Prompt #1- Lord of the Flies

Task: Read the following prompt and answer to the best of your ability! Choose a symbol used in a novel or play of your choice and discuss its function in the world of the work. Be sure to give the title of the work and its author in the Introduction paragraph. You should strive for 4 - 5 paragraphs. Good Luck! After posting, read and comment on 4 other postings. Your comments should be helpful to the writer and may be things you noticed, something for them to think about, and some words of encouragement. You must complete your essay and your comments by Tuesday, January 12th!

Sun, freedom and all the bananas one could want to eat is everything a young boy from Great Britain could ever hope for. In William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies, two boys find out just how important order, authority and restraints are in society. Heavily dependent upon symbols and metaphors, this allegorical story provides the reader with many life lessons.

One important symbol of this novel was the most prevalent one: Piggy's glasses. Like his glasses, Piggy was a very fragile character. His spectacles differentiate him from the crowd, and he is the only one who is forced to wear them. This sign symbolizes a lot of what Piggy is: different, an outsider and the only one on the island with any sense in him. As stated earlier, Piggy's attachment to his glasses is essential, for without them he is unable to see. Likewise, Piggy's attachment to his differences is essential, for without them, he is unable to be. Throughout the novel, the reader is constantly reminded of Piggy's maturity level -- it is much higher than the other boys and he acts almost like an experienced adult.

This maturity is probably caused by the early onset of his peers' derisive behavior and the constant fawning of his family. Piggy's glasses also represent the adult's presence in a child's life. Piggy, who had to be under constant supervision by his parents to control his asthma, is the only child who was not sent to boarding school or abandoned by one or both parents. The glasses also acted as an adult would on the island. It provided the boys with the means necessary to make fire, and with Piggy the strength necessary to help him see. When Piggy loses his glasses, it is similar to the loss of a parent or a guiding force.

Piggy's glasses also serve one last purpose of representing the intellectual and rational side of society. Piggy is undoubtedly the smartest boy on the entire island. He is the only one who is able to think things out, find a reasonable explanation for the unknown and provide some kind of order, no matter how makeshift it is. However, reason and rationality was not enough to prevent the children from becoming savages. In fact, when Piggy tries to confront Jack and his tribe at their camp, he is murdered. The fact that Piggy’s glasses break at this point in the book is an eerie reminder that no matter how right you are or how reasonable your explanation is, fear and savagery will overcome it.

No matter how civilized a person may seem, the uncultured savage beast that lives within all of us can come out in a heartbeat. It doesn’t take a lot to push someone over the edge into violence and chaos, and though we value intelligence and a scientific approach to every situation now, we will not if we are placed in a life or death situation.

31 days of summer left

Breakfast at Big City Diner. Shopping at Pearlridge with Holli, Michelle, Dayton, Nicole and Robby.

Charlotte Russe- a beaded and peace bracelet
Hollister- jacket
Hot Topic- hair accessories, sunglasses
American Eagle- shirt, bag
Subway- Tuscan Chicken sandwich
Pastry House- Key lime pie

Telling the bus to stop (good job)

The bus stopped. We got on. We got off. Holli and I stood on the top of the tunnel by the post office.

Went over to Robby's house. And saw this beautiful dog :) I wish I had a dog. Like a boss.

Skipped!

Practice! Yuhhh son

Went shopping instead haha. At Waikele again.

Charlotte Russe had a sale, and though most of it was junk things, I bought a strapless green dress (my sister said it makes me look like Grr...I've never watched Invader Zim 0.O) and earrings
Everblue- sale too. I got some cute blue shorts and a white racerback top.
Borders- just chilled in there. The chairs are sooo comfy <3

Tried some froyo. It was way too sweet. I'm hoping Yogurtland's will be much better.

33 more days of summer

So today I read in the newspaper that the PAAC group from Hawaii (the one that Mo is in) got isolated in South Korea for swine flu. I sure hope she is doing fine, and that it didn't ruin her trip! (Because I want nice things hahaha)

I wonder when the next bon dance is going to be. I remember my parents brought me to every single one once when I was in elementary school. I miss the smell of andagi and those Japanese flutes. Everytime I see a soft orange light, I think about the lanterns dangling overhead as the drums keep beating. Let's go bon dancing!

And I kind of really want to go to Japan. My dream! Christine and I want to go and board in the same apartment. We made that promise so long ago...

But hey I watched Like a Boss for the first time tonight. Win. Like a Boss.

Bale sandwiches and birthday cake

I <3 Bale

I bought a sandwich to bring to the student council meeting. I am excited for senior year maynnn :) It's gonna be awesome! Discussed Senior week, prom, luau, outing, theme, graduation and moree.

And it was Reiko's birthday at practice. Happy Happy 17th Birthday

Chill with me

Went to the ASMHS meeting today and was sadly disappointed by the choice for Homecoming....which is Circus Shabang. I would have been okay if the name was different. But seriously...shabang? There will be a lot of innuendos this year instead of 'shabang' :(

In any case, I left, intending to go home and sleep off the rest of my illness (which seems to be going away thanks to medicine!), but diverted a little. Dharyl managed to convince me to walk around Mililani for a while. We went to the library and drew for a while (and waved at cars). We ate strawberry and honeydew melona bars from Longs, before buying Jamba Juice and chilling at that new eating place, Blazing Steaks. We haven't done that in a really long time...

I didn't realize how quickly summer was passing until it hit me that in three weeks, I'll be at school every day for Student Council, Color Guard and Brain Camp. Summer seems to last forever, especially in the very middle, when it seems you still have forever to spend with your loved ones. But with so many of my friends leaving for college soon, I can't help but imagine what it will be like when it's time for me to go.

Serteens

Went to Serteens today, despite my lingering sickness. I guess it's a good thing I didn't get my wisdoms pulled out yesterday, because today required quite a lot of talking.

Came like, 1 minute till the CPM and totally couldn't talk. My voice was goneeee and I was still kind of high from the NyQuil ^^" But Julie and I have our game for LC (1 month till!)! We were debating having another meeting outside of Serteens, but it was not meant to be. We just live too far away from each other.

I had to cover for Maya's fundraiser, and it is actually more work than I thought. Props to Shantel for doing such a flawless job last year =] But daaaaang I was like running all over the place trying to get people to tell me what they wanted to do to earn their money! Sheeeesh :P

BUT it was all worth it, because I found some people who love The Postal Service just as much as I do :) If you've never heard of them...well now you have! The Postal Service consists of Ben Gibbard, the vocalist of Death Cab for Cutie, and Jimmy Tamborello, a music producer. It's an electronic, indie group that mostly sings of heartache through songs like "Nothing Better" and "Sleeping In", but my personal favorite is "Such Great Heights". Listen to them!