Lord of The Flies - Summative Journal

For the past fews weeks our group has been finishing up "The Lord of the Flies". Most of our discussions has been revolved around the power distribution among the leaders, and the symbolism throughout the book. We all thought that the book contained very deep meanings and how it closely relates to our present society.

The order on the island is very fragile as the rules are set by merely young boys. Jack believes that Ralph lacks the intelligence to make executive decisions and relies on Piggy for all the answers and announces to the group, "[Ralph's] like Piggy. He says things like Piggy. He isn't a proper chief" (pg.138). Jack has repeatedly opposed Ralph's right to rule and separated from the group saying, "I'm going off by myself. [Ralph] can catch his own pigs. Anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come too" (pg.140), which tempted many of the boys to join him.  Furthermore, by rebelling against Ralph's leadership and Piggy's ideas that formed democracy, Jack creates the illusion of being an omnipotent leader because no one opposes him, thus the boys are even more convinced to join his party. Now with Jack having most of the power, his tribe obeys him without question and their actions become unjust. Their minds are all being devoured by bloodlust and they even stab Simon to death mistaking him as the beast and drop a boulder on Piggy. But even with their unjust actions, the tribe had no opposition and had the power to do as they pleased. This situation relates to the gangs in our society. By doing things that break the law, gangs give off the illusion of being powerful and many individuals who desire the sense of being powerful join which empowers gangs even more.

One of the key symbols in the book is the title itself, "The Lord of The Flies". Its meaning is the devil and we've discussed how it's portraying the darkness within everyone. The beast is nothing more than fear that is manipulating the thoughts of the boys into thinking that something is there. Piggy, being the sensible one, even says, "that's a clever beast... if it can hide on this island" (pg .94), because he too hasn't come to the realization that it's nothing except merely fear. The fear hides itself well deep within the boys hearts, being able to manipulate them and exploit them to savagery. Simon was the first to realize this when he talked to the pig's head on a stick, or the Lord of the Flies. It said to Simon, "You knew, didn't you? I'm part of you? Close, close, close! I'm the reason why it's no go? Why things are what they are?" (pg.158). All the mayhem was created by fear and that fear is engraved in each and every one of the boys' hearts. This fear of a beast led the tribe to killing Simon, killing Piggy, and driving them to their primitive instincts to hunt. This fear led to nothing but violence and death but their mindset was consumed by fear that they could no longer make rational decisions.

We all thought that this was a great book that had plenty of deeper meanings. It required a lot of insight to really draw out all the key aspects of the book and I think it helped us really understand the concepts of darkness, violence, etc.

Lord of The Flies - Violence Glogster

http://irbpanda.glogster.com/lord-of-the-flies-violence/

• The colour scheme is meant to portray blood from the violence and darkness within the boys' hearts.
• The wall page has a pattern of angel wings covered in blood. This is to represent that even good things can be tainted.
• The spear is to show the tool the boys are using for violence.
• The heart is split into a darker left side and a lighter right side. I used this image because it represents how everybody has a good and bad side within them, it's just which side we choose to follow.
• The video of Piggy's death is to show just how violent the boys have become to allow themselves to kill another human being.
• The quote "Ralph too was... was over-mastering" (pg. 125) is to show that even the most sensible person is capable of giving in to their darker side and turn violent.
• The quote "Kill the Pig!... Bash him in!" (pg. 125) is to show that their main reason for hunting is no longer for food, but to feed their bloodlust.
• The paragraphs are there to answer the EQ - Does evil or fear lead one to the following: experience of violence, infliction of violence and/or observation of violence?

Week 2 Journal - Lord of the Flies (Summative)

This week, our group analyzed chapters 3 and 4 of "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding. Our discussion consisted of analyzing the concealed darkness slowly evolving as the boys continue living on the island. In chapter 3 we talked about how the mutual hatred between Ralph and Jack has been present ever since the vote for chief and has only been developing progressively. Now, during a meeting, the first verbal argument between the two individuals as their hatred ruptures out of concealment. Ralph believes that "[they] need shelters" (pg.52) and requests the assistance of the group to help build them but on the other hand, Jack neglects Ralph's demand for help and states that "[he'd] like to catch a pig first." (pg.54) We see that Ralph is a civilized character that's trying to mimic the setting of modern society while Jack is slowly transforming into a savage with his mind set on feeding his exhilarating bloodlust.. Without the presence of adults, Jack is slowly being consumed by his hidden, dark ,inner self and is changing into a savage as each day passes. But our group noticed another element that was present aside from all the conflict and darkness. Simon represents that there is still a bright side even at the darkest moment because even with so much hostility amongst Ralph and Jack, "Simon found for [the littluns] the fruit the could not reach, pulled off the choicest from up in the foliage, [and] passed them back down to the endless, outstretched hands." (pg.57) I believe that this connects perfectly with Hotel Rwanda with Simon relating to Paul the hotel manager. Even in the midst of a genocide, Paul portrayed his sympathy and kindness towards the Tutsi refugees and aided them even though it meant putting his life at risk.

In chapter 4, we notice that the resentment between Ralph and Jack worsens. The struggle for power is becoming more apparent as the group is beginning to split into two. Ralph believes that the power should be used to maintain the welfare of the group while Jack has lost all his interest in the group and is only concerned about feeding his bloodlust. Furthermore, Ralph is attempting to use his power to create an orderly society for the the boys to live in while they're on the island but Jack's group of hunters is abusing their power by bullying and harming the littluns. They're being counterproductive to what Ralph wants to achieve and it's creating a vast gap between the two groups which is creating a very hostile environment. The irony is that initially, Jack says that "we've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages." (pg.42), but after living on the island for an extensive period, "he began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling." (pg.66) I think this connects to the Rwandan genocide as two parties began splitting further and further apart due to the difference in beliefs until it finally turned into conflict.

Overall, I think our group is doing very well and we all have a very good understanding of the different layers in the book. We all have insightful input and we have great efficiency that allows us to usually finish our discussion before we're out of time.

The changes I made were that I added quotes and a few more things to help further explain my writing.

Response

YOu are on the right path. Ilike how you made your connection to the genocide. In future responses make sure you also bring in quotes to help futrther develop your wiritng as well.YOu have also connected to the darkness that exists, which shows you are using the guiding questions in your group. When you say that you are working well in your group you might want to expand a bit more on that by telling me exactly how.

Week 2 Journal - Lord of The Flies

This week, our group analyzed chapters 3 and 4 of Lord of the Flies. In chapter 3, we discussed about the two conflicting parties in the book which is Ralph and Jack. There was a mutual hatred between the two since the beginning but now the two have to cooperate in order for all of the boys to survive on the island. But the growing hatred between the two has resulted in their first verbal argument. Ralph wants the cooperation of the boys to create huts for shelter but on the other hand, Jack wants to hunt pigs and neglects Ralph's request for assistance. We see that Ralph is a more civilized character as he's trying to reconstruct a setting that represents the city while Jack is a more primal character that reacts according to instincts, which in this case is his exhilarating bloodlust to hunt for food. But aside from these elements, Simon brings forth an element of sympathy and genuine kindness into the story creating a very unique structure within the story. Simon assisted Ralph in building the huts when everyone else neglected the work and went to play and he helped reach for fruit for the smaller boys who couldn't reach it. Even with the hostility between Ralph and Jack, Simon represents that there is still a bright side even at the darkest moment. I believe that this connects perfectly with Hotel Rwanda with Simon relating to Paul the hotel manager. Even in the midst of a genocide, Paul portrayed his sympathy and kindness towards the Tutsi refugees and aided them even though it meant putting his life at risk.

In chapter 4, the resentment between Ralph and Jack worsens. The struggle for power is becoming more obvious and we see that the group is beginning to split itself into two. Ralph believes that the power should be used to maintain the welfare of the group while Jack has lost all his interest in the group and is only concerned about feeding his bloodlust. The signal fire that Jack and his group of hunters were responsible for keeping going allowed it to go out and they missed their chance to get rescued. Ralph was enraged but Jack was too thrilled about killing his first pig that he didn't bother to care. Furthermore, Ralph is attempting to use his power to create an orderly society for the the boys to live in while they're on the island but Jack's group of hunters is abusing their power by bullying and harming the littluns. Roger and Jack harass Piggy more and more and bully the littluns while they play. They're being counterproductive to what Ralph wants to achieve and it's creating a vast gap between the two groups which is creating a very hostile environment. I think this connects to the Rwandan genocide as two parties began splitting further and further apart due to the difference in beliefs until it finally turned into conflict.

Overall I think that our group is doing quite well in understanding the aspects of Lord of the Flies. We work well together and we are able to help each other understand the deeper meaning behind the words of the book.

The Genocide - Non Fiction Critique

EQ: What allows some individuals to take a stand against prejudice and oppression while others choose to participate in it?

Bloodshed leaves scars they never fade and images that are never forgotten. The typical attitude towards such mercilessness and cruelty is that it's morally wrong and efforts should be made to stop such tyranny immediately. But what how is that there are people who are involved in these acts of injustice? It is the mindset that is manipulated by belief, life experiences and cognitive dissonance. In the articles "Taken over by Satan" and "Children of Rwanda's Genocide", they both portray the devastating effects after the genocide and the reasoning behind the mass murdering.

Rwanda was a country that was split into two distinctive ethnic groups, the Hutus and the Tutsis. Tutsis believed that Hutu were low-class and they deserved little respect. As a result, the Hutu militia retaliated by commencing a campaign of terror by exterminating the Tutsi population. In Taken Over by Satan, a first person perspective from a Hutu who participated in the genocide is given to convey the darkness of the Hutus' actions. It was said that it was if they were "taken over by Satan"...

Movie Analysis Summative - District B13

Synopsis:

In France, there is a place where there are no longer any schools or police stations, a place where gangs run the streets, a place called District B13. An armoured truck carrying a missile was intercepted in B13 by a very powerful gang. It was the mission of a cop and a prisoner who was from B13 to find the missile and disarm it with a code. The gang tried selling the missile back to the French government but they refused their demands. The cop and prisoner found the missile but it was odd to the prisoner that the government refused to buy the missile back. He then believed that the code was the code to detonate the missile instead of disarming it and when the timer hit 0, the missile remained intact. The cop and prisoner recovered the missile and brought it back to the government and secretly filmed them as they confronted their actions. The government admitted that the missile was purposely set up in B13 to destroy it since the place was so poor and everything the government said was broadcasted to all of France.

Questions:

The layers of context within this film revolve around the nature of District B13 and the French government's secret operation. The setting is in a ghetto that has been abandoned by the police  and has no schools. The place is poor, chaotic and filthy which creates an atmosphere of fear for the audience. The deeper layers are the government plans for District B13. The intention to blow up such an enormous ghetto installs fear and a sense of betrayal into the audience. We are threatened by the fact that corruption is real and that the government neglected their responsibilities and betrayed the people.

The filmmaker conveys a layer of evil and darkness through rural settings and gang violence. As unkempt and coarse the nature of District B13 is, the hidden agenda of the French government strikes to be even more corrupt, with their plans to destroy District B13.

The idea of the government planning to destroy a district within their own borders is very alarming. This expression of darkness had the most impact on us as a government is meant to manage and protect its people, and not to harm them.

A character represents darkness often by deceiving the other characters that we believe are good. In the case of District B13, the Prime Minister of France was the character of darkness. Through his deceit he was able to make the cop and prisoner believe that they were going to save lives, when it truly was a suicide mission.

Connection:

T-W: The public is often unaware of many activities in our government. Like darkness, corruption is unseen which allows for corruption to grow.

T-T: In the book “The Forbidden City”, the Chinese government killed protestors to hide their conspiracy. They wanted to put the matter out of the view of the public to keep them in the darkness, so their treachery can remain unknown.

T-S: Being under the Canadian government, I'm unaware about our government activities. This leaves me vulnerable of being a victim of corruption.

Relation to another presentation:
I think that District B13 relates to Inception, not plot wise, but the deceit that is commonly present in both movies. The expression of darkness that had the most impact on me was the deception and selfishness in both movies. In District B13, the Prime Minister hid the intention of destroying the ghetto due to his lack of responsibility. His selfishness left thousands of lives at risk, all of whom were his responsibility to protect as the head of government. In Inception, deceit is also a main theme. The main character Cobb required a highly skilled team to assist him on stopping the head of a large corporation. What his team didn't know were the risks involved with going into someone's dreams. Dying in the dream will cause the victim to fall deeper and deeper into their subconscious, never to wake up again. Furthermore, Cobb's wife was showing up in the dreams trying to kill the team to keep Cobb dreaming forever. The risks of performing inception were great, but Cobb's selfishness of wanting to return to his children put his team's lives on the line. Both these characters betrayed the trust of the people around them because of their own greed.

EQ - What does power have to do with fairness and justice?

With power comes responsibility, but corruption neglects responsibility and abuses power. The responsibility that comes along with power is to create a fair and just society for the people in it. These terms are not met in District B13 as the Prime Minister's act of injustice is unfair to the thousands of people living in B13. Instead of solving the problem responsibly as a Prime Minister should do, he decides that setting off a missile can solve the problem.