Bad Boys, Bad Boys

Beelzebub. Satan. Lucifer. The Devil. All are names encompassing the same concept: evil. Open up any newspaper, turn on any news channel or any radio station and you will hear, read, or see a majority of the subject matter pertaining to violence, murder and criminal activity.  Does the world influence the behavior, or does the behavior influence the world? - Your classic chicken or the egg question left unanswered.

Think about the progression of the boys on the island from their arrival up until this moment in the novel.  What is happening to them and why?  Delve deep into the human psyche to figure out the reasons behind the evil occurring on the island.  Where do you think it all comes from?  Why are there bad people and why are they so bad?

She's Not Piggy, But She Can See ...

Sydney wears glasses. Glasses = Smart.  Therefore, Sydney is smart.  During their presentation of Chapter 6 Sydney posed some very insightful and perceptive questions connecting Lord of the Flies to the Survivor Game itself.  She didn't get a sticker for nothing (and I'm not on the front page of the latest issue of The Chronicle for nothing either!).

Just as the island in the novel acts as a microcosm for the world at the time it was written, so has our class become a microcosm for the novel during the time we are reading about the boys who are stranded.  There is a correlation between the activities you perform during period two and the events taking shape in Golding's fictional tale.  From the selection of your groups to your tasks, your leadership roles and responsibilities and the performance of your group members, you might start seeing clearly, as does Sydney, the parallel relationship between what is taking place with the British boys and what is occurring on our own island in 3201.

Think about the formulation of your groups, your choice of leader, your individual contributions to your team and the behaviors of others.  Think about your group's performance on tasks through challenges and everyday responsibilities during this unit.  What connections can you make between yourself, your classmates and your group's function during this survival game?  Try to connect to the plot of the novel, the characters, the themes and symbols.  Who is your Piggy, Ralph, Simon, Jack, Roger, or Percival?  Why? How do you see this challenge match the challenges the boys face throughout the text?

...Where do I fit in?

"Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work." - Vince Lombardi 



Having Everything yet Wanting Nothing

Chris grew up with advantages other children might not have: married parents, financial stability, a college education and an above average intellectual capacity.  However, he rejects, and some might think wastes, those advantages.  He cuts off all communication with his family except for his younger sister.  He donates and burns his money and the little he makes is used only for necessities to get him to Alaska.  He chooses not to go onto law school after graduating and he isolates himself from mainstream society. 

Why does he prefer to live a transient life disconnected from family, detached from possessions and critical of societal institutions?  Why does he seem to reject everything the average person would embrace? What is he really searching for out in Alaska and is it something worth risking his life for?

"Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Stranded

There is an episode of The Office where Ryan sets the fire alarm off by burning a piece of toast in the toaster oven. Aside from the hilarity of Dwight overreacting like it is a life-or-death situation, the office employees entertain the viewer and themselves by playing an interesting game to pass the time while waiting for the building to be clear of all hazards. 

The game is one you may have heard of or played yourself.  The "If you were stranded on an island, what items would you want to have with you" scenario is, on the surface, a way to take personal inventory of things you just cannot live without.  On a deeper level, your choices reveal more about who you are and what you value by not only the items themselves, but the reason behind their inclusion on the list.

My question to you is:  What would be the top five items you would want to have with you if you were stranded on an island? (You are flying solo and not with your group on this hypothetical island).  State each of your items and provide the following information:

• A brief description of what the item is
• What value the item has for you (its significance)
• And the reason it is a necessity

The item can be a tangible object, something abstract, or symbolic to you.  Be sure to comment on a classmate's choice and offer more than a quick agree or disagree statement.  Really connect to someone else's response.

My Top Five:
5. My wooden hall pass
4. A copy of Into the Wild
3. All seasons of The Office along with my Jim Halpert bobblehead (thank you Angelo for the first season DVD)
2. Paper and a pencil
1. Remy - my dog


“The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival.” - Aristotle