Lord of the Flies Blogpost

Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, creates a unique story of primal instinct and the terrifying effects of isolation using a group of prepubescent boys stranded on an island. The way in which their fragile society begins to develop and how the actions of the boys, influenced by the psychological effects of isolation, destroy it, sends an important message. We can learn a lot about human nature and how people act when stripped of their civilization from this tale.

The characters start off as curious, innocent children who rejoice in the absence of dreary routine and responsibilities. They believe they’ve stumbled upon a tropical paradise where they can act as they please, carefree and without their usual shackles of civilized society. There’s no tension between any of the characters, and the only things on the boys’ minds are being rescued and having a good time until that happens. The conch shell, a symbol of authority, holds much power in drawing the attention and respect of the boys early in the book. It represents the remnants of their normal lives in the boys, looking up to signs of power. They act kindly towards each other, and respect Ralph and his decisions.

As the book progresses, the boys start to lose sight of their hope of being rescued. This turn of events is punctuated when Jack’s first successful kill comes at the price of lighting the signal fire as a boat comes by. Ralph and Piggy are furious at this, them being the most intent on being rescued, but many of the other boys, who participate in Jack’s hunting, don’t care as much. The boys become obsessed with wild pigs, and they prioritize hunting over all else. No one openly rebels against Ralph, but they turn their heads away from their old homes and venture deeper into the wilderness of the island. As reports of a beast become more vivid and frequent, tension builds and the power of the conch, and thereby reason and the hope of rescue, grow dimmer. Less attention is payed to the original goals of the group, and fear spreads. These events show how, after being exposed to the wild with no connections to civilized life, fear and primal instincts take over the boys.

Around two thirds of the way through the story, a dead pilot from a dogfight drops onto the signal fire hill. As the boys encounter it and mistake it for the beast, fear peaks and reason loses control. At this point, many boys are overcome with terror, and the hope of rescue is completely lost. The powers of thought and civilization have all but vanished at this point, as demonstrated at the numerous times where the conch is ignored and the rules of the island violated. Eventually, Jack rebels against Ralph, and almost all the boys join him. This shows how the primal instincts and fear have utterly consumed the boys. Every time a pig is killed by Jack’s tribe, its head is left on a stake. One of these, dubbed the Lord of the Flies, is used to symbolize the complete loss of civilization by the boys. As they all turn to Jack’s side, Ralph is hunted down. Just as all hope seems lost, a ship attracted by a hunting fire comes. Ralph’s final emotional breakdown at his rescue, over the loss of his friends and innocence, shows the consequences of the terror-driven actions of the boys.

This book is very interesting, and provides an insightful view on the effects of civilization, or the absence thereof. The lack of order on the island has devastating consequences, and it’s interesting to see how different characters react to it. The story provides lots of insight on human nature and how it can influence our actions, sending an important message.

Mockingjay Blogpost By Gus Miller, Class 802

The novel Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins vividly depicts a dystopian society split into districts and ruled by a corrupt, sadistic capital. The hero, Katniss Everdeen, constantly struggles with internal conflicts and psychological trauma. Throughout the story, many events and symbols are used to represent real-life problems and compare the possibilities of this future with our reality.

The beginning of the book centers around Katniss’s introduction to District 13 and her internal conflicts caused by the trauma from the Hunger Games. It progresses towards her leading the rebellion and explores the way governments manipulate people, showing multiple sides of the conflict with Snow’s violent atrocities and Coin’s subversive manipulation. The stress that comes from Peeta’s capture and use as propaganda continually wears Katniss down and makes for an interesting factor that contributes to the plot.

The middle focuses more on fighting and the actual battle part of the rebellion. Many ethical issues are brought up here, with Peeta being tortured and the Nut mountain being raided and its inhabitants killed. Again, Katniss’s stress over Peeta contributes to the tension and degrades her psychological health, adding in important and interesting conflicts. This section touches down more on the horrors of battle and the oppressiveness of the Capitol. It places Katniss’s mental conflicts and the battles of the rebellion in the spotlight. When Finnick says that “it takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart,” it shows the problems Katniss is facing and how it affect her. We can see how much she’s being hindered constantly by the psychological issues.

The end of the story focuses on concluding Katniss’s conflicts and showing how her life will turn out and be affected. Although the final battle of the rebellion is included, it itself holds less importance than the affects it has on Katniss. This part mostly finishes up the conflicts that played an important part in the previous parts of the story and shows how Katniss has been changed and affected. When Katniss says that she “no longer feels any allegiance to these monsters called human beings,” it shows how impactful her experiences were and we can make connections to the effects of corrupt power use and how society will turn out when influenced by it.

In conclusion, Mockingjay brings some strong imagery and themes to show the possibilities of our future. The way in which it displays the consequences of abuse of power and how people can be influenced by it is very meaningful, and it delivers a very important message to our society. The disastrous world that Collins paints is an important reminder.

Is The Chinese Gaokao Exam Fair? By Gus Miller, Class 802

The Chinese gaokao is a massive examination that singlehandedly determines the taker’s fate for the rest of their lives by determining which colleges they go to, if any.

This test is the sole factor for college admission in China. The gaokao places vast amounts of stress on students and teachers alike. When this fact is combined with the grossly high stakes, we can clearly see that the entire system is wholly unjust.

The ways in which just one test could affect someone’s life are just part of the reason the gaokao is unfair. Whether or not someone goes to college will decide if they will be able to get a good, interesting, high-paying job, or be forced to live out their lives as farmers or construction workers, barely scraping out a living. It’s utterly unreasonable to decide so much based on just one test. We can also see how it adversely affects people. Teenagers in gaokao cram schools have been known to use intravenous drips to give themselves the stamina to study for over 15 hours a day. This clearly shows that too much is being put into a single test.

Another unjust part about the gaokao is the stress it places on people. In gaokao cram schools, almost everything about a teacher’s job- their wage, job security, and more- rests on the performance of their students. This drives them to extreme measures in order to get their students high scores. They frequently dole out punishments, and security guards patrol the perimeters. There are also security cameras that constantly track students. As for the students themselves, suicide rates skyrocket in teens preparing for the gaokao. Many families put everything on the line for this exam. Poorer parents divert almost all of their income to prep school wages in hopes that their kids can get good jobs. Many more well-off people will opt to place their children in private schools or in schools in other countries to avoid the hardships of the gaokao.

Finally, the gaokao is simply an inept judgement of student’s skills. There’s no way any reason or sense can be found in the idea of one test dictating the future of millions of students. It can’t be assumed that one exam is an accurate indicator of a student’s knowledge, and yet this exam could mean so much for entire families. It’s utterly unjust for this ineffective system to send some students to high up, prestigious colleges, which is basically a golden ticket to a good future, and condemn others to manual labor and most likely poverty, without any definite knowledge of the student’s academic level.

In conclusion, the gaokao exam is an unfair system that needlessly jeopardizes the futures of millions of families. It places enormous and needless amounts of pressure on students and teachers alike. The level of stress is harmful and unhealthy, and in the end, the whole exam is just hugely inefficient and unjust. Although many people are calling for reforms, the Chinese government has been slow to change this problem.

Martin Espada Poetry Essay- Abuse of Power By Gus Miller, Class 802

Martin Espada, a renowned Latino poet, artfully speaks of abuse of power in three of his poems, “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School,” “Revolutionary Spanish Lesson,” and “Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877.” These pieces of work explore the emotions and thought surrounding injustices in the world and connect them with the idea of power imbalance. He tries to show us the problems many people face and open our eyes to the hardships others are forced to endure.

In Espada’s poem “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School,” he describes a school in which the speaking of spanish is prohibited. This poem as based off of a real school he visited. In particular, the quote “The only word he recognizes is his own name/ and this constipates him/ so he decides/ to ban spanish/ from the bathrooms/ now he can relax” shows blatant abuse of power. The principal, in a position of power, chooses to use this power in a negative way. He discriminates against others because their actions make him feel uncomfortable. His “constipation” is his ego being threatened by something he can’t understand, Spanish. He uses his power, injustly, to stop this.

In the poem “Revolutionary Spanish Lesson,” Espada writes from a speaker’s point of view who describes hijacking a bus of white Republican tourists and force them to chant anti-American slogans in Spanish. This person says “Whenever my name is mispronounced/ I want to/...force them to chant/ anti-American slogans/ in Spanish.”

The speaker does not likely literally mean this, rather, he wants to turn the tables briefly on the Americans who have oppressed and held back his people with their abuse of power for so long. When he says he wants to “..wait/ for the bilingual SWAT team/ to helicopter overhead/ begging me/ to be reasonable,” he expresses his anger and frustration at how the Americans would treat him as a terrorist, continuing to hold him back with their power.

Espada’s poem “Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877” is centered around a speaker who reflects over the killing of two Mexicans by a mob of power-abusing white people. This piece of work also focuses in on how the event impacted others, and in what way. The speaker delves into what the lynching means for other Mexicans. The quote “...Snapped two Mexicanos/ into the grimacing sleep of broken necks/...the Virgin de Guadalupe/ who blesses the brownskinned/ and the crucified…” shows how the culture of these people is being attacked and beaten down and how these deaths and this abuse of power affected others. When the speaker repeats “..more than,” followed by various other things, then “... remain the faces of the lynching party...smirking...crowding into the photograph,” he laments how the abusers of power, the murderers, were celebrated and remembered in a cheerful picture.

In conclusion, Espada’s poems show abuse of power in many circumstances. He is able to artfully and thoughtfully tie in the ways others are affected by injustices. He brings in many different scenarios and gives an important perspective in our world of social injustice.

1984 Book Club Response

1984 Blogpost

Gus Miller, 802

The novel 1984 by George Orwell uses a frightening dystopian society in which literally every aspect of the peoples’ lives are dictated by a thought-reading regime of fascists to foreshadow the implications of post-WWII civilization. We follow an interestingly pathetic antihero, Winston, as he journeys through the steps of realization and rebelliousness that come with the realization of the oppressiveness of one’s society. The book uses a variety of symbols and metaphors to show the way life would be in such a situation and to compare it with the way we currently live.

Throughout the beginning and middle of the book, Winston has a strange and evolving relationship with a woman named Julia, which drastically changes his view over the world’s situation and inspires a sense of purpose and courage within him. At first, he’s convinced that she’s spying on him, and he describes hating her and wanting to rape and kill her. However, the abrupt notification that she wants to be involved in a romance with him turns their connection into one of rebelliousness and lust. The seemingly unbreakable bond of love between them encourages and, to Winston, warrants their small rebelliousness against the Party. However, once they are both captured, and the infallibility of the Party is fully made known to them, the bond is smashed, which plays a central role in the dominance of these protagonists. Near the end of the book, Julia says “...All you care about is yourself.” To this, Winston responds,

“...You don’t feel the same…” These quotes, and the betrayals of these two against each other, show how the government can have power enough to break through anything standing against them, if they’re left to gain a strong enough hold over society.

Near the end of the book, the Party demonstrates their full power, effectively pulling the facade of chance and hope for the future away like tissue paper. Winston and Julia had sworn into a fake Brotherhood against the Party, and were caught by hidden telescreens and promptly imprisoned. This part of the book is where Orwell shows the true monstrosity that is our potential future. There truly was no way to resist the party, and through this last section of the book, we see firsthand how far this government has been allowed to go. Everything that could possibly mean anything but stupid complacence is forcefully stripped from Winston and Julia, and Winston’s sentiments on the book’s last page echo this perfectly. “...O cruel, needless misunderstanding! But… everything was all right… He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.” This is the finest demonstration of the unstoppable strenght and the uniquely brutal capabilities of a government like the party to utterly dominate its people.

In conclusion, 1984 delivers a strong message and warning, showing the potential events that would result due to human nature mixed with certain conditions. The things that happen in this novel aren’t that far off for something so catastrophic, and work extremely well at portraying the consequences that could come from certain way of governing. It’s important to consider the implications of a book like this, since it’s based off of a real time period in which the government portrayed wasn’t far from taking power. 1984 is an important part of our culture, and a wise reminder of our own potential.

Banned Book Argument Essay

Gus Miller, Class 802

Censorship of literature due to content found offensive, disturbing, or unsuitable for certain audiences seems like a reasonable, protective action to take at first glance. However, schools, libraries, and entire communities have to delve deeper and see that to ban books is really to deprive people from valuable, insightful knowledge that can positively and dynamically affect the lives of countless readers. It’s so easy for teenagers and their parents or teachers to find the student’s boundaries and prevent people from being negatively affected without taking away the potential for great change sparked by creative and deep literature. Books that people want to ban usually resonate with powerful messages that some find unappealing but others find eye-opening and inspiring, and simply cutting off everyone from such material is simply inhibiting an excessive amount of people.

One reason books should not be banned is that it is entirely within the power of readers or their parents or teachers to find and work within the limits and traits of the child. Banning a book like Ellen Hopkins’ Crank because people don’t want their kids to read about drug use and profound sexual themes is a blind and restricting act. However, it’s so much easier to protect children from content some dislike without limiting a large amount of others. If a parent finds material to be unsuitable for their child, they can talk to the child about it and come to an agreement to prevent the child from being exposed to that content without taking it away from all the other people that want to read and learn from it. Crank was influenced by Ellen Hopkins’ own experiences with a child addicted to drugs, and it was crafted in a way that could help other people.

Another powerful reason the censorship of books is wrong is that the content some find inappropriate and unsuitable for young adult literature could help people in a pivotal, life changing or even saving way. Some books about cutting are banned for gory, dark content that many people think is edgy even in an adult’s horror book. However, censoring this material might prevent a cutter from reading it, realizing that they need help, and taking actions that will transform their life. The Harry Potter Alliance is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the world and inspired by fantasy books such as Harry Potter. Even in abstract fiction that clearly isn’t real, themes that echo real world problems can be found throughout. Books help readers see life more clearly, and they inspire them to improve the world and solve problems that hold humanity back.

Many people argue that today’s young adult books are too dark, unnecessarily exaggerating themes of violence, sex, and drugs. That stories have content that needs to be drastically toned down since it could disturb readers or give them harmful ideas. They try to solve this problem by banning books across wide communities, cutting them out of entire schools or libraries or even bookstores. However, these decisions impact entire communities of hundreds of people, decisions influenced by only a few families or a single school board. It’s completely unacceptable to make such decisions when the proportions are considered, especially when there are so many other solutions and benefits to allowing freedom to access information in schools and libraries. Banning books is like putting a veil over the entire audience when only a few people don’t want to see the show.

The reasons why censorship is wrong are simple. We can prevent ourselves from being disturbed or offended by content by educating ourselves about books we want to read and acknowledging what we find unsuitable for ourselves. Banning books takes away valuable and enlightening information from people who could need it. We, as a society, need to be more open to that which we find disturbing, and be willing to look at an entire book, not just the content we dislike, to prevent ourselves from being unnecessarily held back.

Social Justice Project

ELA Social Justice Project

By Gus Miller, 802

Newspaper Article: Citation: Bosman, Julie; Eckholm, Erik; et al. “Ferguson Grand Jury Faced Mass of Evidence in Decision, Much of it Conflicting.” New York Times 25 November 2014. Web.

In this article, the authors discuss a colossal load of evidence presented before the indictment of Officer Wilson. Many witnesses have made many claims involving every aspect of the event. I think this article deals with injustice since people are discussing evidence that could determine the fate of a white man who killed a black teen. It seems obvious that racism is present in this conflict, and that anyone would try to defend the behaviors of Wilson is outrageous. People that are trying to advocate for the acquittal demonstrate clearly that structural racism still plagues this country. This connects with my everyday life and everyone else’s, since throughout society black people are still suffering from bias and ingrained inequality that should have been abolished along with slavery 140 years ago. It makes me think about the painful reality of white privilege today, and how everyone needs to work towards real equality.

Everyday Injustices:

-Homophobia, “gay” used as an insult

-Structural racism

-Structural sexism

-Poverty

-Bullying

-Jokes about serious matters like the Holocaust

-People casually calling each other “retarded”

-Casual use of racial slurs

-White privilege

-Stereotyping

Something that really bothers me almost every day is homophobia. At school, people will casually call each other gay, and in popular music, movies, books, and TV shows, people are usually shown as straight couples. People still seem to be very afraid of homosexuality, and constantly I read about debates over gay marriage where rich white people are complaining about how being gay is a sin. The worst part is the idea itself of homophobia, though. People are trying to control who others are allowed to officially join in marriage even though it doesn’t affect them in any way. In Russia, being openly gay is a criminal offense. It’s really sad how people in power try to control so many aspects of other people’s lives. Gay and lesbian people get a lot of hate, and it seems like everywhere there are people who just detest the idea of same sex relationships. People sometimes try to justify themselves with religion or other beliefs, but just as often people that are openly homosexual are verbally assaulted by bigoted people who have no good reason to hate them. Throughout society, homosexuality is considered odd at best and cause for open hatred at worst, and people are constantly trying to control who others love.

Movie/TV Show: One popular TV show I watch often is Family Guy. In this show, the main characters are the Griffins, a white, well off family. In the show, most teens are likewise depicted as white, and well off, living in a house ranging from being nice to being a lavish mansion. The popular teens are all skinny, blonde cheerleader girls and big, tough jocks who are obsessed with physical, competitive sports. Obviously these are gross stereotypes, and the truth couldn’t be further. The most realistically portrayed characters are the nerdy boys with square glasses and the brown haired girls who aren’t tall, skinny, and visually flawless, although even these are a far cry from reality. The stereotypes are so exaggerated it’s funny, but it also makes me think of the teens never shown on Family Guy: The poor, timid children with financial difficulties, the ones with mental difficulties, the homeless ones. It’s disturbing how all of popular culture portrays all the people anyone would want to be as the flawless straight white people who are successful and rich and famous. There are so many stereotypes being portrayed that it almost blocks out the ideas of people who have difficult lives. But it just makes me think more about the teens who aren’t models or superstars, and how unjust the world is.

Poem Analysis:

To be twenty again,

believing with such fervor,

sure of the way,

committed unto death if need be.

Willing to offer myself without reservation,

to share my talents and hopes

without equivocation.

To be twenty again,

believing change is possible

because I have changed,

believing barriers can be lifted,

distrust transcended

because I have known friendship

across the color line, deep friendship.

To be twenty again

and to know the power

of a social movement

that transforms its participants

as well as the world,

to know I've found a place, a way of life that allows love of God

and commitment to justice

to flourish side by side.

To fall in love again and again

with life and idealism as it manifests

first in one and then another

young man's eyes.

I lived so intensely,

believed so absolutely,

felt so acutely.

I had the energy to do so

and lacked the experience

to feel afraid or use caution.

I grew outside the bounds

of my white, middle class upbringing.

I grew outside the experience

of my professors at college.

There were times of connection

and transcendence,

times of anger

and fear of losing all we'd worked for.

There were times of trust

and times the trust shriveled

in the light of a sharp afternoon.

Oh, to be twenty again

and refuse compromise.

To believe justice is attainable.

That love will replace greed.

To believe people can live

and work in mutual respect for one another.

To be twenty again

and believe it is all possible.

Citation: Allen, Chude Pam. To Be Twenty Again. Chude Allen, 1994. Web.

This poem embodies the true nature of the civil rights movement to me. It shows the vigor and courage but also naiveté that young people have and how they believe they can change everything, spurred on by friendships and smaller victories. It illustrates the hope that good human traits can drive out bad human nature, and implies at the somber realization of the difficulty involved in defeating bigotry and greed. It hints at how wonderful a completely segregation-free world would be but also at the difficulty in attaining such a world. The author uses the ideas of smaller changes pushing bigger ones forward and how the transitions experienced during young adulthood inspire people. This poem shows the author’s experiences as a twenty-year old  and how they affected her and motivated her. Throughout the piece, there is a feeling of melancholy as she implies that she was less wise and more inspired when she was younger, believing in things that couldn’t happen as easily as she thought. This shows how difficult racism is to combat, since some people simply want to be better, and it’s not something that can just be driven out of their heads. It embodies the feelings that combat racism, like love, friendship, and acceptance. This poem  deeply describes some of the most crucial parts of the civil rights movement.

Interview:

My dad’s response to the question “What is your opinion about what is fair and unfair in this world? Why do you think this?”:

“It's hard to say what's good without stepping on someone's toes. What's good to me might be evil to someone else! But I do believe that love is good, and things that come from love—like generosity, compassion, empathy, working for equality—are all good, and make up much of what is good in our lives. Unfortunately I don't see much that is fair. In anything, the rule of our world is unfair: sexism, racism, even "ageism" are all ways to be unfair that have been part of human culture for as long as we know. They are part of the structure of civilization, so deep that sometimes we aren't even aware of them, since they are built into our language, our assumptions, even our attempts to be fair. So, in my opinion, a big part of being good is working (hard!) to look out for structural iniquity, whether it's racism, sexism, or some other way to draw a line between groups of people so as to make one group out as better than the other.”

This answer talks about how what’s good counteracts what’s unfair. I think it touches down on how human nature itself has unfairness so deeply ingrained into it so as to be inextricable to a certain extent. Humans work together and strive to grow, but their basic instincts call for them to do “bad” things to benefit themselves more often than not. People are certainly capable of doing good things, but it’s easier and sometimes more beneficial to themselves to act unfairly. I think the goodness comes from not doing the bad things and working to help others besides yourself. Unfairness similarly stems from people trying to elevate themselves above others. I agree with the idea of bringing everyone to the same level as being a core aspect of being good, and it’s vital to work together and to be above the basic instincts of superiority that lead to inequality.

News Response:

Citation: Botti, David, and Strasser, Franz. “Ferguson Shooting: What do Mothers Tell Their Children?” Online Video Clip. BBC News. 26 November 2014. Web. 27 Nov, 2014.

This video was very interesting to watch. I wouldn’t have any idea about what to do if I were a parent of a child in Ferguson, and seeing how these people so afflicted by racism reacted to help their children was actually quite inspiring. Having to take care of young children in such a chaotic and dangerous situation would be very difficult and require an astounding amount of judgement to do the right thing. Racism and death are both very tough topics to introduce to little kids, and in this case, when it’s so hard to dodge around the issue, it would be an extraordinarily impressive feat to successfully tell the truth without causing too much stress. It’s crucial to find a balance that will sate the curiosity of the child without causing too much stress, which is why these mothers are so strong and admirable.

World-Changing Person Interview:

My mom works at CUNY every day as a librarian to provide services and resources to students in New York City, many of whom are from low income families. She gives them access to calm, quiet learning environments that aren’t normally available to them. She also helps let them use books and important information resources for free that would normally cost more than they could afford. There are librarians to help teach them to do research and develop skills they might not have normally picked up. She enjoys this work since she’s interested in helping students in need get college degrees so they can be able to get good jobs and be successful. This work makes her feel fulfilled since she can cause big improvements in people’s lives and help get them better lives.