Marciano,J


 * Chapter 1 Civilization:**

In chapter 1, the boys are struggling to live without any civilization on the island. There is no shelter, security or food. When the boys try and get food, Jack tries to kill a pig for him and the boys, but he cannot bring himself to do it. "He snatched his knife out of the sheath and slammed it into a tree trunk. Next time there would be no mercy" (Golding 31). This quote shows failure. The boys need food to survive on the island, and when Jack is presented with the oppurtunity to get some, he chokes and doesn't kill the pig.

In terms of civilization in modern society, I believe it is good in some categories and bad in others. In terms of security in food, I believe we are doing well. Everyone should feel safe that nobody is going to attack our country because we have very good security. Although there is always the possibility of a terrorist attack, homeland security does a great job to make sure that we are safe. We have a good amount of food and nobody is starving like people in other countries. However, there are still places in this country where these aspects can be extremely improved. Overall, we are lucky to live in such a great country.


 * Chapter 2 Nyctophobia**: When the boys are sitting on the beach discussing things about the island, one of the younger boys explains he saw something very scary. Ralph knows there is a serious posssibbility what the young man is saying is true, but Ralph trys to comfort him: "You couldn't have a beastie, a snake-thing on an island this size. You only get them in big countries, like Africa, or India" (Golding 36). Golding uses this to show that younger kids deal with fear by panicking, while kids that are older and more mature might be afraid as well, but handle their emotions better and pretend as if nothing is wrong to make the kids think nothing is wrong. He is also showing that when a fear is brought up, people will deny it and tell themselves it does not exist or that it won't affect them, to make themselves feel safer even though they know deep down that they may not be safe.


 * Chapter 3 & 4: Beelzebub:** In chapter three and four, Ralph is attempting to build huts so the boys can have shelter while they attempt to get off the island. However, the other boys seem to have come to term with the fact that the island is their new home and don't seem to want to leave the island. Some of the boys have began to be mean. Jack is off trying to hunt and kill a boar rather than worrying about the well being of the other boys. He has painted his face and is chasing it with a spear. One of the boys, Roger knocks down a sandcastle that a litlun built. Roger's appearance and change in attitude is described: "He was not noticeably darker than when he had dropped in, but the shock of black hair, down his nape and low on his forehead, seemed to suit his gloomey face and made what had seemed at first unsociable remoteness into something forbidding." (Golden 46) The quote describes that Roger seemed like a quiet nice boy when they first arrived on the island, but as time has passed on the island his appearance and attitude has changed, and is becoming evil.

Another place I find the manifestation of evil is in the show "Lost". In fact, the show is extremely similar to Lord of the flies and has a lot of common themes. In the show, a bunch of people survive a plane crash and land on a mysterious island. At first they worry about getting rescued and making fires on the beach. However, soon after they begin to live in a cave and it seems they have accepted that they are not getting rescued. After several weeks on the island and encountering many troubling situations, they begin to change. The group get guns and becomes a little too comfortable using them. Some of the characters slowly turn into savages and it eventually leads to the demise of some of the characters.


 * Chapter 5: Groupthink** In chapter 5, Ralph is frustrated that none of the other boys is doing any of the essential things that need to be done to survive on the island. Ralph blows the conch and the boys gather around and Ralph voices his displeasure towards them. Ralph explains that all of the boys need to work together for them to survive and to get rescued, and they need to stop goofing off worrying about things that are not important. "and another thing We nearly set the whole island on fire. And we waste time, rolling rocks, and making little cooking fires. Now I say this and make it a rule, because I'm chief. We don't have a fire anywhere but on the mountain. Ever." (Golding 62). Ralph's speech proves to be ineffective as the other boys still do not help and go about doing their own little things.

Groupthink enters your world as a teenager in many different ways. One of the ways is making decisions in group projects. Listening to others ideas and combining each others can lead to a better overall product. In addition, there are many tough times and decisions one can go through as a teenager that can be helped by talking to your family. They can help you make tough decisions such as what college to go to, or even help you through tough times every teenager has such as fitting in with friends or keeping your grades up. Groupthink is an important thing that helps teenagers get through a very important part of their life.


 * Chapter 6: Good vs. Evil** In the middle of the night, there is explosions in the sky from military airplanes. Sam and Eric are supposedly keeping watch but they fall asleep. The next morning, Ralph explains that the boys need to travel up to the mountain to find the "beast" that sam and Eric think they see. It turns out that the "beast" the boys see is really a parachutist that fell out of the plane and died. As Ralph explores the cave, Jack joins him. They start to bond, but then Ralph realizes that Jack is not the same and he sees evil growing inside him. "We want smoke and you go wasting your time. You roll rocks." (Golding 82). the evil that is slowly manifesting in Jack has made him lose interest in things that a normal person would have interest in. He cares about hunting and scaring others instead of getting rescued.

Throughout life you will have to make tough decisions and you will question if if they are good or bad. However, it can be even more complicated and instead of good vs bad it could be good vs evil. If something doesn't feel right and it makes you question what is happening, it is most likely evil. If something is happening and it feels right and makes you happy, it is most likely good.


 * Chapter 7:** My name is Brad and I'm 10 years old. It has been a struggle to survive and remain calm ever since we came to the island, but it has been really hard lately. Everybody is beginning to panic. The boys began to play a game with Robert pretending he was a boar, but then they began to actually beat him up as if they actually forgot he wasn't really a boar. That scared me and the rest of the boys. Ralph and Jack seem to be fighting a lot. I don't like the way Jack has been acting, he's scaring me. He seems to be turning into a savage and I don't know if it's a good idea to listen to him. I trust Ralph more, although he has been acting different lately.


 * Chapter 8:** Today we woke up and Jack began ranting and going on about how he wanted to return to the mountain to see the beast. I don't know why they want to see the beast so bad, if it's not bothering us, I don't see why it's such a big deal. Jack declares to the group that he is the chief. I don't see the big deal about being chief. The idea is to get rescued isn't it? Who cares who the leader of this darn island is? Ralph doesn't seem like his normal self, and that scares me more than anything. Although nobody usually follows Ralph's orders, him becoming depressed has made me feel that we lost hope. Jack and his group decided to go hunting, so I decided to go with them to take my mind off things. The hunters kill a boar, and Roger takes his spear and drives it into the boar's butt. The scariest part was the look on Roger's face. Almost as if he was happier to take another living things life than to provide people with food.


 * Chapter 9 & 10:** I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of screaming and the sense of panic. I stand up and rub my eyes to see the rest of the boys running toward a figure. The boys begin to violently attack the figure. As they begin to punch violently, I can see blood flying off their hands. After the attack, they stared down in disbelief for a few minutes. After they left, I walked over to the thing they had beaten on the ground. As I moved closer I could tell it was Simon. Tears began to fall down my face, I couldn't believe we had turned into a bunch of savages that would kill our friend. I questioned the boys and they didn't even seem disturbed, like they just shrugged it off and came up with a bunch of excuses. I can't stand to be on this island anymore, everyday it is turning us against each other to the point where we kill one of our friends. To make matters worse, Jack and his hunters attacked our camp the night after. I don't want anything to do with them anymore, because they are the reason things are getting so difficult on the island. Luckily, I was able to hide and not be attacked, but Piggy was not so lucky. I felt bad sitting back and watching, but I knew if they saw me they would do the same to me. I'm scared, and at this point I will just do anything to survive, but I will never turn to violence like the others have.


 * Chapter 11:** After not being able to fall asleep after the attack, I sit in the darkness and imagine the life that I once lived. Soon, Ralph and Piggy wake up and notice that the hunters have taken Piggy's glasses, and it's what we need to make a fire. They decide to go after Jack and his hunters. I cringed at the thought and told them that this was not a good idea, but they said it was our only chance of lighting the fire, and unlike Jack and the others, that was still our main goal. When we got there, I stood behind the boys in my group and wished I were invisible. Jack and Ralph began to fight, and yet again I felt helpless. I hated standing and watching, but if I jumped in I would only make things worse. Jack and Ralph continued to fight one another, and Jack pushes a boulder that strikes Piggy. The boulder pushes Piggy off the mountain and to his death. I stood there in absolute shock is the event kept replaying in my mind over and over again. When we first got stranded on the island, I knew death was a possibility but I never thought that it would come like this.


 * Final Chapter: (Brad)**

Dear Diary,

It has been three years since we were rescued from the island, and to this day I am still struggling to adapt to normal life. Even though I only spent a small part of my life on the island, it was the most important part of my life and I will remember it forever. When I got back, my mum and dad hugged me for so long that I thought I would never be able to escape. Going to bed the first nights I got back, I would dream about the island, and the deaths of my friends would replay in my mind over and over again. I would often wake up screaming and extremely sweaty. My parents began to worry about me so they sent me to get help, but it didn't help much. Nobody but me could understand the things I went through. Sometimes when I walked to school I would look off into the distance and see Piggy staring at me. I would walk over too him, but by the time I did he was gone. My teachers began to worry about me after they noticed I had started acting strange. Everyone knew about what I was going through. After all, it was all over the news. But I didn't like the way people treated me like a baby and whenever I explained the things I saw people just nodded their head and played along, I could tell they didn't believe me and just thought that I was weird. Kids began to make fun of me telling me I was weird and I should just go back to the island. I saw Ralph for the first time since the island a few weeks ago. He has been struggling with the same issues I have. He stills thinks about Piggy everyday and considers his death his fault. He began to pull something from his pocket, and I realized that it was Piggy's glasses. He told me he takes them wherever he goes to remember him. He also told me that he heard Jack is off in some mental institution. He couldn't live with the guilt of the acts he has committed on the island and has gone crazy. The litluns have gone on with their life, not remembering much from their time on the island. I consider them lucky if you ask me. Dealing with the experience on the island was something I will never forget, but I know that I don't have to go through it alone.