Pop Culture and War

Is war inevitable?  What do our representations of war in film, video games, and books tell us about ourselves?

Check out this excerpt from the Brian Lehrer show:

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/2012/mar/22/end-war-war-culture/

(Click on "listen")

Given the success of The Hunger Games (and our focus on human nature in class), I thought this might be of interest to some of you.  The part about The Hunger Games starts around 16:45. Enjoy!

For Hunger Games Fans

This is a cool representation of the history of dystopian fiction.  Those of you who liked The Hunger Games trilogy will probably enjoy some of the books described here...

http://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/351-the-dystopian-timeline-to-the-hunger-games-infographic

Your Brain on Fiction

See, reading really IS great for your brain.  Even scientists say so!

Check out the article:  http://nyti.ms/xUl3a8

Lord of the Flies, Chapter 7 & 8

(Since we read Chapter 6 in class, I didn't post the notes on the blog)


Key Characters


Ralph:  In this chapter, Ralph gets his first taste of hunting and... likes it.  He's proud of having speared the boar that came charging at them in the jungle.  However, the other boys didn't seem to care all that much about Ralph's success.

Simon: Simon tells Ralph emphatically that "I just think you'll get back all right" (111).  Simon seems very sure of himself that Ralph, at least, will one day get off the island. Later, in Chapter 8, after Ralph and Jack "confirm" the existence of the beast, Simon suggests that they go back to the mountain to really make sure that the beast is there (he's still doubtful that it exists).  Everyone ignores him, so he goes off to find the beast himself--on his way he sees the entire scene in which Jack and his new tribe kill the mother pig.  (See "Simon and the Lord of the Flies for more info).

Key Things and Moments


The "Game":  They boys start a new game where one of them pretends to be a pig and the others make a ring around him and "hunt" him down.  Robert happens to be the first fake pig, but the game gets a bit out of hand.   Even Ralph gets sucked in to the violence, with the narrator noting that "the desire to... hurt was over-mastering" (115).  This isn't the last time you'll see this game in the text, so watch out for it.

The Beast: By the time the boys hike from The Castle, hunt the pig, play the new game, and get to the mountain, it is dark.  Jack goes ahead of the other boys to see if the "beast" is actually there, like Sam and Eric said.  Again, foiled by the darkness, Jack says he sees "a thing bulge on the mountain," (121).  When Ralph, Roger, and Jack go to get closer, the wind picks up, the dead pilot's body lifts and they get an obscured glimpse at his decomposed face.  Since it's too dark to actually see that this "beast" is just the body of a shot-down pilot, they think they have confirmed that the beast exists.  In the meeting in Chapter 8, Jack says that the beast is hunting them (even though there is no evidence for this).

The Signal Fire:  Now that the "beast" rules the mountain, the boys believe they can no longer have the signal fire up on the mountain (the most visible place for it).  Of course, the symbolic connection makes sense. The beast (though not actually real) is impeding their efforts to get off the island:  just like their "inner" beasts push them to want to hunt and indulge in violence rather than try to get back to civilization.  In Chapter 8, Piggy has the idea to move the signal fire to where they camp out, near the bathing pool.

The Meeting & Split in Chapter 8: Jack again tries to usurp Ralph's authority, saying that the latter was too scared to go see the beast.  (Even though Roger stayed back too, Jack doesn't mention this).  In the meeting, Jack asks "Who thinks Ralph oughtn't to be chief" (127).  Once again, Jack is humiliated, as none of the boys raise their hands.  However, this time, Jack storms off, saying he is going to create his own group that will hunt on its own. Maurice, Roger, and Bill are the first to leave Ralph to join Jack's group (surprise, surprise).

Mamma Pig:  During Jack's first hunt as chief of his own separate group, the boys come across a mother pig nursing her little piglets.  The boys hunt down the sow (female pig) and brutally kill her--even shoving a spear up her rear end and smearing the blood from her cut throat on their faces.  This is a brutal killing that has elements of rape in it.  Considering that the sow is the only female mentioned in the book, (beside Piggy's auntie), what happens to her is significant.  The boys' extreme disregard for life (they kill a mother nursing her babies) is significant; the fact that it is highlighted in the first hunt with Jack as his own chief foreshadows the violence to come.  Also significant is the fact that the boys cut off the sow's head and put it on a stick as an offering to "the beast":  this becomes the titular "Lord of the Flies".

Simon and the Lord of the Flies: As mentioned above, Simon saw the killing and beheading of the sow.  This, along with his dehydration, seems to have sent Simon over the edge.  He begins to hallucinate that the sow's head (remember, Jack put it on a stick as an offering to the beast) is talking to him.  This is a little confusing and weird, so pay attention:

Sow's head is called the "Lord of the Flies" (because there are so many flies buzzing around it).  It REPRESENTS our dark nature and is, therefore, the "true beast" of Golding's novel.  In his hallucinations, the Lord of the Flies talks to Simon, telling him he was "just wrong" and that he should "go back to the others" (137).  Basically, the Lord of the Flies is trying to make sure Simon won't give him away.

At the end of chapter 8 (after an interlude in which we check in on Ralph and Jack), the conversation between Simon and the Lord of the Flies (i.e. the pig head on a stick) continues.  The Lord of the Flies argues that it was silly that the boys thought that "the Beast was something you could hunt and kill," and goes on to say that "I'm part of you" (143).  This, of course, verifies what Golding (and Simon) have been saying all along: the Beast is our dark side and it is not something we can hunt or hide from.  The chapter ends with the Lord of the Flies threatening Simon to keep his mouth shut about the true nature of the beast: "I'm warning you.  I'm going to get angry... You're not wanted...We are going to have fun on this island! So don't try it... or else" (144).  Foreboding indeed.  How Simon will react is another question.

Lord of the Flies, Chapter 5

Key Characters

• Ralph:  Here, we see the DYNAMIC aspect of Ralph's character.  He started off relatively carefree.  However, with the weight of responsibility, he has begun to grow up and think more logically.  Ralph knows that the boys are on the edge of chaos and that he must have a stern meeting to bring them back to a civil lifestyle.  Unfortunately, he is unsuccessful.  In fact, at the end of the chapter, he almost decides to give up being the chief.  However, Piggy and Simon convince him otherwise.

Key Things and Moments

• The Meeting:  Ralph knows that this meeting will be extremely important--that he needs to reign in the boys and make them understand that they need to follow the rules to survive.  He brings up 4 major points:

1. The boys need to follow through with their promises (keeping coconuts full of fresh water, actually helping to build the shelters)
2. The boys should not just "do their business" anywhere they please, they should go to the bathroom at the rocks by the bathing pool.
3. They must work together to keep the rescue fire going.  The fire should only be located on the mountain (no one is allowed to make small cooking fires).
4. The Beast: Ralph feels like the boys really need to talk through this:  what are they afraid of?  What do they think the "beast" is?  Ralph hopes that talking about it will cure the boys' irrational fear.  

Unfortunately, the meeting ends in chaos, with Jack saying "Who cares" about the rules (91).  Ralph has failed in his attempt to have an orderly and meaningful meeting.

• The Beast:  At the meeting (as mentioned above) Ralph brings up the idea of the Beast.  We hear some interesting ideas from the characters that foreshadow later events:
• Piggy says the beast or "fear" could be of "other people," (84).  The boys laugh at this idea, but Golding puts this detail in for a reason!
• Simon furthers Piggy's point by saying that maybe the beast is "only us," (89).
• Ralph still wants to believe that there IS no beast:  he truly wants to believe that we are inherently good.
• The other boys all seem, now, to think that the beast is, in fact, a ghost.

Lord of the Flies, Chapter 3 & 4

Make sure to post your questions!!


Key Characters:

• Jack:  The chapter starts off with Jack in an intense hunting scene.  He is neglecting other responsibilities to their small community in favor of his hunting obsession.  Chapter 4 ends with an uneasy shift in power:  Jack has literally brought home the bacon and the question of who should be leader is the elephant in the room.

• Simon:  At first, this kid probably seemed pretty negligible to you:  he faints and smiles a lot and went on the initial excursion with Jack and Ralph.  Big deal.  However, he gains importance in these chapters.  In Chapter 3, Simon puts words to what everyone has been feeling:  there's something wrong going on on this island.  In a rather creepy scene that dominates the end of the chapter, Simon sneaks off into the forest and crawls into a dense "mat" of plants that keeps him completely hidden.  He even appears to stay here, alone, overnight. The question is: what is Simon hiding from?

• Roger:  Roger begins to truly show his "dark side" in Chapter 4.  He intentionally kicked over the littleuns' sand castles (along with Maurice, who is the only one to show remorse) and amuses himself by hiding and throwing stones at Henry (another littleun).  Golding really makes a point to characterize Roger as potentially dangerous noting his "gloomy face [that] made what had seemed at first an unsociable remoteness into something forbidding," (60).  This is pretty strong language for talking about an 11 year old!  Later, when Jack interrupts Roger at his game, Golding says "a darker shadow crept beneath...his skin" (62).  This is, of course another hint: Golding wants us to watch out for Roger.

Key Things and Moments

• Man v. Man conflict:  Annoyed with Jack's hunting obsession, Ralph is starting to feel the weight of responsible leadership.  The latter thinks it is most important to build shelters, while the former is more concerned with "getting meat".  Though at this point neither wants full confrontation, Golding will definitely develop this conflict.

• The Beastie:  In their discussion of the shelters, the boys note that the "littluns" are having nightmares.  Simon asserts that perhaps this is a "bad island" and that the "beastie" may in fact exist (even if solely in their heads).

• Hunting vs. Fire/Rescue:  In my Chapter 2 post, I mentioned that the fire symbolized the potential and desire for rescue.  In chapter 4, this symbolism pays off.  In their excitement over hunting, Jack and his cohorts forget to keep the fire going.  As a result, the boys miss out on being rescued by a passing ship.  This, of course, is also symbolic:  Jack is already joining the "dark side,":  he'd rather hunt in the wild than tend to the fire (and ultimately be rescued).  In fact, Jack is successful on this hunting trip and the night ends on a feast of roasted pork.  The boys seem to be losing their desire to go back to civilized life.  This is highlighted by what happens to Piggy's glasses (specs)...

• Piggy's Glasses: When Jack punches Piggy, Piggy's glasses fall off and one of the lenses break.  As the symbol for rational vision, the fact that one lens has broken shows that the boys' sense of reason is already becoming cracked.  (Side note:  the glasses (symbolizing "reason/logic") are what the boys use to make the fire (symbolizing "potential/desire for rescue" see how it's all connected??!)

• The Littleuns:  Golding spends considerable time developing the life of the youngest of the survivors at the beginning of Chapter 4.  Most significant is the moment with Henry, who, in his own power grab, tries to control the tiny sea creatures that flood in with the tide.  Golding appears to assert that the desire for power is present in even the youngest of our species...

• The Civilizing Effect of Society:  Both Maurice and (surprisingly) Roger seem to feel this.  After kicking the sandcastles "Maurice still felt the unease of wrongdoing," because "in his other life" he had been punished for a similar act (60).  Similarly, the only reason Roger doesn't actually hit Henry when he is throwing stones at him is the "invisible yet strong... taboo of the old life," (62).  Thanks to the civilizing effect of society, Roger isn't quite as cruel as he could have been and Maurice feels some guilt.  However, these effects are wearing off day by day.  Golding appears to believe that the only thing that keeps us from being cruel is the rules of society.

Lord of the Flies, Chapter 2

Key Characters (in Chapter 2):

• The boy with the "mulberry colored birthmark":  A seemingly inconsequential "youngin," this six-year-old first introduces the idea of the "beastie" (aka, the "snake-thing").  He ostensibly dies in the enormous forest fire the boys set off.

Key Things and Moments

• Piggy's Glasses:  Used to start the fire, Piggy's glasses also symbolize his wisdom and ability to "see" the "proper" thing to do.  Keep an eye (pun intended!) on them throughout the story as their symbolic value will continue to grow.
• The Beastie:  A product of the younger children's fear of the dark, the Beastie or "snake-thing" does not physically exist in real life (unlike in Lost!).  However, it is an important symbol of the evil lurking in all human beings and our inherent fear of our own potential for violence.  
• The Uncontrolled Fire:  The boys make their first fire (to signal passing ships).  However, it rages out of control.  This first specific fire symbolizes the destructive power of human kind.  Without rules, according to Golding, we rage out of control.
• Fire (in general):  Fire in the book symbolizes the potential and desire for rescue from the island.  Notice which characters are interested in keeping the signal fire going and which are more interested in hunting... this will play an important role in the allegory.

Lord of the Flies, Chapter 1

With our book deadline fast approaching, we will be spending a lot of time conferencing on writing in class.  However, that doesn't mean we have to sacrifice great literature!  As we read Lord of the Flies, you will be doing a lot of the analysis in your book on your own in book clubs.  Don't worry, though, I will provide some notes on the blog to help you along.

Overview:

Lord of the Flies is a novel published in 1954 by William Golding.  It is set on an uncharted island on which an airplane full of young English boys (ranging in age from about 6 to 13) crashes.  No adults have survived, so the boys are left to their own devices.

List of Key Characters:

• Ralph: Our protagonist.  "Fair" haired (notice the potential double-meaning here!), tall, natural leader.  Has a "stillness" about him that other characters look up to.  Elected chief.
• Piggy:  Poor Piggy.  This isn't his real name, but Ralph betrays him early on by revealing to the rest of the boys this dreaded nickname.  Unfortunately, it sticks.  Piggy is fat, self-conscious, and, a little annoying.  That said, he's the brains of this operation, feeding Ralph all of his ideas (including the all-important conch).
• Jack Merridew:  The leader of the choir, this guy rules with an iron fist.  He makes the choir members keep their robes on in the stifling heat of a tropical island!  You gotta know that Golding is going for some symbolism when he gives him that fiery red hair and ugly face.  Look out for this guy, he didn't appreciate losing the vote for chief to Ralph.
• Roger:  Not as noticeable as the big three above, but this young man becomes important later on.  Notice that it's his idea to hold a vote and that he is described as having "an inner intensity of avoidance and secrecy".  You might have overlooked him at first, but don't let him sneak up on you!
• Simon: Another seemingly minor character who will grow to play an important role.  He smiles a lot and has an easy laugh, though he's prone to fainting spells.  Ralph also chooses him to go on their first exploration along with Jack.

Key Things and Moments

• The conch:  This is a big seashell that makes a loud, deep sound when blown into.  With Piggy's advice, Ralph uses it to call the other boys on the island to a meeting.  Symbolism alert!  The conch really stands for a democratic rule of society (as whichever boy holds it has the right to speak uninterrupted... a rule that proves difficult to enforce!).

• Ralph, Jack, Simon... and the piglet:  The first chapter ends with an interesting moment.  The three boys come across a baby pig struggling in the brush.  Jack whips out his knife, but hesitates long enough to let the piglet escape.  This moment shows us that these boys still have a sense of their humanity left: they aren't quite ready to kill... yet.

• Look out for how the main characters symbolize different styles of leadership.  This will show up again and again throughout the book.

Notes for Research

8th graders, you can find the notes on our class research below:

Please don't just do a simple Google search!  The best information isn't free, which is why NEST pays for great, reliable resources.

Step 1: Go to http://library.nycenet.edu

Step 2: Scroll down the page and look on the right hand side for New Explorations, then click on the link.

Step 3: On the library home page, look at...

• Databases (a collection of reliable published articles, journals etc. in electronic format).  These are good places to start:
• Grolier Online Databases
• EBSCO Databases
• History Study Center (Proquest)

• Subject Directories (a list of the best, most reliable websites sorted by subject):
• Multnomah County Library Homework Site

Keyword and Boolean Search Notes

• Keyword: a significant word or phrase that could be used to describe the contents of a document
• Search term: a word that a researcher submits to a search engine or database to find matches within a site or document.
• Boolean connectors: words like “and,” “or,” “not,” that help you to refine your search and find more relevant material.
• Example #1 “AND”: To search for word and terms together
• Say you want to find articles on violence on television so you use the following search terms: television violence
• With this, you will get back results for any pages/articles that have either “television” or “violence” on it.
• However, if you want to have only results that have both television AND violence, you would add a Boolean connector.  Your search would look like this:
• television AND violence
• With this, you will only get pages/articles with both “television” and “violence” in the content.

• Example #2 “OR”: To include possible synonyms or related terms for a broader search
• Say you want to find articles about teens texting so you use the following search terms:  teen texting
• With this, you will get back results for any page/article that has either “teen” or “texting” on it.
• However, if you want results with BOTH teen and texting and you don’t want to miss out on pages/articles that use the synonym “adolescent” instead of “teen” you would add Boolean connectors.  Your search would look like this:
• texting AND (teen OR adolescent)
• Example #3 Quotation marks: To look for exact phrases
• This is my favorite!  Think back to our theme of human nature.  If you were to look up human AND nature, you would find pages that have those two words on them, but in entirely different places.  For example, it could be a page about human's impact on the natural world rather than the concept of human nature itself.
• To look for exact phrases, put them in quotation marks, so your search would look like this:
• "human nature"
• This will find these exact words together.
• (Also a great way to find song lyrics if you just put one line you remember from it in quotes, you'll probably find it!)

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