Reflection 8: Lord of the Flies

 

Lord of the Flies

People never grow up, that's what I've noticed at least. The games that children engage in just become more life influencing, altering, and impacting. Everything we do as adults is magnified my a hundred fold, with results that never seem to be satisfactory. Yet as we grow older, we see ourselves as superiors to those who came after us, who are younger than us. Maybe we know more, but that doesn't mean we have the right to treat those younger than us as if they know nothing, have nothing to contribute, or let them see how we treat others. We say we have a society that permits all to be equals, but we don't. You can see it in the way children play, and in the Lord of the Flies as the boys set up their own microcosm that reflects our own, our world, our society, and our lives.

This is a mini story based on an excerpt from Lord of the Flies.

Beating, that was all I could hear. The steady pounding of blood in my ears as I run. Nothing else is audible but the rapid pumping of my blood, and the pounding of my heart. My feet slap against the ground, finding footholds within the dense undergrowth. I can see birds take flight, animals scampering away from my rapidly moving form.

"Just a bit further." I pant to myself, visualizing the thicket that lay ahead, a sanctuary. My auburn braid is slowly unraveling as the wind whisks itself through the strands, my green eyes attempt to take in everything around me, looking for the threat, the people, that currently wanted me dead.

Diving into the underbrush, I squirm and crawl under the branches, oblivious to the thorns and branches that scratched my body. My hand is clasped about a stick, a spear in a sense, and with each wriggle I was continuously cursing the weapon that would overall save me from the savages that hunted me.

A shrill scream causes my heart to jump, and my blood to pump faster. I freeze, ears tuned and waiting for another cry that could signify my downfall. A whistle and chirp answers the first cry from afar, a signal I had come to learn meant to circle back, to regroup.

With a sigh of relief, I lean back against the shrubbery, free of my enemies for now. And in the sudden calm that overtook the forest, I can at last breath without fear of being discovered. Who would have thought that my schoolmates, those I had grown up with, would turn on me in an instant as opposed to resolving the problem as we were always taught to in school.

I reflect upon school, the school I attend right now in the year 2056. A time in which simulations were conducted to see how people would react if there was a sudden loss in power, as there had been in several cities. I frown upon this thought, they would simulate my death to me and those around with the simulation just to get data. My fatigued mind though seems to find justice in this, for data aided science, and science shaped our world.

I am jarred from my thoughts as a strange crackling noise alights upon my ears. My nostrils flare at the scent of woodsmoke, and my eyes widen as a spark floats past my nose. I glance about, fearful of what I would discover, yet needing to know all the same.

It is the beginning of a fire. There is no doubt, thick smoke twists through the shrubbery, finding my haven, and infiltrating my nose with a suffocating force. I begin a frantic crawl out of the thicket, fearful of the demon that came after the monster. Fire.

Erupting from the burning verdure, I sprint away from the only section I had known was safe, that the savages couldn't get to me in. Now I am being hunted, I am the deer that we had preyed upon so many times for food. This was not about obtaining food anymore though, it was a game. A game I am done playing.

"There! It's her!" A voice cries, alerting others of my flight. My strides lengthen as I try to outrace the lone hunter and find a new shelter, but to no avail. I slow my pace, coughs rattling my lungs and making my body convulse. The savage behind me, a peer previously known to me as Randal, approaches, spear held high. His red hair no longer glistens in the light, rather it is laced with grime, and intricate mud patterns adorn his face. I turn to face him, lifting the spear I have clung to so desperately throughout the past few days.

I stand with my knees bent, and legs apart, a ready stance for any attack that may come. "Afternoon Randal." I say, attempting to be calm, but my oxygen-deprived voice states otherwise. He snarls, gazing at me with an animalistic hatred and confusion. He raises his spear as well, shoulder going back further as he prepares to throw.

"Randal..." I start, but don't continue. With a sigh I know what is to happen, I can picture it all in my mind. My arm moves without my brain's consent. The spear previously cemented to my left hand is sailing through the air and into Randal's thigh.

"LEORA!!" His curdling scream fractures the calculated calm I have adopted within the past several minutes. "Oh god." My voice comes out in a trembling whisper. The spear protrudes from his skin like an ugly flag. His tanned skin is slowly turning darker as blood gushes from the wound.

"I'm so sorry." I croak, tears already beginning to form in my eyes as I stoop down and take his spear. His eyes widen, not expecting that move. "No.." He whispers, eyes wide, humanity once again in his control. The morals that had fled his mind earlier seemed to have return, but I pay no heed, already scanning the surrounding forestry for any signs of life.

"Leora..." But I'm already gone having heard the voices of several more people coming from my left. Despite the fact that I had just broken my principles, I refused to be caught by the people who had lost their mind within the simulation. These people who had forgotten that we were in a simulation, and not really stranded on an island.

As I run, I can't help but reflect upon a quote by William Golding, one of the only things I could remember from before the island. "Maybe there is a beast, maybe there's only us..." The words fly off my tongue before I can hold them back, and I am scared with this realization.  "No, there must be something..." I murmur to myself, not even understanding what that something may be.

A boom of noise can be heard from behind me, I look over my shoulder, already knowing what it was. It was the voices of anger at seeing a fellow comrade injured by their enemy. All the rage they felt, all of it, is directed at me.

I make my way towards the direction of the mountain, or what I thought was the mountain. After about five minutes of running, I am faced with a wall of smoke and flame. I realize I somehow managed to backtrack, and my route to the mountain is cut off by fire. Pivoting on my heel, I run towards the people I had just run from.

"THERE!" The shout startles me, and I fall. Rising to my feet quickly, I see a group of five people, three boys and two girls, headed my way. They are sprinting fast, not nearly as tired as I. Yet I'm still a good fifty feet ahead. I jog ever so slowly, noticing the group growing, and beginning to fan out. I let them corral me, I can barely feel my feet.

Hooting and chirping noises resound throughout the forest, which had slowly become a beach. We all jogged on white sand now, the group of savages taunting their prey. Speeding up, then slowing down. Throwing spears about the quarry, only for them to fall short. Then it stops, I stop.

"ENOUGH!" I scream with what little voice I have left. "This is it." Everyone freezes in confusion, glancing at me as if I am the insane one. My legs collapse and I kneel on the burning white sand. I gaze out at the immaculate blue ocean.

"End Simulation"

The robotic voices says. But I don't hear, I only gaze out at the ocean as everything else seems to fade from existence. "So beautiful, yet so dangerous."

Reflection 7: Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies continues to twist and turn, I now view this book with high regards. It is an exciting and enlightening tale for any. Albeit for some it would appear as monotonous and a book only to be read for school and never in one's free time. Yet I believe that to be quite the contrary. Lord of the Flies, or LoF, is a book that shows you how we as a society function. How very few of us choose to leave the mass and swarm of single-minded citizens. It demonstrates how we perceive have our own ideas, which is that it is dangerous. This is portrayed with the injury, and eventually deaths of some of the characters. A true eye opener for any reader who chooses to delve deep enough within the pages.

William Golding, a genius of a man to create this intricate story throughout which the reader is bursting with questions, only for some to be answered later on within the tale. So, if you had three questions that you could ask the author, what would they be?

1. Why would William Golding kill off Simon first? Why not demonstrate that even the strongest cave, and have him join with Jack and his band of savages? I wonder this, because even though it is strategic and it does demonstrate an aspect of modern society, why not have him live to show that not everyone can be as strong as they appear or as we want them to be.

2. With regards to the twins Sam and Eric, why not have one of the two rebel? To become a "traitor" even to his own twin. I believe this would have made the plot interesting, and maybe have given the reader some kind of hope that not all people lose their morality.

3. Why is it that Golding has the savages' language diminished to those of grunts, pointing, and hitting? I wish to know this, because even though it heightens the sense of dehumanization within the story, I find it curious that the savages don't even communicate amongst themselves with ordinary speech.

So based upon the reading so far, and the basic questions I have just asked, for whom do I believe this book was supposed to be directed to? I personally believe that the targeted audience for this book, was at the time, meant to be for older readers such as those graduating from high school. My reasons for this are because the book is a microcosm that represents society, and the morality of humanity in general. Thus, I believe it is safe to say that the targeted audience is an older one, to make people more aware of the world they will soon be entering, or are currently living in.

Reflection 6: Lord of the Flies

As I begin to become more accustomed with the school year, I find myself in the thralls of more work. Work that is composed of projects, studying, and just down right busy work. One project I currently find myself caught up in is the reading and analyzing of the book, Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies is a brilliant story depicting the struggles of man as .... create a society. Even with the knowledge of right and wrong, man still stray and create a corrupt society/environment in which to live in. William Golding has created a thrilling tale in which several boys have become marooned on an island with no supervision whatsoever. To these schoolboys, it is a dream come true. Yet as the main characters; Piggy, Ralph, and Jack, come to learn their microcosm isn't as wonderful as it first appeared.

The first people we meet on this island, this microcosm is Ralph and Piggy. Two schoolboys who take charge of the emerging mass of children. They gather everyone, and begin to think about their near future, what they are to do on this island. Another prominent character is then introduced, Jack. He proposes the idea of having a leader, a chief, to dictate what happens amongst the group of boys. As this proposition is put to a vote, Ralph is nominated the Chief of the group. As time progresses, we are introduced to Simon, the twins, and the choir (who Jack is the leader of), who struggle with hubris and morality.

Amongst these characters, I admire the initial courage they display when faced with "abandonment" on the island. Yet as we progress throughout the story, we see that the three with sense, and the remainder of morals, are Simon, Piggy, and Ralph. Jack, the choir, and the other boys, soon take leave of their senses to indulge themselves in any whim that fits their fancy at the moment. The lack of resolve the others display disappoints me. When reading a book, watching a movie, or observing characteristics in everyday life, one hopes to see humanity make the right decision and to prove that they are stronger than the stereotypes.

As a character within this story, I believe I would be one of the leaders, at least for a time. If I found that there was too much competition, or others refused to cooperate with one another, I believe I would withdraw from the larger group. I would try to create another group, smaller, and with people whom I could trust.

Amongst the characters, I believe Jack will eventually become the chief among the group. Jack will become chief, primarily because he is the "fun guy". He encourages the hunts that take place, and enjoys having a good time. Whereas, Piggy and Ralph are attempting to leave the island, thus there is preparation and work to be done which disheartens the younger boys. Simon, is quiet, yet opposes much of what Jack does. I believe Simon will not survive very long on the island.

Well there's my first blog post, albeit it's quite dismal eloquence-wise. C'est La Vit

Reflection 5: Illegal vs. Undocumented

Illegal Alien

Illegal Immigrant

Undocumented Worker

Three terms that describe a certain type of people. People who have entered a country through a process in which they have broken laws to do so. People who may not have had a choice when it came to leaving their country. Did the Europeans not come to the America's as Illegal Immigrants? Some, such as the English, were fleeing oppression within their countries. Others wished to make a profit. The result...tribes, cultures, lives were taken for the benefit of these immigrants. But that was 200 years ago, when a sense of equity was more vague. It was nonexistent even. 

Throughout the years, many people have debated the connotation of the words, and the context in which we use them. Many online resources debate this subject quite intensely. For they argue that one may be seen as degrading, another a scientific and politically correct term, the third doesn't seem to correspond with the other two whatsoever. Yet upon looking up their definitions, I find that the definitions are very similar.

•     •     •

Illegal Alien

•     •     •

Illegal Immigrant

As seen above, the definitions are quite similar. They are similar enough that people use these words interchangeably, as synonyms.  As a human race, we almost forfeit the right to have our own ideas become great ideas. At least on their own. So as we stand together, we mold these ideas into great circumstances as we strive to survive. We determine the meaning of a word, we give it meaning based on contempt, or euphoria, or some other emotion. For a word is just syllables combined, strange scribbles conjoined to form something greater. People, all of us, in some form or another strive for excellence.

"We won't tell anyone we're illegals, and we'll get good grades. We promise." (Reyna Grande, 166)

At some point in our lives, we have all made a promise similar to this. Few can claim a similar situation to Reyna Grande's however, at least I haven't met many. As we see in the book, even Reyna's older sister knows the severity of letting people know where she is from. Many suspect, but the preponderance of people refuse to do anything about it.

It is dangerous how many people enter the US each year, the children that are left at warehouses with no families. Police will come and do something about it, the reporters will swarm, and the rest of the country sees the truth. For awhile at least. Then the excitement fades, being replaced with politics. The poverty and border crossing continues, children don't get a chance at life. Only a chance at poverty. And how does this affect others? Such as our troops away at war?

Do we really want our soldiers in the middle east coming back to a broken country? One where people are unsure of what they're doing, others who probably don't belong? That is not why they went to war, they go to protect us, to fulfill a duty to our country. Yet those who stay behind forget this duty, we are blinded by the media. A veil covers our eyes and we stuff our ears so as not to hear the truth. When will we realize that this problem is evident and needs a solution?

So we come back once again to the topic of what we should do, what we can do. For sending troops down to the border and building walls are not solutions. We must take a step forward, collaborate with other governments, put aside petty biases, and find solutions. To help these people, not to oppress them.

Reflection 4: Broken Beauty

Home of the Free

Is not the United States of America a symbol of immigration all by itself? Our country, created and built by so many ethnicities, is the quintessential of symbols. The US was created for those who are leaving former homelands where they were oppressed. Where their religion, lifestyle, skin color, was not accepted. Where they could not work, could not make a name for themselves; these people chose to come to the United States, a place of hope and beauty.

Throughout the years, the United States has entered the fourth stage of demographic transition, some even believe that the United States (along with some other countries) may even be entering a fifth stage. The multiple ethnicities and different religious groups that make up this country, and their willingness to put aside differences, to cooperate with one another, is the reason as to why the United States is so great. 

Even at a young age, Reyna Grande understood this, stating in her book on page 65, "I continued to think that there was beauty everywhere around us." And that is all we can think, that we must perceive and believe. For life as an immigrant can be much more challenging than that of a citizen. And as we grow older, we realize that everything is not as it seems. That people are bias and discriminate, and we can't change that. As Reyna Grande later goes on to state on page 65, "it was a place of broken beauty." For we later see, that the beauty we perceived was not as it appeared. Not everything is perfect, we can not persuade others to accept people who are different, yet we still strive to. Maybe someday, it shall no longer be a place of broken beauty, but merely a place of sheer and utter splendor.

Reflection 3: Education Equity

"I froze when she picked up my book. Here it is. Here is my big chance! She opened it, flipped through the pages in the blink of an eye, then she closed the book shut and put it in the big pile. My eyes began to burn with tears. My book had been rejected." (Reyna Grande, 217)

Is this what immigrants, even undocumented, face? Prior to reading The Distance Between Us, and Affirmative Action Proposal for California Universities Runs into Asian-American Opposition, an article about universities and how they permit students to enter based on race; I had believed differently. Throughout the years, many schools have taken into account peoples ethnicities rather than the students' credentials. As stated in the article, many students are angered by this, and threatened California universities with lawsuit. This continues, becoming a much more heavily debated subject. Should it not be the students who try the hardest that are permitted into college? Why should a fifth generation Hispanic, sixth in their class, get into say Stanford instead of a third generation Caucasian who was second? It should be those who are driven, should it not? 

I feel that The Distance Between Us demonstrates this quite well in the quote above. Reyna Grande put all of her effort into writing her story for class, proud of what she had written. However, her teacher skipped over the story. Not even bothering to read her story. The reason behind this, Reyna is Hispanic and the teacher doesn't understand her language. So the teacher refuses to read the story, not even giving Reyna a chance to win the story competition.
 
So despite where people come from, undocumented or not, they should be given a chance to excel based on how driven they are. Every child should be given a chance, but those who strive, and push themselves, should they not have the opportunity to attend the schools they wish to attend?

Reflection 2: Immigration Symbolism

Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty, a symbol to all immigrants that their strenuous journey is at last over. Finally, they have arrived to the United States of America, country of the free.

This statue, erected in 1886, was a gift from France to America. The Statue of Liberty is the roman goddess, Libertas, and a sign of the independence of America; a welcoming figure to all immigrants. However, she does not symbolize the illegal immigration of criminals, drug dealers, and murders into the US. She symbolizes hope and freedom for the oppressed and poverty stricken from other countries. We are to open open arms, and our borders to those who are persecuted. Not those who profit from illegal and harmful conduct.

Why do we continuously allow people into our country, who have no qualms with breaking laws to get here? We stand by idly, on occasion turning a blind eye to those who enter. The reason behind this is the fact that we are unwilling to participate in the tertiary job sectors that must be fulfilled to keep this country running. So many of us are intent with keeping the jobs we have already,  ensuring a better living style for ourselves, that we no longer care about the poverty that graces others homes. Therefore allowing uncivil conduct to persist.

So we continue to allow illegal aliens into our country, so long as they keep a low profile and continue working the jobs we care naught for. A good example of this would be the maquiladoras, factories for cheap labor, we have positioned so close to our border,  for the convenience of cheap labor and cheap transportation.

Yet do we really want these people entering our country? Gang rates seem to increase, through no fault of the US citizens. We get caught in the crossfire, and in turn get blamed on occasion for the gang violence that plagues towns.

There are a few examples of this in The Distance Between Us, the memoir by Reyna Grande. The first that we see is within her own family, her father. On page eighty-six, we experience this conflict. Feeling for ourselves the danger and fear that Reyna's mother must have felt when confronted with Reyna's father. "The bystander and my father got into a fistfight when he tried to break up my parents' argument. The gun accidentally went off, and the man was shot.
Luckily for my father, the man did not die. Luckily for my father, he was allowed voluntary deportation, instead of getting thrown in prison. Within a week, he had managed to sneak across the border and resumed his life in the United States as if nothing had ever happened." Many circumstances continue to take place, so do we really want these people entering our country? When they seem to have no qualms with such violence?

Reflection 1: Our Country & Our Solutions

The 21st Century. A prosperous century that focuses on equality and innovation. So how do we incorporate this into the rising flow of immigrants from South America? The U.S Government has many ideas, none of which are the a solution. As opposed to taking action, the different parties and politicians idle and argue over the subject of immigration that is currently taking place at the southern U.S border.

One of the first to make a move was Rick Perry, Governor of Texas. He deployed 1,000 troops to the border to work alongside law enforcement. He states in a BBC News Article that "he had to act because the federal government had failed to secure the border". With the increasing number of troops, the deportations increase as well. However, it is not the deportation of those who have already crossed, but those that have just managed to cross, or personnel that are considered dangerous. Yet as we attempt to "secure" the border, the more we seem to meet with failure. For the problem is not in securing the border, but ensuing a better living environment for the residents that continuously attempt to secure an abode in the US.

The people who cross, children especially, are leaving cities filled with gangs, overpopulation, and poverty. Many hope to find a better life in the United States. We do nothing to discourage them from entering. Gangs begin to cross as well, and we must than deal with the fear that sweeps throughout towns as shootings take place throughout neighborhoods.

In the book, The Distance Between Us, Reyna Grande describes her crossing from Mexico to the U.S. and she discusses how her family's new life in the U.S. is a better life. However, her crossing is fraught with perils, and is burdened with the prospect of getting caught, and than deported. Too get deported means to return to a life stricken with poverty, of not always knowing when you will get a meal.

For Reyna Grande and her family it meant to live in conditions riddled with epidemics of many natures. And to contract an illness meant to attempt to cure it with home remedies, many of which weren't sufficient enough. For Reyna's family and for many families coming from Latin America and Mexico to the U.S., money was, and still is, very hard to come by. The reason for this, Reyna Grande states on page six of her book, "The year before, the peso was devalued 45 percent to the US dollar." In that one sentence, the reason for the rising flow of immigrants becomes more obvious. Throughout the timeline in the book, the peso devalued even more, driving Reyna and her family from her homeland, where she came from. Yet she never forgot where she came from.

With the peso's value devaluing at such a rapid rate, and jobs becoming scarce, the source of much of the problem, seems to start with the foreign governments. As one article states, we in the U.S. are going about this in the wrong way, "Our foreign policy priorities must shift, and we must invest more talent and resources in collaborating with Latin American governments to fix their broken countries, economies, and societies." Yet the U.S. instead continues to send troops to the border, who in turn can not keep up with the flow of immigrants pouring into the United States. This in turn allows more gangs, weapons, and drugs to enter the US undetected and unhindered.  The solution to the problem lies within the cooperation of the Americas.