Voting with a taste of decay

Voting with a taste of decay


Voting is one way that people choose who gets all the power without using any sort of violence. It's a way to select someone who the people believe has both the skill and mind to lead. Although sometimes it just becomes a beauty show where people just pick who looks the best and sounds the smartest out of the other candidates. It could goes as far as kids just raising their hands and saying ‘’yeah that guy looks good’’. So one must ask himself, how does voting affect who gets the power? The answer is that there are many different ways to vote that lead to different outcomes.


The voting situation in Lord of the Flies by William Golding is very easy compared to other ways of voting used nowaday. A simple raising of hands for the one that should lead the boys who have no adults there to lead. The obvious person to lead is Jack, because he was the leader of the choir and he is older than most of the boys on the island. But there's something about Ralph that makes everyone vote for him instead. The narrator says, ‘’While the most obvious leader was Jack. But there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet powerfully, there was the conch.’’ (22). The boys voted for Ralph off his appearance that gave off a more powerful leader than Jack and because he held the conch that rallied them all together which they turned into a symbol of power.    


Having an anonymous ballot makes a vote possible for people who aren’t comfortable with others knowing who they voted for. It takes the stress off of people’s shoulders by having a ballet that nobody knows who voted for who. For example, the American voting process has a voting system called secret ballots. This is what people normally use to vote without their information being shown outside and personal info compared to other voting systems. Some states like the United States do this as well like United Kingdom, France, New zealand and Australia. ‘’The voting boxes are required to be of certain dimensions and closed, the only aperture being a small slit at the top.’’ by the encyclopedia Britannica which provides lots of information on different voting and political things. Though the box method has changed a little since then, but the box method is still used in certain places like school. Nowadays we use computers that have tarpes around them so people can’t see who your voting for and have questions like, what do you support? Does this law seem fair?. This style has made the Box method much more anonymous and stress relieving than ever before. If the boys had a type of voting method like this they wouldn’t have so much guilt on their shoulders and feel bad about that guilt.         


Elections can even be persuaded by fear of some sort. There are many types of fear that make people vote a certain way. A fear of corruption, a fear of invasion of privacy, or a fear of losing freedom can make a voter feel very stressed about who they should vote for and even cause some chaos. Jack uses the fear of the beast to have the boys vote for him to be chief instead of Ralph, and tries to make the boys believe that he isn't afraid of the beast when in reality he is just as scared as they are. But he doesn’t show it, so they believe in his words and think he truly isn’t afraid of the beast. To turn the boys to his side he starts by stating they hadn’t caught the beast that night and Ralph called the hunters ‘’no good’’. ’’The next thing is that we couldn’t kill it. And the next is that Ralph said my hunters are no good.’’(126). Then he tries to make him look worse by saying that Ralph said they were cowards. ‘’Ralph thinks you're cowards, running away from the boar and the beast.’’(126). To top it all off he uses the dislike of piggy to unite the boys to choose a new chief. ‘’He’s like piggy. He says things like piggy. He isn’t a proper chief.’’(126). After trying to turn the crowd against Ralph, he holds a vote to see who still wants Ralph to be chief. It backfires because everyone felt awkward at how serious he was and the only response was silence. Angry he runs away from the group crying from the embarrassment. The way he tried to turn the boys is very similar to how some candidates will take things other candidates had said and twist it to their favor. They will even go as far as to use dead voters to increase their votes or mess with the voting system by increasing their votes and decreasing their pants.          


So does voting affect who gets power? Yes. Different voting systems can lead to someone getting the power and making the rules. Whether they got it fair and square or cheated and blackmailed their way to the top, the type of voting and types of candidates affects who wins and who loses. But as the story goes on, and things start to get crazy, voting starts to lose its purpose and the boys start to split into two different tribes that focus on different things. Lord of the Flies is a good example of different types of tactics that people will use to get power. Everyone starts to careless about what the others think, which leads to a big conflict at the end. This decides who truly leads the island, and who really is the sore loser. Over the course of time, things change for better or for worse. But people start to see things clearly as the problems start to show themselves and things fall apart some problems take time to sort themselves out or people will unite to fix a problem.  




Work cited

  1. Golding, William Lord of the flies. New York: Penguin, 2006

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Australian Ballot.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 5 May 2017, www.britannica.com/topic/Australian-ballot.

The Power Of Chanting

The Power Of Chanting

The power of repetition can come into play in several ways. At times, it can be used when studying to remember material for an important test. At others, it can be used to get a point across, such as in a speech or debate. It can even be used in the context of religion or a strong belief, presented as a means to symbolize the importance of said thing.. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, chants are used as a way to instill fear or as a forewarning several times throughout the story, establishing the beliefs and behaviors of the group.

In one scene, the boys discover they are trapped on an island in the middle of nowhere. One by one, little boys are making their way to each other, when someone realizes there needs to be a leader to keep everyone in control. Without one, things would become hectic. They desperately try to find materials to survive, to: make a fire, a pig to hunt and kill, and suitable shelter. They get in the habit of having to hunt, as as they’re hunting and killing the pig, something interesting happens. Savagely the boys chant, “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood.” (Pg 69). This act of describing what they’re going to do to the pig reoccurs frequently throughout the book. These boys, who are no older than 12 years old, are dancing and singing while taking a living animal’s life. They’ve never known what it was like to have to truly depend solely on each other to pull their weights and capture this animal. None of them knew what it was like to have to rely on what little knowledge they had about hunting. The desperation of hunger took over, and turned those boys into people they weren’t. The boys are mysteriously placed on what seems to be a deserted island and have to figure out a way to survive. Chanting and dancing while killing a pig is far beyond “normal.” Everyone has subconsciousness that partly make up the worst sides of them. After being boxed out of society, the boys don’t necessarily have to follow all of the previous norms and rules, which allows their natural capacity of evil to take over their entire beings piece by piece--those rules seemingly now non existent. The power of chanting these minimal words is a way to keep their sanity. Since they’ve never had to take another living animal’s life before, they have no idea what’s going on. They’re feeling overwhelmed, and by chanting, they learn to with it.

In many religions, chanting is something the participants of that religion practice. Most of them would even say that chanting religiously is extremely popular and helpful. For some chanters, they believe that chanting will help them through their hardships, hoping for their voices to be heard by a higher being. In a case study that was performed to see what would happen to the moods of Buddhists if they were being shown negative or neutral pictures while chanting Amitābha or Santa Claus silently to themselves, it stated, “Results showed that viewing negative pictures (vs. neutral pictures) increased the amplitude of the N1 component in all the chanting conditions. The amplitude of late positive potential (LPP) also increased when the negative pictures were viewed under the no-chanting and the Santa Claus condition.” According to this study, viewing negative pictures can cause the brain to go through some sort of PTSD trauma. It can sometimes make the purest souls become evil. Amitabha, which translates into Pure Land Buddhism, is a pure place. Santa Claus is an adult who gives back to children who deserve his gifts. Together, they’re the most saintly of things. Having them together, chanting them separately, and looking at negative pictures all together, have changed their moods in a positive way. It has raised their LPP. The negative pictures were affecting with their mental state, and by chanting Amitabha or Santa Claus’s name, calmed them down and relaxed their soul. Yes, their mood still changed, but they weren’t as triggered by what they were seeing.

Later on in the book, the boys have taken a turn from innocent and clueless, to reckless and dangerous. It seems as though they can’t tell the difference from right and wrong. Right before this happened, some of the hunters were climbing up a mountain when they discovered pig droppings. After that, they decided to hunt a pig, which they did. The only problem was that they were unable to kill it. With its tusks, it cut Robert on his forearm. The boys chant,  “Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!” (Pg 114). When Robert gathered the others and told them what happened, they started throwing jabs at him, made a ring, and started stabbing him with the butt of their spears chanting. The evil surrounding them on that island took control over their decision making. It was making them see and do things that they wouldn’t have normally done. They were willing to kill one of their own, which is why the chanting came into play. They could see the blood on his forearm and thought he was a pig. The excitement and fear kicked in, and chanting was the only thing they had left to get back to their regular selfs. After they did so, they stopped torching Robert, and decided to hunt and kill a real pig.

In conclusion, chanting is a powerful source of meditation. Chants calm and relax the body, are relatively easy to remember, and there are different ways to partake in one. In Lord of the Flies, chanting is mainly used to symbolize how important an action or an object is, but it’s also used to calm and relax the bodies of the children It  isn’t only used in fiction, though. A lot of religions use chanting as a way to reach out to the figures who are higher than them It sometimes can even alleviate people’s negative emotions, and cause them to have positive perspectives. When something like that happens, there would be more peaceful and senseful citizens in the streets.


Works Cited

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin, 2006.


“Symbolism in Lord of the Flies .” Symbols and Symbolism in Lord of the Flies Lord Flies Essays, 123HelpMe, www.123helpme.com/assets/9704.html


Bremner, J. Douglas. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, Les Laboratoires Servier, Dec. 2006, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181836/


Gao, Junling, et al. Frontiers in Psychology, Frontiers Media S.A., 2016, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5223166/


Geduld,, Marcus. “Why Do People Chant in Various Religions?” Quora, 30 Dec. 2012, www.quora.com/Why-do-people-chant-in-various-religions-What-is-the-origin-of-this-practice-and-What-are-the-reasons-people-do-it-for-Is-it-helpful-and-how


“Saint Meinrad Archabbey.” History of Chant - The Monastery | Saint Meinrad Archabbey, www.saintmeinrad.edu/the-monastery/liturgical-music/history-of-chant/.


Soard, Lori. “Cheers Chants and Songs.” LoveToKnow, LoveToKnow Corp, http://cheerleading.lovetoknow.com/Cheers_Chants_and_Songs


Order & Isolation

What causes human beings to change their behavior? The most considerable influence comes from our environment.  Our society depends on structure and governing rules; however, when in isolation of civilization, human beings will change their behavior to fit their circumstances. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the author tells a story of a group of schoolboys stranded on an island, isolated from their society, who must learn to survive in an environment to which they are unaccustomed to. Though they try to bring order and rules to their isolated world, they are unable to obey them and, consequently, the boys change from rigid schoolboys who follow orders to savages. Human beings will revert to an uncouth state of being when isolated from rule and order.


In chapter 10 of the book, Jack and Piggy are trying to get a grip of themselves over the killing of Simon, who was mistaken to be the beast (the “monster” the schoolboys began to fear) by Jack and his tribe. Also after the murder of Simon, the tribe gathers around Jack. It reads, “The chief was sitting there, naked to the waist, his face blocked out in white and red.” (160) Before, Jack was only the leader of the choir, which can only be assumed that this means they grew up the Christian way, which in society, is seen as a civilized organization to take part in. This includes believing that God is a spirit creature that can’t be seen and to be modest in clothing. Here, this quote shows quite the opposite. Instead, Jack and the tribe are naked, not even thinking of what they are displaying to each other. Also, in this chapter, they talk about satisfying the “beast” by giving a head of the pig on a stake to it and have a dance to keep the beast away from them. Throughout history, rituals and sacrificing food are ways to worship a god. God cannot be seen as an image. This and the clothing can only be possible because of the isolation from civilization and its rules and order.


An example of this behavior is seen in prisons today. As of today, many prisons are looking into isolations as the answer to rehabilitation for a criminal. However, according to Sadie Dingfelder’s article about the risks prisons take on the prisoners’ mental health with solitary confinement entitled Psychologist Testifies on the Risks of Solitary Confinement, it shows how it “renders many people incapable of living anywhere else.” With this, it shows how many of them aren’t able to act as society orders to. In fact, one prisoner named Anthony Graves recalled how one inmate "would go out into the recreation yard, get naked, lie down and urinate all over himself. He would take his feces and smear it all over his face." This is not civilized behavior at all. As inmates are isolated from the real world, their minds “don't live in the real world anymore.” (Anthony Graves.) Meaning, all rules and orders of society that are meant to be kept up are long gone. They do what they wish to do, despite what their society says. Just as Jack and his tribes (really all the boys) have done when they were on the island.


In chapter 12 of the book, Ralph is trying to get Sam and Eric’s attention without being caught by the tribe. When he did get their attention, the twins warned him, “They hate you, Ralph. They’re going to do you.” (188) As known in civilization, when having an argument, they are to be civilized with this. This includes no exploding anger nor acting out in anger. Instead, society puts show to that they must communicate and be mature with the situation at hand. In the novel, their situation is having people help in surviving on the island and getting the fire going to be rescued. In the beginning, though there were tensions and anger from arguments from Jack and Ralph about the situation, they’ve been as respectful as they can be to each other, with no sudden lashing out of anger. However, as time goes on through the novel and the boys decides to separate themselves, more of their anger and hostility begins to show as the situation is brung to the surface again and again. Up to this point in time, where the only solution to Jack and his tribe to solve the situation is to kill out of anger. This is not what society promotes.


This scene is similar to many prisons today. Many prisons struggle to keep down the violence within them. An article from BBC News states “For months there has been huge concern about conditions in prisons, escalating levels of violence, self-harm and suicide.” Many come into prison with violence a part of them. To tone it down, in the US, many prisons are turning to solitary confinement as a way to solve the problem. According to the article Alone, in ‘the Hole’ by Kirsten Weir, the segregation from human contact “has never been proven to make prisons safer.” Many are in constant fear of each other hurting them. So, to protect themselves and survive from  the violence, they act out violently, instead of seeking help or talk things out civilly. Whether it be instrumental violence, expressive violence, or self-harm. They need to eliminate the situation with violence, just as Jack and his tribes tries to do in the novel.


As shown, whether through the real world or through books, rule and order is needed in order for people to never revert back into an uncivilized state of being. What if everyone had a sense of mind where they think through a situation? What would happen if the logical part of us would take over, as it seems to have done with Piggy? Instead of having emotions take control of our actions, our actions can be justified with logic. As a result, even in isolation, human beings will be able to have order and civilized manners within themselves and situations can be handled properly. Just as it should be.

 

Bibliography


The Experience of Fear

The Experience of Fear

In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a group of schoolboys find themselves lost on an uninhabited island, where they struggle to survive and create order. While trying to stay alive, the boys are presented with troubles of sanity. As time goes on, they experience worsening fears. Some boys, such as the leader Ralph, take longer to truly be afraid. Why do people fear differently? For many people, direct trauma is the only way for them to feel fear. But, this is not always the case. People must have at least a memory of violence and trauma from indirect experiences in order to be afraid, because fear is ultimately based on certainty.

Towards the end of the book Ralph had been isolated from the rest of the boys, and was an outsider to the brutal force of Jack and his hunters. While contemplating whether or not the hunters would leave him be, he realized his unsafety and paranoia swept over him. “He argued convincingly that they would let him alone, perhaps even make an outlaw of him. But then the fatal unreasoning knowledge came to him again...These painted savages would go further and further.” (184) In this moment, the author’s language shows that Ralph is filled with fear at just the thought of the hunters, even though he has no direct experience of disturbing actions occurring before him. He still is very scared of these boys because he negatively associates Jack and his hunters with murder and death. He only saw them commit these actions, but never was a victim to their violence. This proves that fear can be felt even without firsthand experiences, because having snapshots of people and knowing what they have done in the past to others can induce fear.

This situation is found in the real world, with mass school shootings becoming a growing problem in America, as well as gun violence in general. Many people who have gone through shootings have been greatly changed by them, into becoming activists. But, sometimes the people affected by the attacks didn’t even experience the violence firsthand. An article about gun violence and its effects on children from the Washington Post said, “A study published in the journal Pediatrics in 2015 concluded that kids who witness an attack involving a gun or knife can be just as traumatized as children who have been shot or stabbed.” Since a psychological study was conducted and released to the public, this is an implication that young people who haven’t been directly involved in violence are increasingly experiencing distress and alarm. Without having been physically assaulted, these young people are still coming forward and admitting they experienced just as much fright after seeing harm being done to others. If youth are this impacted by images of violent attacks, parents of school shooting victims must also be considerably afraid of guns. For these parents, all the images they create in their minds come from the little they see on the news, and can include infinite possible cruel scenarios. This causes them to become fearful of guns, after having only a relation to an experience of gun violence. An example of this same behavior can be found in the novel.

In Chapter 12, after being told by previous allies that the hunters planned to come after Ralph and kill him, he started to vividly remember the murder of Piggy. This thought scared Ralph and even caused him to feel childish. “Piggy was everywhere, was on this neck, was become terrible in darkness and death. If Piggy were to come back now out of the water, with his empty head--Ralph whimpered and yawned like a littlun.” (190) Ralph was frightened to the point of feeling like a “littlun,” which is a representation of weakness and youth on the island. Ralph felt so terrified that he was brought to a youthful and foolish state, which shows how impactful indirect experiences can be. Similarly to before in the book, Ralph felt scared just by picturing the murder of Piggy, even though he was not killed or physically harmed. This mirrors the real world, where parents and children become terrified at only the thought of murder and shootings. They also do not have direct experiences with gun violence, but the images they see and the information they know about it plays in their mind, stimulating fear. Clearly people can be afraid from personal experiences of violence, but this quote is an example of how indirect experiences cause similar fears. Due to the nature of Ralph after he had these flashback memories, this demonstrates that indirect fears can sometimes be more powerful than direct ones.

In the real world, as violence and crime are on the rise, so are fear and paranoia. This leads many to question what a healthy fear is, compared to what an unhealthy fear is. Neuroscientists even analyze how networks in our brains work when experiencing fear. According to a Psychology Today article, neuropsychologist Theo Tsaousides Ph.D. stated that, “When these networks are electrically or chemically stimulated, they produce fear, even in the absence of a fearful stimulus.” Tsaousides confirmed with scientific evidence that fear can be felt without a stimulator present to cause harm or invoke threats. Our brains process fear for us, replaying certain images and memories to cause us to be scared. This is the case with Ralph in the novel, because he acted like a tough guy for the majority of the story, but only became paranoid at the end, after watching boys he had relationships with be killed. His brain processed the violent images of people close to him being harmed, and this chemically stimulated him to become fearful of the other boys. He originally had nothing to be afraid of because he had no images, memories, or associations to make, until he watched Piggy and Simon be murdered. For many who still wonder why they fear things that aren’t even threatening them in person, it is because our brain turns fear on and off, like a switch.

Feeling terror without a direct stimulator can be just as powerful, or more powerful than first hand traumatic experiences. Many people become frightened with at least some knowledge or visuals of threats, even without it being directed towards them. With Ralph’s fear of the boys who had commited murder before him, and in the real world with youth who watched their close friends be shot in school, fear impacted people similarly. These sources prove that direct experiences are not crucial to having fear, but knowing for certain that violence or threats existed is essential.


Works Cited:

  1. Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin, 2006.

  2. Rich, Steven, and Cox, John. Scarred by School Shootings. The Washington Post, 25 March 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/local/us-school-shootings-history/?utm_term=.5710c768de15.

  3. Tsaousides, Theo. 7 Things You Need to Know About Fear. Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 19 November 2015, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/smashing-the-brainblocks/201511/7-things-you-need-know-about-fear.

Slideshow and Artist's Statement - Emmett Tsai-McCarthy

I was very excited for this quarter in art, as this was going to be the very first time I could use my computer for art.  I was a little bit disappointed the first time I was going to use my computer for art since the first assignment upon getting was one that required a specific art medium, that being pencil and paper.  But when I was finally able to use it for the mandalas, it was a whole lot of fun.  Being able to use so many tools and colors at my fingertips was what sold me on digital art.
I've also gotten better at shading since last quarter, but it's not just because of my computers versatility.  Although my computer had the bigger impact on my shading abilities, there were two assignments that also helped, them being the optical illusions and shading forms.  It's very easy to see why these assignments had the impact they had on me, as both were literally lessons on shading.  Along with shading, these assignments have gotten me to start drawing in 3 dimensions more than I did before.
I believe this quarter to be the best for my artwork so far, but not just for school work.  I don't mean to sound like a broken recorder, but my artistry has truly gotten better since gaining the ability to draw online and I've been able to start focusing on a goal that I doubted I would even do at all, which was starting my portfolio for college.  Of course, I don't think my artwork is college ready now that I have the means to draw on a screen.  But it was a big step for me and combined with the lessons from this art class, and the stuff I've doing outside of school, will get me even further.

The Impact of Fear

Fear is one of the strongest emotions because it can motivate us into doing something we don’t usually do. But sometimes fear will take advantage of us, and control us into doing something we don’t want. In the book ‘Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding, fear is a common topic among the boys and at multiple points of the book, and at some points it even causes the boys something that they might not do in their regular everyday life. In society fear is part of our everyday life and it can even change and make our decisions for us, so when fear is right here with us and pressuring our minds, it will make us do things that we may regret later.

First, Simon’s death can significantly be compared to the Vietnam war. At this point of the book all of the boys except for Simon are having a feast with the meat Jack hunted, and Simon is in the forest talking to the ‘lord of the flies’ about the beast, then Simon went to met with the boys to talk about the ‘beast’. So before Simon met with the other boys, Simon is representing United states, then Jack and the other boys represents North Vietnam. But after the killing, Simon became South Vietnam and Ralph and Piggy became the United States. The Vietnam war was a conflict between the north and south of Vietnam and the United States of America join force with South Vietnam. The reason for the U.S. to join the fight is because they feared that one of their allies, south Vietnam, would be controlled by the communists. Like the United States, Simon was trying to stop the other destroying themselves over the beast. Even with the help of the United States,  South Vietnam was still ‘kill’ by north Vietnam, and also like south Vietnam, Simon was killed by Jack and the other children, even though he was trying to help them. Then according to nationlreview.com and history.com Vietnam was an “outright military defeat,” and ‘The nation spent more than $120 billion on the conflict in Vietnam from 1965-73’ and about 58,200 American men and women was killed or missing in the war. Although in this war with the boys and the ‘beast’ only had one death, it was still a great lose for Ralph, Piggy, and the littluns. After the killing Piggy said that “we was scared!”(156). This shows that the boys made a rash decision because of their fears of the ‘beast’ and they took action against the ‘beast’. In both of the conflicts shown above, fear has taken a big role in each of them and it showed that fear can make people have rash decisions, then later regretting of their choices.

The French Revolution was one of the most horrific events that has ever occured. In this event, fear had a major part and there is many points where fear takes part, especially with events that involved King Louis XVI. First, King Louis was resisting against the people of France or the bourgeoisie, so he moved to Versailles. Then he was being threatened by the people of France, if he doesn’t move back to Paris then they will kill him and his family. Naturally he moved back to Paris because he was afraid of being killed. But later Louis tried to escape France and its problems with his wife because they fear what the people might do to his family if they stayed in France. This was a poor choice made by them because they got caught when crossing the borders and they both was executed for treason. So if King Louis is still alive he would regret his choice as he got killed because of them. Similarities can be found in the end of the book where Ralph and Piggy went to Jack’s camp to get Piggy’s specs back. So both Piggy and Ralph can represent King Louis and Jack with the hunter can represent the people of France. First, Ralph feared that because of Jack’s outrageous action they might not be able to get rescued so then he was resisting against Jack with reason, so Ralph said: “we’d have given you fire if you’d asked for it-”(176) but that did not work and it quickly turned into a fight against Jack. Soon after the fighting started, Piggy got murdered, but the reason for the killing of Piggy is that he stood up against his problems instead of running away from them. Piggy would regret his actions because it caused him to get killed. As these two events showed that fear can very will take control of a person even though they had a legitimate reason for their actions, they still ending up regretting their choice.

No matter who we are, fear is there with us. Even if we are kings or a powerhouse nation or a group of boys, fear is right there pressuring and controlling their choice and decisions. Although fear is a strong emotion, we can still try to overcome it by think over our choice with logic.


The Desire For Power

Society is a place for competition. Human beings leverage their power in different contexts and through a diverse set of modes. The choice is either to fight for power, to serve as a leader of a community, or to accept power from another source. Most of the time, people will fight for power because they do not want to serve under the dictatorship of another human being. As the desire for power grows, human beings strive to gain as much as they can to be at the top. This need for dominant influence is a recurring theme in the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding. The plot centers around a group of abandoned British children stranded on an island and fighting to establish order to get off the uninhabited island. Despite the continuous efforts, no one truly ever gains the power they desire because humans are never satisfied in this regard.

The group decides to create a civilization of only themselves because there were no adults on the island. They started to vote for a leader between a boy named Ralph and a boy named Jack. Jack was so confident that he can become the best leader because he was chapter chorister, head boy, and he can sing C sharp. Instead, Ralph was deemed the chief, leaving Jack was upset as a result. In chapter 1, “Even the choir applauded; and the freckles on Jack’s face disappeared under a blush of mortification. He started up, then changed his mind and sat down again while the air rang.”(23) Despite losing, Jack changes his mind thinking that if he tries to act like he is helpful, and remain calm around Ralph, Ralph will give him a higher position in the civilization. People would do anything to get the power that they want. Even changing their personalities, acting differently, and serving under the one who has higher power for a while to get what they want.

As the novel goes on, Jack’s desire for power grows because no one listens to him. Jack starts trying to make Ralph look like a bad chief in front of everyone else in his attempt to turn the group against him. In chapter 8, Jack says “He’s not a hunter. He’d never have got us meat. He isn’t a perfect and we don’t know anything about him. He just gives orders and expects people to obey for nothing. All this talk.”(126) Jack did not want to serve under Ralph’s orders any longer, so he tried to do everything in his power to ruin in Ralph’s position by saying how bad and imperfect he is to the civilization. He wants power so everyone can listen to him and serve him like they did to Ralph. The desire for power gains over time by the way that society governs itself. People are always trying to be on top of each other, so they can have the power to control others.

An example of this behavior also takes place in the real-world experience. Donald Trump, the president of the United States, is similar to Jack in regards to his immense and seemingly endless desire for power. Donald Trump used to live out a fairly standard  ‘rich-guy’ life. However, he didn’t accept his normal life and decided to join politics, fight for his presidency, and sit in the government of the United States. He wanted a higher position, and now that he has it he is abusing his power. According to the newspaper CNN, “For nearly two years now, citizen, candidate, and President Donald Trump have agitated for the means to build a wall on the southern border. Better yet, he told supporters during his campaign, it would be American-made and Mexican-paid ‘believe me’.” When he was a businessman he couldn’t do anything of that. But after he achieved his power in the government, he started to plan it out, and process it. If he wasn’t running for his presidency, he would not be able to plan out these things, and public his speech about it. This also proves that power is never achieved as much as humans want. Donald Trump was a rich guy, he could just stay in his normal life and enjoying all of his money. But instead, he decided to join the government to try and get even more powers.

Jack and Donald Trump are alike because they both desire power. They needed it for their goals. They also wanted it because they did not want to serve others, instead, they want to use the power to rule others. Jack and Donald Trump are different because Jack only wants the power to rule others, while Donald Trump wants the power to find money for him along with ruling people. Power makes people feel happy because it provides them with their wants and needs. It lets them make others listen to the things that they want, and force others to help them out with whatever they want to achieve. Donald Trump wanted to build the wall, and he’s using his new power of the president to try and say that Mexicans have to pay for it.

Humans all desire power, and every single one desires different types of power. Power makes people feel different because it gives them what they want. Human desire never ends, so power can never achieve all of a human’s wants. This is shown in the book Lord of the Flies and in the real-life example of Donald Trump. They both desire power to do things that they want and their goals are endless. No matter how hard people fight for the power they never reach what they want, because they never stop wanting more.


Sources:

  1. “Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin, 2006.”

  2. “Why Do We Seek Power?” Power: Why Do We Seek Power? | KidSpirit, 11 Sept. 2016, kidspiritonline.com/magazine/power/why-do-we-seek-power/.

  3. “Power Makes People Happy.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ulterior-motives/201304/power-makes-people-happy.

  4. Krieg, Gregory. “What Kind of Border Wall Does Trump Want? It Depends on Who's Asking.” CNN, Cable News Network, 17 Jan. 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/01/11/politics/donald-trump-positions-on-the-wall-daca/index.html.

Empathy and Survival: An Anomaly

A number of people have been there: Choosing to survive or protect someone else. Humanity may tell itself that it’d prioritize others, but human urges are not something to escape. It’s easy to lose sight of values while in grave danger, so risks are taken in the sake of being self-preserving. This is a story of many human behaviors, but more than anything, it’s a story of empathy becoming a choice; an optional privilege. In the novel  “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding, the young boys trying to survive on a remote island struggle to remain empathetic with each other due to the pressures of survival. It’s a story that proves, despite all socialized training to be kind to each other, humans are ultimately selfish and willing to do anything to survive.

On said island, Roger, a troubled boy, is loyal to Jack, a reckless and spontaneous leader. There’s a conflict between Jack and the other, more reasonable and rational leader, Ralph. During a clash between the two separately led groups, Roger murders another child. The narrator describes the scene as follows: “High overhead, Roger, with a sense of delirious abandonment, leaned all his weight on the lever… The rock struck Piggy… ” (180-181) In a moment of panic, Roger has no hesitation to murder. Roger might not have the intention of murdering Piggy, yet he leans “all his weight” onto the lever that pushes a boulder on Piggy. The narrator describes Roger to be acting in “delirious abandonment,” loosely translating to him acting in a state of disturbed incoherence that allows him to have an out of body experience. Roger’s previous behavior shows hesitance to hurt others due to fear of repercussions, but in a position where he’s unsure of how his group will survive, he loses his sense of empathy altogether and is willing to kill.

The Milgram Experiment was a psychological test done in 1963 by Stanley Milgram that displays a similar loss of empathy. According to a review done on “Milgram’s Progress,” during the experiment, strangers were told they were testing shock therapy on another stranger, and that they had to press a button when told to shock someone. They couldn’t see the person being shocked because they didn't exist. The scientist in the room with them would urge them to keep going, even though the participants heard recorded screams coming from the other room that they believed to be real. The scientist resembled authority that people were willing to respect. More people than expected continued to “shock” the person, even after they thought they killed them. These people were not put in a place of danger, but they believed that what they were doing was necessary for improvement of some kind. Stanley Milgram said himself, “It is not so much the kind of person a man is as the kind of situation in which he finds himself that determines how he will act.” Roger, a young boy who’s experiencing trauma and pressured survival, may not be a “bad” boy, yet when pushed to his limits of what he “must do,” he’s willing to become an emotionless savage. Jack, his leader, is an authority that Roger wanted to please for validation.

There is a similar act of violence later in the novel with yet another savage death. The boys, convinced there’s a beast hiding on the island taunting them, see a fellow member of their tribe struggling to come out of the forest. Somehow, they confuse young Simon with the beast, even though he issn’t doing anything but walking. The scene is described as follows: “The beast struggled forward… At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt onto the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws.” (153) Not only do the boys murder Simon, a peer, but they do it in a way that makes them appear more like beasts than him. No one could tear someone to pieces with such violence and dedication while being empathetic. The fear of the beast is what causes them to react to Simon coming out of the trees with such aggression. The fear is what causes them to lose their empathy, because the beast is an imaginary threat to their survival. If the symbol of the beast didn’t exist, then the stress of survival wouldn’t be so strong, and the boys wouldn’t have murdered their friend.

Much like the boys’ struggle with the dynamic of fear and power, the Stanford Prison experiment demonstrates how quickly people can deteriorate into a state where they can remove empathy for survival. According to the official Stanford Prison Experiment website, a group of college students were split up, where some roleplayed guards and others, prisoners. With them all locked in a basement, the prisoners went insane, and the guards felt as though they had to protect themselves from said prisoners. This led to psychological and physical abuse of the prisoners due to fear. If the guards didn’t feel threatened, they wouldn’t have been able to hurt the prisoners as badly as they did. After all, each of the participants started as normal, innocent, college students. One could say the same about the boys stuck together on the island.

A point to be made just as important as the result of fear in a person is the result of the absence of fear. Eventually, after an unknown amount of time, the boys get discovered by an officer. Ralph, one of the leaders of the group, realizes the terrible things they did. It is not until he feels relatively safe, or at least not in immediate danger, does he feel remorse for his empathetic actions. After they are found, the narrator says, “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.” (202)  All of the things listed that Ralph wept for are included in an empathetic category. The end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the death of Piggy would not be present if there wasn’t a threat for survival. Now that Ralph is not in danger, he recognizes the lack of empathy that he now feels guilt for. One could argue that each thing mentioned, was purely out of fear to survive, yet one couldn’t say that any of it was done with empathy.

Fear is the strongest force in humanity. None are immune or can deny its lasting effect. In the case of the boys in the novel and the participants of the Milgram and Stanford Prison experiments, it leads to the loss of empathy. This lands true for most occurrences where survival is required. It is not at fault of the participants, seeing how Ralph responded to the experience once he felt safe. Humanity cannot judge the kids or those that fall victim to danger. Survival instincts are stronger than those to protect each other. It is not a choice, it’s human nature. With that being said, humans are no better or worse than those mere children, willing to do the same things the boys did if they experienced any of the same.


Works Cited:

  1. Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin, 2006

  2. Levine, Robert. “Milgram's Progress.” American Scientist, Way Back Machine Internet Archive, 2015, web.archive.org/web/20150226125705/http://www.americanscientist.org/bookshelf/id.2948,content.true,css.print/bookshelf.aspx.

  3. Zimbardo, Philip G. “The Story: An Overview of the Experiment.” Stanford Prison Experiment, Social Psychology Network, 2018, www.prisonexp.org/the-story/.

Pain in Masculinity

“You should be ashamed of yourself!” This statement is something that many children, especially boys, grow up hearing. As children, humans are taught that there is a specific way that they are supposed to act, and if they cannot act that way then they deserve to feel shame. Men specifically are expected to fit the mold of being strong and loving sports-- of being a “ladies’ man” and not showing emotion. They are supposed to be proud of being this way, even if it’s common and anticipated. If, and when, they don’t fit this description of being “manly”, it is possible for them to lash out. Pride, and thus shame, encouraged by our society drives men to hurt themselves and others over the idea of being a “real man”.

The book Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, peers into the young minds of boys and shows that even at early adolescent ages masculine pride influences how children treat each other. In the novel, there is a group of boys stuck on a deserted island with no adults. At first, many of them get along, but there is consistently a single outcast- Piggy. Piggy’s character is defined by the fact that he is a weakling in both survival and social situations. He is fat and has been coddled his entire life. Even from the group’s first encounter on the island, they are rude to him, leave him out, and tease him, saying, “‘You’re talking too much,’ said Jack Merridew.” (21). This first interaction sets up the standard for the treatment of Piggy throughout the book. He is known as ‘Piggy’ for the rest of the book, which shows that though he is a major character, first and foremost he is feeble and fat. The other boys don’t see anything in him, beyond that, because he does not fit the mold of what a man is ‘supposed’ to be. Because Piggy is less than what they aspire to be, the other boys disregard his intelligence and anything else about him that might be good. They strip Piggy of his pride, and thus he occasionally lashes out to make them listen to him. It is only in these times that they give him even an ounce of respect. At various points throughout the book, Piggy grabs the conch shell, which is part of a rule that the boys set; anyone holding the conch gets to talk without interruptions. When Piggy does this, it forces the boys to listen to him, and seems to be the only way that they will hear him out. However, most of the time they talk over him anyway, and as the book goes on and the boys plunge further into insanity, their adherence to the conch rule diminishes, leaving Piggy once again left out, and eventually, dead.

As demonstrated by the boys’ treatment of Piggy, the world sees weakness as something to be ashamed of. In professions where pride and strength is valued over anything else, the stakes of being overpowered are raised. This is applicable in the case of the military, specifically male rape in the military. According to an article written by Carol O’Brien, Jessica Keith, and Lisa Shoemaker on the American Psychological Association’s website, “approximately 50% of survivors of military sexual assault are men, virtually all of the literature focuses on the assault of female service members”. This gives insight to the fact that not only are men expected to be strong, but women to be weak. Therefore when a man is overpowered, even by their superiors, they do not seek help because they want to preserve their pride, to hide from their shame. This is a double standard that makes help almost inaccessible to men. When men are told day-in and day-out that they must be durable and forceful, they learn to hide any times when they weren’t perfect, impairing their ability to get help. This relates to the novel when Ralph and Jack are fighting over who will be the most dominant in the group instead of working together; neither wants to be seen as weak or frail. This need to be strong and in power eventually is a factor that drives them insane.

Another moment of prime masculinity in Lord of the Flies is when the boys are finally rescued. Jack and his choir boys have been overcome with bloodthirst and were hunting for Ralph, setting the entire forest on fire to smoke him out. From afar, a navy vessel saw the smoke and flames, and came to see what the commotion was about. In this, the navy men discovered the group of boys that have been trying for months to be rescued. Upon the realization that they would be saved from this island, the boys began to cry. Beholding this the narrator describes, “The officer, surrounded by these noises, was moved and a little embarrassed. He turned away to give them time to pull themselves together” (202). Even in this time of reflection on the horrors endured on the island, the boys are meant to be composed. As is in the book, societies around the world say that men are “supposed to” not show emotion, because they are seen as the most stable. Lea Winerman, in an article for the APA, says, “Many boys, he [Ronald F. Levant] says, learn from their parents and from other children that they are not supposed to express vulnerability or caring.” Not only does this hurt the men themselves, possibly causing depression or other mental health issues, but can cause men to hurt others due to built-up emotion that they were shamed about upon expression. Men are human beings, but are expected to act without fundamental emotion.

In societies across the world, men are conditioned to be closed off to even their friends and family, and to feel ashamed of their emotions. They are taught vigorously to be proud of themselves from birth and to not speak about any type of defeat or vulnerability. This makes it hard for them to accept help, because the price of said help is self-shame, being patronized, and being disrespected. When they don’t receive this aid, they are forced to stifle their emotions. Men lash out against those around them to cope with the bottled-up emotions that have been brewing, possibly, for years. We, as humans, condition our men to be self-stable, but don’t expect the same of our women. It is evident through looking at most societies, humanity as a whole, and Lord of the Flies that pride and shame are two sides of the same coin that we thoughtlessly flip to decide our values and actions.

Works Cited

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin, 2006.

O'Brien, Carol, et al. “Don't Tell: Military Culture and Male Rape.” Bay Pines Veterans Healthcare Affairs, 2015. Found on the American Psychological Association website Here: http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/ser-ser0000049.pdf

Nelson, Tammy. “How to Be a Man of Integrity in a Time of Toxic Masculinity.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 15 Nov. 2017, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-to-be-a-man-of-integrity-in-a-time-of-toxic-masculinity_us_5a0caef9e4b006a16baf1ee7.

Winerman, Lea. “Helping Men to Help Themselves.” Monitor on Psychology, American Psychological Association, June 2005, www.apa.org/monitor/jun05/helping.aspx.

Quarter 3 Art Slideshow + Artist Statement

In the third quarter of Senior Art I dedicated a piece to my family with a thoughtful coat of arms, paid homage to two of my childhood favorite cartoons Danny Phantom and Tom & Jerry, took a risk painting a sunset from my imagination, transformed a water bottle to a rocket, and created wearable art through various mediums. I’ve spent time learning different apps and programs and finally felt comfortable enough to produce a few digital pieces. The golden ratio is the new concept I learned about this quarter, it serves as a purposeful addition to my catalog of perspectives. One thing I noticed about my process of making art is that I’m more open to change than I once was, I wanted to be less of a perfectionist so I took criticism and made changes I felt were appropriate. I willingly spent extra time outside of the studio to finalize multiple pieces although I’m not sure how well my dedication shows through my artwork. Some of my most important sources of inspiration would be my personal experiences, many of my ideas were based on impulse. I used things around me to influence my creations which I found to be helpful and something I’ll continue to do.

Senior Art

I think I could have done better throughout this quarter as far as getting the assignments done on time. I definitely need to work on some time management, so that I can get things done in a timely manner. I think I did pretty well with the coat of arms, I was able to really be focused and finish a good piece of work I did. Another piece that was one of my favorites was the choice piece I did, I did a sketch of some abstract work and then filled it in with sharpie markers to give it some color. I've always loved doing abstract work therefore I decided to do that for choosing my own art piece.     

Quarter 3 Slideshow, Jaszmine Randle

Jaszmine Randle

April 3, 2018

Artist Statement


During this quarter I worked on my capstone a lot in this class however I was able to learn a lot of new techniques. I learned to master working with watercolor, I learned how to be more creative and unique by creating an abstract piece. All the work I created was something outside of my comfort zone. I wanted to try something new for once and challenge myself even more than last quarter. This quarter what I took from art was time management and of course hard work these two things kept me focused all quarter. You need good time management because that's the only way you can meet deadlines. All my studio time was properly spent and invested all of my projects met there deadlines. You have to invest in good work in order to get a good outcome if you don’t work hard your final product won’t be as strong as it could've been. My goal for quarter four is to end strong and reflect properly. I would like to take all corrections from my three previous quarters and use it in my future. Even if you don’t take art in the future you can still use the skills, and techniques taught from the course. I want people to take my motivation and dedication from my artwork because everything I submitted I took time and hard work to complete them.


Quarter 3 Reflection

Quarter 3 Advanced Art Reflection



The first project we did this quarter was a large scale drawing of a bicycle. My bicycle was done with pencil on paper. It took awhile to get the proportions of the bike, but after that it was easy to shade. The drawing came out a little messier than I would have like, and I didn’t really enjoy drawing the bike because I find working in pencil frustrating.

The second project we did this quarter was the optical illusion. This was a favorite of mine. The materials I used were paper, markers, and colored pencils. I first sketched out the illusion in pencil, colored in alternating sections with black markers, and then colored in the remaining sections with all different colored pencils. I really like the effect that I got in the end.

The third project we did this quarter was shading practice. The materials used were pencil and paper. The first thing I did was draw shapes and split them into sections to indicate transitions in shading. Then I shaded, changing the strength I used to press down on the paper. I learned a lot about how weight affects color with this project, and I think it turned out.

The fourth project we did this quarter was the eye drawing. The materials used on the eye were pencil and paper. I sketched the eye from a photo of mine. I then shaded, paying close attention to value and texture. I had the most trouble getting the shine on the eye right, and I don’t think it looks quite right. Otherwise, I really do think it looks like my eye, and I’m proud of the end product.

The last project we did this quarter was the mandala, and it was my favorite by far. I really felt like I could be creative with it. The materials I used were pencil, pen, paper, and colored pencil. I first drew a circle, then sectioned it off like a pizza. Then I drew a smaller circle in the middle, and drew from there. After I drew with pencil, I traced with pen and colored in with colored pencils. I’m really proud of the end product.


My Q3 Art

If I learned anything in this quarter, it’s that drawing a bicycle is a lot harder than you might think. It’s not just about drawing the general shape of the bicycle, it’s about making sure all the parts are just right. I personally had the most trouble with drawing the breaks. Despite all that, I do believe my final bicycle drawing turned out pretty good. I gave my bike drawing the title, “La Bicicleta,” which means, “The Bicycle,” in Spanish, because I felt like it.

I also tried experimenting with shading. It was a little hard with a lead pencil and my tendency to press down on the paper, but I managed. The results of this can be seen in my shaded shapes and optical illusions. The key to creating a tunnel-like optical illusion like the ones I made is to master the shading. In order to create a realistic tunnel effect, you have to shade the top part lighter and the bottom part darker. I learned this when creating the square tunnel, and later practiced it in the rainbow circle tunnel.

For this quarter, I decided to try out a new strategy. Instead of making a rough copy in my sketchbook and a final copy later, I decided to make more than one version of the same picture to see if the second drawing would be an improved version of the first. True, I was basically doing the same thing, but I was showing the “rough draft” as well as the “final version.” I have noticed a definite difference between the two versions of one drawing. For example, I did not add any interesting details to my first mandala aside from the color because I wanted to get used to drawing a mandala first. In my second mandala, I decided to draw hearts and stars on the shapes. Also, my second eye looks more “open” than the first one. It is important to note that I did make multiple versions of the shaded shapes piece, but I was having technical difficulties and could only upload one.

Quarter 3 Art Work

This quarter for art class I created a bike drawing, an optical illusion drawing, a shading forms drawing, an eye drawing, and an original mandala. In order to make some of these art pieces, I gained inspiration through my favorite colors and even from my culture. For the bike drawing, I used pencil and was inspired by my own bike that I ride, and drew a version of this. For the optical illusion drawing, I used colors that were vibrant and patterns that were graphic, to enhance the illusion aspect of the art piece. For the shaded forms drawing, I followed the instructions and practiced heavy and light shading, as well as all the variations of shading in between. For the eye drawing, I demonstrated more shading skills, such as the different weights that can be seen with thick and thin lead strokes. For the mandala, I was inspired by my Puerto Rican heritage and created an original design that had tropical themes, floral hints, and was very colorful overall.

Although I enjoyed using markers and colored pencils more, this quarter I mainly used pencils for sketching on the majority of the pieces. A technique I displayed while using the pencils was blending, by shading the darker, thicker lead with the lighter, thinner lead. I learned through the bike drawing, shading forms drawing, and eye drawing that shading is difficult and can be messy if it is not done precisely. During this quarter I used pencils, colored pencils, markers, erasers, printer paper, and large thick paper to create my art pieces. The pencils, colored pencils, and markers were used this quarter as my art mediums. I utilized my studio time throughout the quarter by spending each art period completing the assignments that were due for that week. I even got a head start on some of the future deadlines because I worked hard during art class, and went home with no assignments to finish. Overall, this quarter included a lot art assignments that allowed me to practice my shading skills, and also strengthen my art skills as a whole.

Q3 Final Project

This quarter, I mainly worked on pieces that I had to sketch onto paper, centered around drawings of objects. My sources were usually either myself our my past experiences, belongings, and research. Symmetry was really important during this quarter as well as precision and exactness. I prefered to use a ruler and pencil first before using any color or pen. Many of my works had to be retraced with a pen or darker weight in order to show up well. These past few weeks, one thing I have learned is how to draw a mandala, which I had only colored in coloring books previously. This process, like many others this quarter, also required a ruler to measure the lines and keep them straight and even. Most of my studio time was spent working on these assignments because it was not often that I worked on them outside of school. It took me two work days in school and two outside to fully color in the optical illusion artwork I did in weeks 3 and 4. The hardest part about these works was the precision that went into them, but I believe that good quality time spent working there resulted in better art.


Q3 Artist Statement


This quarter I did a lot of new art pieces that I have never done before. We started the quarter off with a bicycle, where we had to attempt to draw a bike by looking at a previous sketch, then drawing from memory. This was very difficult for me, especially the proportions. I am used to drawing with nothing but pencil, so that part was easy. However, afterwards we could clean up the bike by using the same sketch for reference. This bike was on a much bigger paper than I am used to drawing on, so this was a good exercise on testing my abilities. After this, we had to create an optical illusion. This assignment was very fun, and for my illusion I chose a drawing that I used to make a lot as a child. For the medium, I used a combination of sharpie and colored pencils. I made a heart that appears to be jumping off of the 2-dimensional surface. I think it is very clever, but simple, and I really enjoyed the final product.

After we finished the optical illusions, we went on to practice shading. Although I do enjoy using graphite pencils a lot, I feel like this project forced me to use them to their full potential. Before this assignment, I did not shade well, and it always ended up looking choppy. For this project, we followed a guide that was a tutorial on how to shade. I found it a little tedious, but I think in the end it improved my skills. From this assignment, we moved onto drawing our eye, in pencil and in great detail. I loved this assignment, because I love drawing eyes, and the detail in eyes is very fascinating. I always doodle eyes on my notebooks and such. This assignment was relaxing and I loved how the end product turned out. The last assignment we had was to draw a mandala. For this assignment, I used brightly colored permanent markers. I think this assignment forced me to be more creative than the other assignments, because we had to completely conceptualize the mandala from scratch. I think the hardest part of this assignment was making it completely symmetrical, but in the end I enjoyed.

Overall, I think this quarter made me expand my artistic abilities a lot. I am really glad we did the assignments we did, because they pushed me out of my comfort zone to try new things. I am really excited for the challenges and projects to come in quarter 4!


Final Project Q3&4

Quarter 3 I've created artworks that I'm proud of because I took my time and my skills of coloring. Every art piece took at least 2 classes, especially the eye. I wanted really do good details because the eyes tell a story but I used tricks that I knew and the eraser to create shadows or fading. The next art piece I'm proud is the optical illusion because it was calming and at the end it was satisfying to see. The internet was the best source to create all of the artworks. Also to create shading having different pencils specialized to drawing because it creates the shadin for you and all you do is create layers. 
The most important thing that I learned from this quarter was that patience is key when you do art and it also relaxes you so it's a good mix. You can express yourself through colors. For all my artwork I wanted to create things that were different and you know Georjelis made it. So when I created he mandala it was very different and weird because nobody else has done it. And the colors I used connected the some figures in the pictured. 

Q3 Artist Statement: Lotus Shareef-Trudeau

This quarter focused on using fragments to create larger pieces. Starting with a metamorphosis drawing, we created six different images that, in series, showed a transformation from one object to a different one. Afterwards we each created a collage that followed the Golden Ratio, again, using different pieces in unison which create a more meaningful piece of artwork. Next we worked on mosaics, which really is the epitome of this theme. Even the coat of arms could be considered a piece which uses different images, which collectively represent your family. Lastly, for my choice piece, I decided to stick with the theme of the quarter and make another collage. Working with these pieces has pushed me to consider things as the pieces that make them up, whether that's an image, a table, etc... I have become more attuned to what must be brought together in a perfect harmony in order to make something. 

Keith Hodge Senior Art Q3 Assignment's

Well for week 1 through 2 I completed the water color assignment and this one was pretty cool because I learned some new methods for art and I used Sgraffito, Lifting off, Splatter, Flat wash, Straw blowing and Rubber cement and those were very interesting combining all those 6 together for a winter theme watercolor painting. Week 3 was the Metamorphosis Drawing when I drew a chicken turning into a bucket of fried chicken and I’m not really sure how I thought of this but I’m glad I did this picture and it turned out well. The week 4 and 5 collage was probably the most complex thing I drew all year because it took a ton of colored pencils but the finished product looked great. For week 6 and 7 for the mosaic it took some effort to do as well because I just finished it in time on the very last day, The week 8 coat of arms assignment was really cool because it took about a day to complete and I used flyers colors for it, The last assignment was the create your own piece of art for week 9 and I did a image of homer simpson choking bart but homer is in a flyer’s jersey and bart is in a penguins jersey so this piece I would say I am very proud of.


Q3 Art Statement

I love the way this class worked as a stress reliever for me. A Lot of the work I produced this quarter was definitely one of my best work. Water coloring was one of the skills that I enjoyed learning and doing. My artwork this quarter really showed my techniques to detail. I learned most of these techniques through videos recommended by Ms. Hull and they really helped me improve my drawing skills by a ton.

Q3-4 Slideshow - Lauren Matthews

Some of the art I create for Quater 3 include a bike drawing, an optical illusion, different shaded forms, an eye drawing, and a mandala. I feel like my artwork was rushed and I could have spent more time my assignments. All but my most recent assignment has color and I feel like the other assignments are more dramatic with the black and grey shading. The mandala looks so joyful and colorful rather than my optical illusion which looks scary. 

While making art this quarter I realized that the assignments seemed easier and that is why I spent my studio time the way I did. it took a lot of hours to give my art the grade that it deserved and I feel like it was worth it. I traced over most of my drawings then outline then with pencil or dark marker to make it more appealing. The shading form assignment, for example, took the most time because I kept erasing to show the different types of shading. I even used a paper towel to smooth out the shading to make it look softer. 

I would like people to know that even though I rushed my art process this quarter, it actually gave me time to realize that I need to work on my time better. I know next quarter not to rush my assignments and start as soon as I get the chance in order to do my best. I would also like to use more color for my drawings to make a point that my art means something to me.

ROCKETS TAKE BOTH OVER TOWNE IN OPENING DAY DOUBLE HEADER

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After a moment of silence to honor the memory of Brandon Williams, a founding player and JV/Asst Coach, the Rockets kicked off the 2018 season by taking both games in a double-header vs Franklin Towne; 8-2 and a come from behind 3-2 nail-biter.

Lots of Rockets took the mound today, with Leo Cassel-Siskind getting the win in Game 1 (3IP 0R, 1 H, 2K, 1BB). Freshmen Vince Cammisa and Cam Simms were also sharp in relief, holding Towne to just 2R on 2H. Patience at the plate also paid off as the Rockets scored 6 runs in the 2nd off just 2 hits, and senior Ijustice Avery added 2 RBIs with laser beam drives (and of course was also HBP).

Game 2 was a tighter affair with tough Towne hitters getting a couple early off David Hammond. He minimized the damage and had a shut down final inning. Avi Cantor did it on both sides of the ball, pitching 4 scoreless innings and surrendering just 1 hit while belting 2 doubles, scoring Trey Mathews, and reaching on a error to score a run in a come from behind 3-2 win. Ijustice Avery kept hit bat hot in Game 2 as well, going 2-3 with a SAC Fly that scored the deciding run.

AND THE DEFENSE!!!!

Sparkling plays across the field by Jakob Cantor, Cam Simms, Vince Cammisa Jackson Shumard, Leo Cassel-Siskind, Alex Gomez and Ijustice Avery made for an error-free double-header.

SLA is atop A-Division with a 2-0 record. Next up: @Bishop McDevitt- Wed, 4/4 3pm start. Come out and support.

Rockets on 3, Family on 6!

Sleep for teenagers world wide: Is it us?

In my original post, I introduced the issue of the sleep schedules of teenagers and how electronics and the abundant amount of homework affects the way students sleep. I provided information from various sources, such as statistics from different reliable sources that speaks of this issue. In this post, I will speak of new information I have received from different sources.


This image shows scholars using electronics in school.



From my new research, I’ve found out that the use of electronic devices affects sleep in a negative way. Teenagers are on their phones in the middle of the night, which distracts them from actually sleeping. As said from this website, it say the that two issues about the temptation of teenagers using their devices is the bright screens and the stimulation from using the electronics.


This image represents how children in general use their electronics before bed.


In the article, Kristen Knutson, who is the PhD assistant professor if the University of Chicago Department of Medicine, said that the light of electronics suppresses melatonin; which is a hormone that is involved in the sleeping/reproductive cycles in mammals. She also stated that it causes the brain to mix up the time of day it is, because when a bright light is on, the brain automatically thinks it should be awake and alert because something is happening at that exact moment.


How much time should teenagers be on their electronics?



According to The Guardian, it is said that teenagers should have a maximum of 2 hours a day on their electronics. Which I think is completely wrong. Yes, most teenagers use their devices for ridiculous things, but most scholars use their electronic devices in order to keep up with tasks and other things. I mostly use my phone to set alarms, read books, and text occasionally. But with 2 hours a day, I can at most just read a book. I feel like 2 hours is a ridiculous amount of time, but I also agree that teenagers should be more smarter on how long they use their electronics.


Going onto my original research. For my original research, I had interviewed a few of my friends. One friend from London, another from Tennessee, and two of my friends from my stream.


From the information I have gotten, procrastination and sleeping late had came up a few times. They have said the they mostly get distracted by their electronics, but still get their work done at the last minute. Another thing I have heard frequently was that a few do sleep late and don’t get enough sleep, but some other say that they do get enough sleep. With the information I was given, I’m starting to go towards the side that it’s the schools that have affected our sleep schedules, but then again, in some cases, I believe that it sometimes us ourselves that ruins our sleep schedules. In other words, there should be a way where we can find out how to use both our electronics responsibly and effcetively.


My annotated Bibliography is here