set out to sabotage his opponent, his eagerness to protect his power, lead him to his own downfall

Furthermore, in the 1940’s we see Japan at war with China. Subsequently, we see Japan peace talk with the United states, but then we see the United States send assistance to China during war, Japan doesn’t agree with this and decides to interfere by sending the United States a message, resulting in the Pearl Harbor attack. 183 aircrafts from the Japanese navy attacked the United States Naval base at the Pearl Harbor. Japan had seen the US as a threat to its power, so they decided to try to put fear into them, so that they wouldn't interfere with the war anymore. Japan was eager to protect its power over Pacific. Japan’s objective had failed tremendously because at the time of the attack, they missed oil tanks, ammunation sites and not a single aircraft was present during the attack. The US didn’t let this just slide by, they planned a counteract that would take place when the japanese least expected it, Japan’s commander had set out another attack, but the US intelligence was able to decode and listen on to it’s plans, and when their army was caught refueling that’s when they were attacked. The US was not in the World War II, but as a result from this attack, the US  joined World War II, this victory allowed the US and its allies to move into offensive position, eventually leaving Japan to surrender from the World War II by 1945. Japan was so worried in taking out it’s competitors to remain in power that it didn’t realize the chaos it would create for itself leading it to its downfall.

Many themes immersed, we observe that someone’s eagerness to maintain their power, can lead their downfall.  President Nixon, was so caught up in trying to get reelected, that he did some illegal actions leading him to resignation. This can be related on how Ralph and Jack were always at a constant fight for power, Jack had seen Jack as a threat to his power and he took some savage decisions to try to remain in power, leading to his and everybody’s ruining. Lastly, we observe this with Japan’s Pearl Harbor attack against the United states, they had seen the US as a threat to their power. This attack triggered actions to follow leading them to their surrender in World War II. To conclude, as shown above we observe that someones eagerness to remain in power ultimately leads them to their downfall.

Sources list:

Editors, History.com. “Watergate Scandal.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/1970s/watergate

“Watergate: The Scandal That Brought Down Richard Nixon.” Watergateinfo, watergate.info/

“Watergate Fast Facts.” CNN, Cable News Network, 14 Jan. 2019, www.cnn.com/2014/01/23/us/watergate-fast-facts/index.html

“The Failed Attempt to Avert War with Japan, 1941.” Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, 16 Mar. 2018, adst.org/2013/11/the-failed-attempts-to-avert-war-with-japan-1941/

U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/pearl-harbor.

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/pearl-harbor

Editors, History.com. “Battle of Midway.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway

Jonathan Rodebaugh

Ms. Pahomov

English II

5/25/18

Taken For Granted

Everybody at some point has had something valuable but completely taken that thing for granted. People take up all the benefits with barely noticing its existence whether it is a family member or even just an object. When there is a lack of appreciation toward something or someone, it leaves a huge impact when that thing is gone. They don’t know how to react, and they feel the heavy consequences. This is a common theme in William Golding's Lord of the Flies, Piggy is a big part in helping the school boys, but he is just pushed aside and his help comes unappreciated. People don’t appreciate what resources, and gifts they have until it's gone.

Lord of The Flies is about school boys that got stranded on an island after a plane crashed on a seemingly abandoned island. They are making a fire for the first time in hopes of being found by anyone who sees the smoke. Piggy tries to contribute to help the boys, but gets shut down, "We couldn't keep a fire like that going, not if we tried.’’A fat lot you tried,’ said Jack contemptuously. ‘You just sat.’ ‘I got the conch,’ said Piggy indignantly. ‘You let me speak!’ ‘The conch doesn't count on top of the mountain,’ said Jack, ‘so you shut up.’I got the conch in my hand.’’ Jack turned fiercely. ‘You shut up!’"(Golding, 42). This quote shows that because of Piggy’s look and their standards of a leader, which was based on Piggy being unpopular and overweight. Because of this, they do not want to listen to him even though he gives sensible advice. The boys even ignored their own laws of the conch just to ignore what Piggy has to say. To the boys, it doesn't matter if what Piggy says is useful or intelligent. They just looked at his looks and popularity and jump to conclusions off of that very little bit of information.

Comparatively, the previous example from Lord of The Flies relates to the Minnesota Vikings 2017 NFL season. The Vikings lost their starting quarterback, Sam Bradford, in 2017 due to injury. They were then forced to have Keenum a mediocre player be quarterback instead, and their season seemed to fall apart. The Christian D’Andre from sbnation.com said, “Last year, Keenum was a top 10 quarterback who recorded a 98.3 passer rating... his Vikings went 12-3 in games where he was the team’s primary passer...” This quote shows how amazing Keenum was that season. The Vikings had what seemed to be a stellar quarterback, the Vikings were reaping the benefits of Keenum’s success. They however, were not convinced that Keenum was the answer. During the season, the Vikings head coach, Mike Zimmer, said, “Is he the guy that played for the Rams or is he the guy that played for us?” This is referring to when Keenum played for the Rams and did not play well. It seemed like the team obviously had someone that made them an elite team. The Vikings seemed to take him for granted and not appreciate his huge contribution. In this statement they were just looking at the fact that Keenum’s football history was as a backup to other teams. Based off of this they assumed he would not be capable to lead a football franchise, even though he was having so much success in that season. Comparing this to the previous example of Piggy, Keenum and Piggy had amazing contribution to their team or group, however even though their impact was seen they were not nearly as respected as they should have been. Keenum’s coach said he was unreliable, and Piggy was treated very poorly by the leaders in his group of boys. These are both examples of people just ignoring the talent that is in front of them.

At the end of the novel, Ralph is reflecting and is mourning the death of Piggy, even though he treated him so poorly in the past. “Ralph pushed back his tangled hair and wiped the sweat out of his best eye. He spoke aloud. ‘Think.’ What was the sensible thing to do? There was no Piggy to talk sense.” (Golding, 196) Ralph recently witnessed Piggy’s death, and this took a big toll on Ralph. Throughout the book, present was the constant mistreatment and bullying of Piggy. Now, Ralph is learning the hard way to appreciate how much Piggy contributed and helped the group. He was crying for Piggy and realizing how much he loss. He took Piggy’s intelligence for granted, and is now regretting it. This was a moment that Ralph was in where he really needed wisdom, and Piggy was not there. All the other times Piggy was sharing his thoughts he was shut up. The irony is really a big blow to Ralph who was regretting his decisions.

Relating back to the Keenum example, the Vikings did not resign Keenum and let him leave. They signed Kirk Cousins, who they thought would make the team better. Mark Maske of the Washington Post talked about the effects of Keenum leaving, “The Vikings, after reaching last season’s NFC title game with Case Keenum at quarterback, signed Cousins to be the final piece of a Super Bowl puzzle. Instead, they’re 6-6-1 after Monday night’s defeat. That’s the very definition of mediocrity.” This article talks about how good the Vikings were with Keenum and how they weren’t great with Cousins. It was shown how much the Vikings didn’t really appreciate Keenum and they were sure that the new guy they brought in would be the answer. They, in a way, were punished for not trusting Keenum because he was known as being a mediocre back up. Looking back at the Piggy example this is similar because Piggy and Keenum were both not shown the respect that they deserved, and their group or team felt the negative impact when they were gone.

People being taken for granted is a common theme in Lord of The Flies and with Case Keenum, This was seen at the end of the book with Ralph not having Piggy, and the Vikings without Case Keenum. t is also very common in real life. In the real life example, it could be an impactful player that leaves and it hurts your team. It can also be a very good friend that you don’t realize how much they mean to you until they leave. This is an issue that has impacted every single person at sometime, and it can be scary. If there is something that is relied on heavily that you barely noticed, if it is gone destruction is bound to happen. All people have this as a tendency it is a part of how humans are and the way they behave.

Works Cited



D'Andrea, Christian. The Broncos Are Getting the Worst Version of Case Keenum. SBNation.com, 2 Oct. 2018, www.sbnation.com/nfl/2018/10/2/17927820/denver-broncos-case-keenum-struggling-contract-welp.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005322646911&fref=ts. “Analysis | The Vikings’ Signing of Kirk Cousins Seemed like Such a Good Idea at the Time.” Washington Post, The Washington Post, 11 Dec. 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2018/12/11/vikings-signing-kirk-cousins-seemed-like-such-good-idea-time/.

Jr., Harry Lyles. 2018 NFL Free Agency: Mike Zimmer Isn’t Sold on Case Keenum as QB. SBNation.com, 1 Mar. 2018, www.sbnation.com/2018/3/1/17066984/mike-zimmer-case-keenum-vikings.

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



Brooklin Johnson-Coles

Ms. Pahomov

English  2

26 March 2018

Ruled by Hate

What happens when a society is ruled by hate? In Lord of the Flies, William Golding writes about a group of boys stuck on an island. They go through all sorts of changes and do some awful things such as outcasting a fellow acquaintance, named Piggy. This demonstrates how in the real world hate escalates. This hate can develop into bullying or harassment, just as was seen in the treatment of Piggy and in the real world with bullying in the Philadelphia School District.  

Piggy was a character in Lord of the Flies that suffered at the hands of hate. He was an easy target to get picked on because he was heavy set and wore glasses. In Chapter One, he was targeted by Jack Merridew, the newly elected chief of the group. Jack states, “You're talking too much, said Jack Merridew. Shut up Fatty...He’s not Fatty cried Ralph...For the moment the boys were a closed circuit of sympathy with Piggy on the outside...” (21) Piggy is humiliated in front of everyone by their chief, which is setting him up to fail for the rest of his time on the island. He had nobody to stick up for him and the person who did just made the group laugh even more. Leaving no room for anybody change or fix the treatment Piggy received. Soon everyone follows after Jack and Piggy becomes one of the most unliked people on the island. Piggy’s reputation is tarnished before he could even introduce himself properly. Name calling is the first level of bullying. Ralph calling Piggy, “Fatty” made his name out to be a joke. Nobody respected him after that. It may not seem like a big deal at first but it can escalate into something worse. It’s like a warning sign for bullying.

This closely relates to bullying in the Philadelphia School District. Amanda Wible was a Philadelphia School Student that was bullied throughout her school experience. She was talked about because of the way she looked. She wore baggy clothes and everyone thought she dressed like a boy. The Inquirer states, "It was mostly name-calling; kids would talk about how I looked, and the fact that I dressed like a boy, said Wible.” This shows that students at her school talked about her physical appearance. The students disliked her because she was different she didn’t fit in and they hated her for it. Just like in Lord of the Flies, when the boys made fun of Piggy because of his weight. Amanda got talked about because she was different, she didn’t look like the other girls. Studies show that most bullying begins with name calling. In both instances, bullying starts with small degrading aspects. Often times, it results in hate and bullying towards another person.

Later on in Lord of the Flies, the boys lack of respect for Piggy grows and they get bolder. The text states, “‘His specs- use them as burning glasses!’ Piggy was surrounded before he could back away. ‘Here- let me go!’ His voice rose to a shriek of terror as Jack snatched the glasses off his face.”(40) This shows the boys turning their hate for Piggy into abuse. They treat him with no respect. They take his glasses without asking or even giving him a minute to process. They aren’t given any consent. Piggy couldn’t even defend himself. The boys think nothing of it, they just take what they need. Nobody ever stops and thinks about Piggy's feelings. This is a result of the boys having no consequence to the name calling. Since, the boys got a way with that, they believed they could just up the stakes. This clearly shows how Piggys bullying escalated. They put their hatred into action. The boys went from Shut up Fatty to taking his personal belongings.

The same goes for Amanda Wible, who’s school experience got worse the more she went to school. She states, “I'd be hit; I'd have things stolen from me, Wible said. ‘I'd report things all the time, and they'd tell me: 'Ignore them. It will stop. We'll talk to them.'" Amanda Wible suffers from physical abuse. The hate the students share for her has caused them to physically attack her. They continued to bully her because just like Piggy they were given no consequences for name calling. Bullying is something that escalates depending on what people are able to get away with. In Amanda's case, she never fought back and when she did speak up no actions took place. And in Piggys case nobody stood up for him or took his side.

To conclude, bullying is something that takes time. Some forms of hate comes from jealousy. There’s not always a reason for someone’s dislike for you. In Piggy and Amanda’s case, they were ostracized for being different. They can’t help their personality or how they look. In society today you can be outcasted for simply being you. Lord of the Flies showed that through Piggy. Hate can drive a person or society to do things without reason. It is the core of bullying and can change a society.

Works Cited

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

Graham, Kristen A. “Bullied in School, a Northeast Philly Woman Won a $500,000

Judgment. Her Case Could Ripple.” Https://Www.philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com, 27 Oct. 2018, www.philly.com/philly/education/northeast-philly-student-bullied-awarded-500000-philadelphia-school-district-20181027.html.

Schafer, John R. “The Seven-Stage Hate Model: The Psychopathology of Hate.” Psychology

Today, Sussex Publishers, 18 Mar. 2011, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/let-their-words-do-the-talking/201103/the-seven-stage-hate-model-the-psychopathology-hate.

“Warning Signs for Bullying.” StopBullying.gov, U.S Department of Health and Human

Services, 7 Feb. 2018, www.stopbullying.gov/at-risk/warning-signs/index.html.

Kankoue Folly

Ms. Pahomov

English 2

26 March 2019

“ Progression Due To Workers”

In the Lord Of The Flies, written by William Golding, the author explores the development of individuals when placed in a society without any laws to govern them. In the novel, the stranded individuals are a group of boys after their plane crashes. After Golding introduces the first two characters, Ralph and Piggy, Ralph finds a conch, and Piggy advises him that it can be used like a trumpet and explains how. Once Ralph blows the conch, the sound calls the rest of the boys scattered around the island to gather. From this moment the conch was established as an item that gave an individual power. Soon enough, the boys established a society, only for it to collapse in a short time. The society, as we would soon learn, was only sustained by a few working individuals, whom everyone benefited from. This relates to the general situation of our current society, in which, the individuals who make progress from labor are ignored by those who benefit from it.

   The idea that progress is only sustained by workers who in turn are ignored by the individuals who benefit from the incentives of progress goes beyond the novel. This could even be applied to the United States where there is a billionaire president and most of the Supreme Court Justices and Governors are millionaires in their own rights, as stated by Vox. Given the duty to represent all Americans and their values, these government officials actually only represent 6 percent of Americans. 6 percent of Americans who are millionaires or more. With the nation’s population consisting of 52 percent of people who are workers, this raises forth the question: why does the minority rule the majority? When investigated through a modern lens, it becomes clear that the minority elite prioritizes their needs over the needs of the community as a whole, as suggested by the economist. This creates the social imbalance in which the progressors work for the minority, without any consequence for both parties.

   In the novel, the idea that society’s progressors are ignored by the elite is metaphorically represented when Piggy, the established progressive, is stripped away of his right to use the conch as a medium for his voice and ideas to be heard. “I’ve got the conch Piggy said in a hurt voice, I’ve got the right to speak,”(44). Piggy’s freedom to speak and express ideas has been stripped away by those who are on top of society, notably Jack and Ralph. Despite Piggy’s assistance in creating a society and his knowledge and understanding their current circumstances, he is stripped of his voice, because it benefits the elite of Golding’s society to rule from the fear and work of their peers. This is much like how the rich elite of our society benefits from the work of the working class.

   As continued in the novel by Golding, a social imbalance begins to occur, in which tension starts to take place between the working class and the nonpareil class. Ralph, the newly established working class, has a disagreement with Jack, leader of the hunters, the established elite class, Golding starts: “ The rest of the hunters came back hours ago and. They’ve been swimming” Golding continues to write: “ we want meat ” (51). This moment of disagreement and tension further exposes the idea of how the established elite, will prioritize their needs over the necessities of the majority, even if it is deemed less important. 

    The nonpareil prioritizing their wants over the necessities of the working majority is still prevalent in today’s society, notably when it comes down to taxation. Over the course of many years, the working class has been asking for tax cuts, however, these wishes were never granted for the working class. Now under the Trump administration, these cuts were made possible for the upper class and mega-corporations. Trump, a billionaire in his seventies, argues that these tax cuts will “bring jobs back to America”. These jobs coming back to America is seen as the necessity of the working class, when in fact this reform, will only serve as another source of income for the upper class. Yet another example of the elite prioritize their wants over the needs of the working people.

The exploitation of the working class to form a source of income for the upper class is a large issue in society, however, the problem goes beyond this point. The elite also exploits the working class to further stabilize their position in society, this, as stated by Stuart Jeffries of The Guardian: “The bourgeoisie has learned to make the exploited pay for its crisis and to use them to disarm its adversaries.”  When applied to today’s society, a clear example of this would be mega-corporations such as Apple and Nike using the labor of underpaid workers to make quality products to compete or distance themselves from their competitors. As suggested by the Huffington Post.

The bourgeoisie exploiting for their own betterment can also be applied to the Lord of The Flies, in which Jack uses the notion of bravery to exploit the mind of the boys to help him get into a position of power. With this newly established control over the boys, Jack uses it to bring havoc upon his adversaries, Ralph and Piggy. “ We’ll hunt, I’m going to be chief…..I say this. We aren’t going to bother about the beast… We’re going to forget about the beast !” (Golding, 133). This act of bravery made by Jack gets establishes him as the leader of the boys, Jack distances himself from his adversaries as fearless.

The exploitation of the working class for the betterment of the social elites, is nothing surprising,  especially when analyzed and explored through Golding’s Lord of The Flies and further examined through modern eyes. Ideally, we can see how the social elite and mega corporations use working people as a means to augment their social impact or financial status, as exemplified by Nike, Apple, and the president himself. The imbalance of social power and status that braces civilization today is a topic of concern. It is imperative that we create a society in which the social elite do not rule and benefit from the progression made by the working class because a society ruled by the elite, is for the elite.

  Sources Cited

Carnes, Nicholas. “Working-Class People Are Underrepresented in Politics. The Problem Isn't Voters.” Vox, Vox, 24 Oct. 2018,    

www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/24/18009856/working-class-income-inequality-randy-bryce-alexandria-ocasio-cortez.

Gibson, C. Robert. “How the iPhone Helps Perpetuate Modern-Day Slavery.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 Nov. 2014,

www.huffingtonpost.com/carl-gibson/how-the-iphone_b_5800262.html.

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

“Government of the Rich, by the Rich, for the Rich.” The Economist, The Economist Newspaper, 17 Feb. 2011,

www.economist.com/free-exchange/2011/02/17/government-of-the-rich-by-the-rich-for-the-rich

Jeffries, Stuart. “Why Marxism Is on the Rise Again.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media,                                                                                                                4 July 2012,

www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jul/04/the-return-of-marxism.

Seabrook, Jeremy. “The New Class Struggle.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 7 July 2006,

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2006/jul/07/themakingofthenewbritish.

Vigo, Julian. “Modern Times And The Crisis Of Labor.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 19 Dec. 2018,

www.forbes.com/sites/julianvigo/2018/12/19/modern-times-and-the-crisis-of-labor/#5f61f21b50ca.

Andrew Semisch

Pahomov

English II

26 March 2019

Each Pray’r Accepted and Each Wish Resign’d

A pig’s head, buzzing with flies, speaks to a boy. A macabre moment in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, following a group of young boys stranded on an island torn between savagery and civility in their own new world, perfectly illustrates the religious cult concept and the mind altering aspects of cult teachings. Explored within the novel is an eternal duality. Egoism versus mutualism, Locke vs. Hobbes, the right of the individual vs. the power of the state. Somewhere in a grey middleground is religion and cult-like behavior. Cults can manipulate people to conform to a rigid belief system and use said system as a weapon, to consciousness-altering effect. How can people be inducted into these organizations so easily, without force or violence? How can leaders like Charles Manson or Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh hold so much power over the human mind? These questions have led me to posit this: Cult leaders have an answer that their followers need to know. Humans’ natural paranoia of the unknowable attracts them to these figures who claim to hold the universal secrets that their students have been longing for, and so become dependent upon.

“Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill… You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you?” (143). The pig tells the boy, Simon, this within a hallucination or dream state. Much like Jesus to God, Simon is written as a martyr and the successor of the deictic. The Lord of the Flies, through the dregs of the boys’ slaughter, enlightens Simon to humanity’s true fears. That the beast is within, and its presence is inescapable. Throughout the novel, the new island inhabitants go from extreme to extreme in their endeavors to suppress their fears, and to live comfortably - until rescue that is. This only acts against them, though, and their paranoia grows. There is nothing more terrifying than that you cannot fight back against. It’s for this very reason that we have the term “existential crisis”, it’s a state of fear induced by the uncontrollable and the Lord of the Flies cashes in on this fear, in a sense. With its grim charisma, it twists Simon and man’s fears into urges and commands. It says, “You’re not wanted. Understand? We are going to have fun on this island!  So don’t try on it, my poor misguided boy, or else.”

Between the years of 1969 and 1971, Charles Manson led a cult, dubbed the “Manson Family” in a series of nine murders. He often spoke to them of “Helter Skelter”, his prophesied race war of apocalyptic consequences. Although his ramblings were evidently delusional and he had been diagnosed with mental disorders such as schizophrenia and paranoid delusional disorder, his follower base stood loyal, often committing these murders in his name as a sort of effigy or tribute to the man. He was able to keep this power over the Family through the same means as the Lord of the Flies. He said once, “Anything you see in me is in you. If you want to see a vicious killer, that’s who you’ll see, do you understand that? If you see me as your brother, that’s what I’ll be… I am just a mirror.” This short quote, jumbled in with the ramblings the man was known for was a glimpse of surprising profundity. He frames his crimes and flaws as not personal, but human. Preaching this doctrine to the right, susceptible people had great consequences for anyone involved, including Manson. His godlike power over the Family led to the prosecution of the lot of them in court, as well as the deaths of nine innocent people.

Unlike Manson there is no such punishment for the vocalized fears, speaking through this hog’s body. That’s what makes it godlike in an even deeper sense. It has complete control of Simon but only through the ability of Simon’s self. The Lord of the Flies is nothing more than Simon’s own rope, tied to himself. His unshakable fears are simply so because they are primally instilled upon him. If the novel did not place the boys on their island, they would not have returned an animalistic nature and their animalistic fears. “What set me on fire was the thought” Manson once said. Perhaps the primitive state that the boys’ secluded society reverted to wasn’t the cause of their existential and internal conflict but the exact opposite; The lack of authority and answer found near constantly in adolescence was the domino that crashed, releasing the shackles suppressing our primeval instinct. This is the same primeval instinct that our societies and religions are built upon fighting against. From the clothes on any individual’s back, to capitalism or any other monetary system, to the idea of infrastructure which quite literally defaces the natural world, formed by millions of years of erosion and the chaotic allocation and reallocation of Earth’s matter. We have been trained to fight back against this most natural foundation of our planet in favor of our own system.

Manson gave people an attractive alternative. An alternative that went against the rhetoric proposed by any religious acolyte before him. Thinking about the word of any one large group’s God, what are the faithful as well as the non-believers told? In the end any given group will tell the world this:

Our deity is the truth and the truth is bound to reality. We are all bound to that God’s rule and that God knows all. Our God is not connected to the natural world; our God is it’s sculptor and controls every action that occurs within it. Our God is the great decidor.

Charles Manson was not without his god complex but his ideology was freeing to those who longed for a divine answer yet refused the binding nature of conventional faith. In essence, his followers were seeking the fire to their thought. They required the chaos of nature, completely eradicated in modern religion - no doubt tied to the doctrine of the superiority of people that theology teaches. The idea that we are greater than a bonobo, or a jungle orchid, or the moon.

Manson does not make his “children” in his image. Summarized from his 1991 interview (mid-conviction) with Ron Reagan Jr., he does not order his followers. He reminds them of their own personal demons that haunt them. The Lord of the Flies does not command Simon, but tells him what Simon, the Manson Family, or even Judas of their own actions which they cannot control. Manson knew how we, people, worked too well and served as a catalyst to the wrong-doings of the Family. In a sense this makes him the Lord of the Flies. He who does not speak to our sins but knows what they are nonetheless. He who has has embraced the nature world as his own but is far from its controller. Alexander Pope once wrote, “How happy is the blameless vestal’s lot! The world forgetting, by the world forgot. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! Each pray’r accepted, and each wish resign’d ..”

Works Cited

Abelard, Peter, et al. Letters of Abelard and Heloise. To Which Is Prefixed a Particular Account of Their Lives, Amours & Misfortunes. By the Late John Hughes, Esq. Together with the Poem of Eloisa to Abelard. By Mr. Pope. And, (to Which Is Now Added) the Poem of Abelard to Eloisa. By Mrs. Madan. Printed for W. Osborne and T. Griffin, and J. Mozley, Gainsbrough, 1785.

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

Reagon, Ron, reporter. Interview with Charles Manson. Prison Interview with Convicted Murderer Charles Manson - Ron Reagan Jr., 10 Sept. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXq4FgZV1FI.

Randy Le

Ms. Pahomov

English 2

26 March 2019

The “Authority Figure” Effect

How do people act with the knowledge of there being no authority figure observing them? In any group of children, it is inferred that some may act in an inappropriate manner when a matured figure leaves the scene. More specifically, children tend to get a sense that responsibility is brushed off their shoulders when an authority figure is not present but the moment authority is established again, responsibility becomes a motive to become more civilized. When people are observed by an authority figure, their thought process and actions gravitate towards a state of civility. In contrast, the absence of an authority figure pushes people into a place where they lack self control.

In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, different scenarios are brought up that illustrate components of human ideology and behavior. From the beginning, a group of boys are stranded on an island with no adults around. In turn, this creates a gap where the boys transition from civilized to savage, under the knowledge that an authority figure is not observing them. One of the boys, Piggy, says “What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages? What's grownups going to think? Going off--hunting pigs--letting fires out--and now!” (Golding 91). This shows the awareness that there is no longer an authority figure to be obedient towards. Building off of that, there is an establishment of fear in Piggy’s voice which sparks the transition from civility to savagery. Piggy notices that the boys are rather living based off their primal instincts and are devolving into savages. Without there being an authority figure, the boys have already changed their line of thoughts and structured their own community apart from the moral-based civilization with an authority figure. Piggy seems to comprehend the dangers of the primal acts but has no say in such a nonfunctional community.

In primary school, students wish for the day that a substitute teacher takes the role of their actual teacher. The desire to be in a learning environment is lost as this gives the students opportunities to misbehave. Sammy Kayes was a substitute for more than three years and in his years of being a substitute teacher, he conducted his own research of why some students may behave differently around substitutes. Through a process of asking teachers (including substitutes), Kayes was able to get an answer of students desiring to “get away” with their tasks but most importantly, their responsibilities. Responsibility comes through as a hidden theme throughout his experience and Kayes states “My initial theory was that students are trying to “get away from” whatever they’re doing. I actually wanted to be wrong.” From here, a conclusion was drawn that classes with substitute teachers behave poorly because of the fact that students would prefer to do something else. Kayes goes further to notice that the problem is more of a systematic problem rather than a problem on the teachers. In a community where behavior varies so vividly, a clear problem can be seen that may pertain more towards the people than the ones teaching.

Towards the end of the novel, the boys, who have been engulfed by savagery, target Ralph who had desired a society structured by law and order. Before the savagery could take over and possibly end Ralph, a Naval officer arrives, causing the boys to stop. They begin to cry and notice their actions throughout the story. Just from the presence of an authority figure, the boys were able to fade away from their untamed thoughts and notice the wrong acts they have done. Elaborating, the Navy officer stated “I should have thought that a pack of British boys一you’re all British, aren’t you?一would have been able to put up a better show than that一I mean一” (Golding 201-202) which criticized the behavior by saying they should have been organized and enlightened as should the British were (who were civilized). In addition, the sudden pause of action is enough to determine the impact an authority figure has on a community. The boys were able to recognize their actions and stop any more violence from occurring which shows the importance of an authority figure.

In comparison, students in a classroom may have different reactions when subsubtites are present versus when they are not. Returning to Sammy Kayes, he says “What I noticed was that every day, in almost every class, students would cheer and dance that I was there instead of their regular teacher. Students loved having a substitute teacher. They really wanted to get away, so much that it was a celebration when they finally could.” His line of thought correlates with the idea that there is some type of relief when no authority figure is present. In addition, he presents the idea of the students “getting away” by leaning towards an ideology of not only taking responsibility but distancing themselves from it. All in all, the process of becoming uncivilized accordingly to the absence of an authority figure becomes a prominent theme even when taking a look through the lens of a substitute teacher.

Taking everything into account, the absence of a authority figure shifts the behavior of human beings from civilized to more or less, savage. Glancing at the transformation of the boys, the readers can see how the absence of an authority figure can take a pivotal role in the behavior of humans. The boys ,who were previously classified as civil, became more like savages which connects with the “substitute teacher effect” when students would behave differently around substitutes. In addition, Sammy Kayes and his story as a substitute teacher further elaborates the definitive truth behind authority coupled with human beings. Ultimately, this proves that people will act differently upon the knowledge of an authority figure observing them. Whether it be performing a task or presenting yourself to the public, the large message is that people will act in a civilized manner when an authority figure is present but will act in a savage manner when the authority figure is no longer present.

Works Cited

Bodenner, Chris. “When Students Physically Dominate a Sub.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 26 Sept. 2016, www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/09/substitutes/501227/.

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

Kayes, Sammy, and Sammy Kayes. “The ‘Substitute Teacher’ Effect.” Student Voices, Student Voices, 12 Feb. 2017, mystudentvoices.com/the-substitute-teacher-effect-adc1a4a801c0.

Noor Kreidie

Ms. Pahomov

English 2

26 March 2019

Wall Street is an eight block area in New York City, which has made “New York the most powerful financial city in the world”, according to Huw Jones from Reuters.com. The influence of money and power in stock trading can make people become crooks. Some of the most influential banks in the world are controlled by few leaders, ending in these leaders having extreme amounts of power. In The Lord of The flies after a plane crash boys 7-12 are left on an island without any laws or parents. On the Island there is a battle over who has the ultimate power, ultimately leading in boys doing unethical actions to acquire the power. These two examples dementonstates how power corrupts people and makes people commit inhumane and unethical actions.

In 2008, a well known stock trader Bernie Madoff was caught for fraudulent, after years in being in the stock exchange world.“A well-respected financier, Madoff convinced thousands of investors to hand over their savings, falsely promising consistent profits in return.” He had made 65 billion dollars from his investors, most of that going into his own pocket. He would persuade people to give them their whole savings and then keep it for himself. In 2008 he was charged with 150 years in prison. A major reason why he was undetected for so long was because he was very respected and was a very powerful member of the financial world in New York. He helped launch the Nasdaq Stock Market which is the world's second largest stock exchange, because of this he was viewed as a leader and held major power. Knowing that he had so much power he committed illegal actions because he knew he would never get caught.

Jack was a leader of the boys at the end of the book, except for Ralph and Piggy. Ralph never wanted Jack to become Chief because he believed that he had committed savage actions. But Jack was willing to do anything to become chief, and even hurt other boys on the island.He threw a boulder which ended up impaling piggy. After Piggy’s death,  Golding writes “ See? See? That what you’ll get! I meant that! There isn’t a tribe for you anymore! The conch is gone-I’m chief!”(181) Just like Madoff, Jack had committed an inhumane action and wasn’t seen any less of a leader to their followers. Jack didn’t feel any sorrow for Piggy because he had a rush from having so much power. Madoff and Jack are very similar in the degree that they were lead by the need of power. With that constant need in their heads they didn’t think their actions through which lead to destruction of people's lives.

Jordan Belfort the inspiration of  Wolf of Wall Street shows the dynamic of power and the inhumane abilities it has on people. Jordan Belfort had a company called Stratton Oakmont that was worth just over 1 billion dollars. On Warrior Trading.com they write“Stratton Oakmont employed 1,000 traders who were responsible for issuing stocks that totaled over 1 billion dollars. These fraudulent actions cost investors millions of dollars.” The way they got so much money was through selling penny stock, penny stocks are shares of public companies at very low prices. Jordan Belfort and his team would sell and promote penny stock. Which then would make raise the value of the penny stock. When he sold all the penny stock he would drop the stock from his company. When doing this he would gain millions of dollars while his investors would lose a lot of money. He was finally arrested and spent twenty-two months in prison. But he had done this for years and represented huge brands like Steve Madden. He never felt guilt for the companies that he represented or his investors since he was on such a high of power. He let power get to his head, which ultimately lead to the downfall of him in the financial world and his company.

In  Lord of the Flies, Jack had always wanted to become a leader, and always wanted to acquire more and more power. Jack was always on a quest to kill a pig to get food and to show his leadership abilities.“ The mask was a thing on it own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness. (64)”  At the beginning of the book, Ralph was chosen as the main leader between him and Jack. Throughout the first half of the book the boys were in desperate need of food, and everybody wanted to kill the pig. Jack thought that killing this pig would make himself look like a more capable leader. He did anything to kill this pig, going to the degree of wearing face paint to attract this pig. Even though he was killing the pig to feed the boys, he did the killing in a very gruesome manner, and slit the pig's throat. He had done actions which we would view as gruesome and inhumane to require the power that he believed he deserved.

Power has the ability to corrupt a mind. When you believe you are on top of the world, and have control over so many people you believe that you can do anything. Madoff and Belfort knowling committed crimes,but didn’t think twice because they benefited from those actions. Jack knew that killing another boy, and gruesomely killing a pig was something immoral, and yet still did it to possess power. We have a part of our brain that always want us to be the best of the best, which makes people associate with having power over other people. Human always crave power for the urge of power. Humans will do anything to be on top of the world.

Works Cited

Golding, William, and Donna Reardon. Lord of the Flies. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1954.

Jones, Huw. “United States Top, Britain Second in Financial Activity: Think-Tank.” Reuters,

Thomson Reuters, 4 Sept. 2018, www.reuters.com/article/us-survey-markets/united-states-top-britain-second-in-financial-activity-think-tank-idUSKCN1LK2TM.

Yang, Stephanie. “5 Years Ago Bernie Madoff Was Sentenced to 150 Years In Prison – Here's

How His Scheme Worked.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 1 July 2014, www.businessinsider.com/how-bernie-madoffs-ponzi-scheme-worked-2014-7.

“Jordan Belfort: How He Became the Wolf of Wall Street.” Warrior Trading, Warrior Trading, 12