What would you like to read next?

This weekend, we will all finish Lord of the Flies, so naturally we're all thinking about what we would like to read next.

I think a short work by Plato would make a nice change after the novel. The work I have in mind is very short, at only 13 pages, so we could probably work through it in a couple of weeks, perhaps doing a few short articles as well. Apart from the philosophy and argument, it touches on many of the values and institutions that continue to characterize western civilisation today.

But what does everyone else think? If you have a strong preference, add a comment to this post to let us know what you think. 

Where do Sam and Eric fit in? (+ essay notes)

I'm busy writing my second body paragraph, but as I was doing that, I realised a funny thing that I had never spotted when I read Lord of the Flies before. Between chapters 1 and 2, Golding seems to have changed his mind about which group of boys the twins Sam and Eric belong to.

This is not finished. It's just a note to remind me to come back and complete it later, I'll get back to the essay now. 

It's 9:37 PM now, and I've decided, after two hours solid work, that I can't finish my essay about Sam and Eric tonight. But I can finish this post. 

When I thought about it more, and what happens in the rest of the novel, it's clear that Sam and Eric are not part of Jack's choir group, as chapter 1 makes clear. The confusion is that in chapter 2, Jack says that he and his hunters will look after the fire, and Jack immediately issues orders as to which groups in the choir will be responsible: "Altos, you can keep the fire going this week, and trebles the next - " (p. 43). When the twins reappear in chapter 3, their duty is clearly to tend the fire, as it is later in the book, even though they are not a part of Jack's group. Perhaps Golding didn't notice this either. He certainly doesn't explain it. 

References

Golding, W., and Epstein, E. L. (1954). Lord of the Flies. New York: Perigee.  

_________________ 

Since I'm not going to finish my own essay this evening, I'll post the notes so far that I've been making as I'm writing. 

notes

1. First body paragraph written before.
   Started essay at 7:55 PM, after some organizing of ideas for 2^nd, and more important, body paragraph. It took me a while to get something clear and strong enough to be a main idea in a topic sentence for another body paragraph. Some other things I thought of and threw out were: cheerful, helpful, intimidated, etc. These were either did not seem important enough, or when I thought about supporting them, I decided they were wrong and could not be supported. I think I spent about twenty minutes just thinking and revising my topic sentence before I was happy with the main idea that I could support.
   Then I had to find the supporting details and organize them into a unified paragraph.
   And then write the paragraph. Which took me until 9:32 PM = more than 1½  hours!
   There was a lot of research, and it took me ten minutes searching on the internet for a reliable source to support my claim that many people believe the twins represent society.
   
   
2. In my second body paragraph, I make statements about what does not appear in chapters one and two, and that meant I had to quickly skim through those 40 pages again to make sure that Sam and Eric’s names were not there. And then I noticed a funny thing – Golding seems to have changed his mind between chapters 1 and 2 about whether the twins were in the choir or not. I think I’ll blog on hat – it’s an interesting detail that I hadn’t noticed before, and would not have thought of now if I weren’t looking at the details very closely to support my main ideas for an essay.
   
   
3. Still have to write the introduction and conclusion. It’s 9:35 PM, and after staying up to watch Obama’s inauguration last night, I think I should go to bed and finish this tomorrow. What a bad example for my students! 

Obama's speech

After I have read some part of his speech, I am interesting in the section of Serious challenges. He mentions many problems that America is facing now but he did not give any guide line for them. To me, It is very easy to say something like "we have many problems here but we cannot solve it immediately. I need time for that". Not only the president of America, but also ordinary people can say that. I think his speech is beautiful but not providing information in detail. According to Thai words, "lot of water in the field but no vegetable" which means lots of words but little in detail is very good in this situation.

Obama's Inaugural Speech - a response by Peter

I stayed up too late last night so that I could listen to Obama's inaugural speech, which began at about ten past midnight Thai time. It was worth going to bed about two hours later than my usual bedtime.
The thing that struck me most was Obama's forceful statements about science and technology. He wants, once again, to give high priority and respect to both science and technology. I think that is good sign. Science and technology are essential to progress, and not just progress, but to making it possible to greatly improve the lives of all people. In my opinion, the US has for too long neglected and cut back on science and technology. Major scientific projects were cut back or cancelled, and scientists were not given the respect and admiration they deserve; worse, much worse, Bush's administration was opposed to much science and research for appallingly bad reasons based on ignorance, fear and idiot superstition. That had real consequences for America's scientific and technical pre-eminence. Bush also had a habit of lying or suppressing scientific findings that he did not like. He was, for example, very loath to allow the Surgeon General to report research that clearly established links between passive smoking and cancer.

P on Obama's speech

While I was reading Obama's inauguration speech, I feel that he can be the hope for people, not only in American, but also in the world. His speech shows that he understands the real situaiton, the crisis, which can lead him to handle the problems in the effective ways. He encourages people that everyone has to co-operate, and we can't get through it if we take it for granted. I think Amarican are impressed and they are very proud of him. Although he hasn't start working yet, he makes people believe in him. Good first impression.

Krich’s response about obama

Yesterday, the world had changed something importantly. This change is president of America; however, I didn’t have time to listen Obama’s (new president of America) speech. According to reading a document that peters gives me in class. I read finish a couple part, but I’m still not clear about that. However, there is a part in this article make me interested. That part is serious challenges; I think obama talk exactly true about the world crisis that people all over the world are facing. And he said only him can’t solve this problem, he want American people help.

Soojin's respons writing about Obama's speach

I remember my feeling that I was amazed when Obama was elected, even though I'm not an American. Actually, I did hope to do that. If Obama were a Korean, it would be empossible to be a president because he is a black. I was very glade to know that Obama is a president in USA and thought about his life until he was elected. He overcame a discrimination of the black and now he is a president. Because he has confronted many barriers such as a discrimination, he has been able to know well about people who are poor and discriminated in their society. In his speach, I'm very impressed about his saying. He know well world crisises such as war, economy weakness, and encourage people to be able to overcome them if we are willing to do. I admire his brave to say so and think positively for people who despair.

Obama's speech

I didn’t have a chance to listen The president Obama gave a speech to American and people around the world last night. I herd many people admired him from his speech. As I read it from BBC this morning I feel many things that he had said can answer all of thing that many people would like to know about the president’ opinion and what he’s going to do in his term. I think Obama used this time when people around the world were listening to him showing his vision.The president Obama didn’t make his fans disappointed.

Reading Lord of the Flies - by Peter

I'm reading Lord of the Flies for about the sixth time now. The first time I read it was when I was in high school. I can't remember exactly when, perhaps when I was about 14 years old, in the third year of high school. It's a book that many children have to study in school, although some schools and libraries ban it because of controversial issues. That seems weird to me. I can understand that there are things in Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men that would upset some people, but with one exception, it's not so obvious what people might object to in Lord of the Flies. The American Library Association publishes a list of "Banned and/or Challenged Books from the Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century", and most AEP novels are there (2009). At least the Lord of the Flies entry is much shorter than that for Of Mice and Men. Poor Steinbeck - both of his most famous novels are very unpopular with some groups! 

Back to Lord of the Flies. Like most novels I was forced to read in school, I enjoyed it a lot more when I read it later. I guess I know the story pretty well now, but I'm enjoying reading it again. One thing I've been noticing this time is how very well Golding leads from one chapter to the next and foreshadows what will happen later. There is an obvious example at the very end of chapter 5, which were all reading this evening, that leads to chapter 6, in a rather depressing way. And that the novel is depressing is one thing some people complain about: perhaps they think that nice but false fantasies are better than honesty or reality. 

I've actually read a bit past chapter 6, and a new detail I hadn't noticed before is that in chapter 8, the Lord of the Flies very bluntly tells us exactly what horrifying event is coming up in chapter 9. It's a short comment, but it still surprised me reading it this afternoon that such an important detail had escaped my notice every time I'd read the novel before. This careful plotting of his story and consistent foreshadowing and repetition of symbols and motifs is done so skillfully that unless you look for it, a lot is easy to miss, as in my example above, and Golding does it at so many levels that there is always something new to appreciate when you read the novel again. Although I know the story well, it's not at all boring to be reading it again, and, as with all great literature, I'm sure that when I read it again in the future I will discover more in it to make it just as enjoyable as this time.  If this is your first time reading it in English, you might not enjoy it much more than I did the first time when I was in school, but give it a chance; if you read it again, you might like it even more. 

____________ 

References

American Library Association. (2009). Banned and/or challenged books from the Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century. American Library Association. Retrieved January 20 from http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/reasonsbanned.cfm

Krich's about learning from other's experience

-In what ways can another person’s experience teach you something about life? Give an example of a time you learned from someone else’s experiences.

Although I try to copy my hero’s experience (famous person) to solve problem in my life by reading their story, I’m not successful like them. Because I think there are many effects which are different such as background and knowledge. Until I grow up I just know I should learn from my parents experience because something I’m not sure I can ask immediately. For example, when I was 17 years old I want to travel with my friend at the place that I never go before, but I read so much information about that from someone’s pocket book and I think at that time he is my hero. However, when I went to that place anything is different from the book. For this lesson I insist that we can learn from other’s experience but we should make sure that’s helpful.

-Was there a time when someone’s experience was not like your own? Explain your answer.

To answer this question, I’m a person who doesn’t think other experience will be same as mine, so I don’t do anything when someone else talk or share their experience. But I saw many people argue about this or seriously sometime they fright with other because of this. I think that it’s unreasonable to argue because we were in that situation in different time period, so we have to open our view to know something else

-What role do older friends and relatives play in your life?

Normally, in my culture we believe in suggestion of person who is older than us. And I used to be one of that group because I think it’s a good idea to do follow someone who experience as the same situation as me, but my idea it’s changed when I was freshman in university because many seniors in my major give many advices that I disagree with such as studying. They said new student should know their selves that some subject should drop because he said he can’t get a high grade because he study too many subject, but I think if we think too much about that it makes me don’t have time to pay attention at the lesson that I have to learn. However, I think my father and mother still be a person who take an important part in my life because they teach me exactly way to reach my goal, not lie at all. In addition, they give their life or sometime other people life to teach me in each situation, I think it’s useful.

P on person's experience

Although learning something by yourself is good, learning something from other's experience is also good. Sometimes, some experience you don't want to face by yourself, but you also want to learn from them. I have one experience from my father. He taught me about borrowing and lending money. The story is his old friend, who he never met for a long time, need some money and asked him for help. But he didn't lend him money because his father taught him that if you don't want to break your friendship, don't lend or borrow money from friends. Since if you lend someone's money and he/she didn't pay you back, you will disappoint. Similarly, if you borrow someone's money and you can't pay him/her back, he/she will disappoint. Then, your relationship will be unstable and may be you can't be friend anymore. He also said that maybe it's hard to refuse someone's asking, but it's harder to keep your friendship after you lend or borrow money from friends. However, if you are very close to your friends, you can lend them money if you want to. I think it's a good experience, which you may be can't ask anyone but your relatives or close friends because it looks like a small problem. But, don't forget that it's delicate.

Peter on Heroes

As Krich mentioned, my heroes when I was a child were superheroes, like Spiderman. But Spiderman was not one of my childhood heroes. Batman comes to mind first. I remember I always used to hurry home from school to watch Batman. I think it must have been on at 4:00 PM. When I think of it now, it seems pretty silly: Batman and Robin stories were all two episodes of thirty minutes each, they always ended with Batman about to be killed in some weird way, and the next day he always made an amazing escape. But when I was in primary school, around 6 - 10 years old, I loved these silly stories. The escape usually involved some amazing tool that Batman carried in his Bat belt: the Bat shark repellent, the Bat gas mask, the Bat rope, or some such thing. Batman had a lot of amazing equipment, and he always had just the right thing for whatever emergency he and Robin were in that day. And Robin was always amazed, and said something like, "Holy smoke, Batman," when they escaped from a room full of poisonous gas, or "Holy cows, Batman," when they escaped being eaten by man eating cattle. (That one's not a real Batman story, I just made it up.)
When I think about the Batman stories of my childhood now, they seem even weirder than I've just written. They were, in fact, pretty kinky. Batman and Robin dressed up in sexy, close fittting leather, and some of the villains those masked heroes battled against were also a bit weird. Cat Woman was one of my favourites: she also wore tight, black leather. The actress was Eartha Kitt, who was also a famous jazz singer, well known for her sexiness, and although it never occurred to me as a child, Cat Woman dressed up in leather, whipping Batman who was tied up, is the sort of thing that would probably be banned today. Or maybe not. Childrens cartoons are even more violent, if not so obviously sexy.

Interestingly, the new version of Batman, ... not finished this morning.

Continued at 7:54 PM ...

Interestingly, the new version of Batman is more like my idea of a hero now. For example in Batman Begins, starring Christian Bale as Batman,  he starts as a weak, scared, child. After his parents' murder, Bruce Wayne is not a hero, he is just a selfish person bent on revenge, but he can't revenge himself on the people who killed his parents, and messes up other people's lives, like that of his childhood friend Rachel. But then he accepts help to overcome his own weaknesses and problems. When he returns to Gotham City and becomes Batman, he continues to grow, both in strength, in skill and emotionally. He wins and becomes a super hero, but it's the struggle and the difficulties, physicial, emotional and spiritual, that make him a super hero. Of course, the new Batman is for adults, not children, so perhaps that's why I like him now, even though I loved the old version when I was a child. The hero Batman has changed to match my changed ideas of heroism. 

P's ideas about heroes

When you was a child, you had your own heroes in your mind. So do I, when I was a child, superman is my hero. He is a perfect man. He is handsome, powerful, kind, and helpful. He can fly so he can save people's life as soon as he knows that they need help. I think it is amazing. However, when I grow up, I know that it's just the imagination. He is in the movie. He doesn't exist. Meanwhile, when I grow up, I live with my family. I saw a lot of wonderful ideas from my father. He is clever, kind, helpful ,and understanding. Therefore, my ideas of heroism changed, I think that hero no need to have powerful but helpful. Since the time changed, we don't have to fight like in the past. So powerful is not necessary. We deal with the problem with our brain. Consequencely, The word 'heroes' for me is changed. They can be everyone who can help other people in every situations, sometimes they just listen to people's problems. Then, those can solve their problems by themselves because sometimes people just want someone to listen. Actually, this is hard to do because listening is difficult to do more than speaking.

A's idea about heroes

When I was a child ,I dream I want to be a heroes someday. I watched the Superman, Batman on television at home then started to fight with my brother. At that time ,I want to be a heroes because I just want to have a super power. When I growth up I had seen a lot of problem in this world. I had seen many people whose have a lot of power such as rich people, politicians. I assume they might be my heroes that come to help people and solving the problems. However, I realized my idea was wrong. The heroes that have only a power might do not thing to help people or even try to help. I realized the heroes should come with social responsibility .My heroes can be anyone who has a social responsibility. They might be a small man who donate his life to help poor people in Slum or a little girl who work at foundation.

Krich's ideas about Heroes.

Personally, I think every people had many heroes in literature or movies since they were Children and I am the one who had many kinds of heroes because in my country we have an opportunity to watch many movies about hero. At first, I really like Japanese heroes (Dragon ball Z) because of in the normal time they work like other people but they can change their physical when something bad happen to their society. Not only can they help the world, but they are also good looking. However, my idea was change when I went to study in maybe grade 10 because I know that’s just fake story to make children want to be like that and make children imagine. At the same time I change my heroes to real person because I know the real life. For example, you see pilot and you want be and you can be that if you concentrate on studying. Lastly, for someone who would like to be hero in other minds must have something different (more special) from other or have more ability to do something better than other (expert). In addition, no one in the real world can be hero of every people because each people pay attention on other field, so every people can be hero in other mind

Soojin's Heroes

When I was a child, my hero is a girl who can do magic, which I read in the book. At that time, Harry Potter wasn't published, but the book I read was another one which dealt with magic world. The girl can fly, has a secret place and special friends who can do magic like her. She and her firends help poor students in their school. However, the more I grow up, the more the book isn't interesting. I realized that the story is unrealistic and I can't do magic like her. When I was a middle school and high school, I was excited in Anne in the book. She is very lovely girl, purity, and thoughtful. I heard that the writer wrote this book, indicating that Anne,which is a hero in the book, to herself. She is very attractive for me. And I haven't believed magic. Until now, I'm not interested in Harry Potter. At that time I liked Anne who is realistic but live like magic. And I wish that I 'll be able to write a book which is my story in the future. And than I addicted another heroes who have a job such as lawyer or journalist who work for justice in the society. I admired them and also want to be like that. My heroism has been changing depend on realizing the world and my vision in my future. Everyone has a hero which reflects his or her hope. And also I do.

Happy New Year, and Welcome to AEP in 2009

I hope everyone had an enjoyable break for Christmas and the New Year. I certainly enjoyed not waking at 4:45 AM every morning, although now I have to readjust my sleep pattern very quickly to my work timetable. It won't work if I wake up at 10:00 AM when I have a class at 8:00 AM. But it will be good to be back at AUA, to see some old faces again, and to meet the new students in AEP. 

Getting up late is really just the result of going to bed late, and that was the real benefit of the break for me. It meant I could go out with friends without having to worry about the following morning. I also like to read late at night. Last night, for example, I got home around 1:00 AM, but instead of going to bed like I should have, I settled down to read a bit more of E. F. Benson's Queen Lucia, which is a wonderfully funny book about the high society wars in a small English village that Benson had published in 1920. The next think I knew, it was almost 4:00 AM! 

And when we think of New Year, we think of New Year resolutions! At least, that's common in western cultures. I didn't make any special New Year resolutions for myself, although I have started working out again after a break of a few months. However, I did think just now that a good resolution for the new AUA year would be to encourage my students to write more, so I'm thinking of ways to do that. If you're in my AEP class, or even a regular class, you'll be learning more about that soon.