Lord of the Flies reaction

I thought that Lord of the Flies was a very confusing book. There were a lot of parallels drawn as well as symbols, themes and motifs. I could appreciate the allegories that Golding used, such as the creepers in the forest being likened to snakes and the parallel being that a snake caused the fall in the Garden of Eden at the beginning of time. The conch symbolized order on the island and when Piggy was killed and the conch shell broken, that symbolized loss of order on the island. However, I didn't think that Lord of the Flies is a book that could be understood and comprehended just by reading it once. Because there are a lot of parallels and metaphors and symbols in the book, you would have to read it all at once and very slowly. I did like that Golding explored the descent of human nature into evil even in childhood, without any adult guidance. The killing of the pigs symbolized a loss of childhood civililzation, as did the warpaint. "'For hunting. Like in the war. You know- dazzle paint. Like things trying to look like something else- like moths on a tree trunk" (Golding 63). The boys also try to lie after Simon was killed, showing that, without adult guidance, no one focuses on honesty. " 'It was dark. There was that-that bloody dance. There was lightning and thunder and rain. We was scared!' " (Golding 156). I think that William Golding's ultimate purpose in writing "Lord of the Flies" was to show that even children, which are perceived as innocent, can deteriorate into killers and uncivilized humans without human guidance. But also, to show adults that we need to be careful because children have adults to fix their mistakes early but in adulthood, there is no one to teach adults how to behave.

JoHari Window

That which is open is open for everyone to know. It is common knowledge and doesn't always reveal profound characteristics. Common knowledge such as hobbies or career plans may show what kind of characteristics a person may possess, but nothing deeper. For example, my hobbies include riding and EMS. Being involved in EMS can show a desire to help people and being interested in riding can show a love for animals. Although both hobbies show personal characteristics, they do not reveal any kind of secretive information that could be harmful, nor do they show deeply personal things.

The blind quadrant is more difficult to assess. If it is blind to me, I obviously don't know about it so it is hard to analyze that which I do not know about myself. However, information that is blind to me may manifest itself through personality analyzations, what other people think of me. Other people's perceptions of who I am and what I do may be vastly different than how I see them. I may be comfortable in a certain routine, but another person may observe it and criticize it whether in manner, or deed.

The hidden quadrant can vary in size depending on who you are talking to. For a best friend, there may not be much they don't know about you. They may be able to complete a sentence for you before you even know what you are thinking. Parents may know more about you than anyone else because they raised you and know the ins and outs of you. For someone like a teacher, they may know open information and may have some information about you that you don't know, like grades, but they probably don't know your innermost secrets. Friends that you have in school but don't spend a lot of extra time with also probably don't know your innermost secrets. However, every person has secrets that no one else knows. There are some things a person just has to keep secret. It's unhealthy to keep too many secrets because it can be detrimental to personal relationships, but if someone puts their entire life story out in the open, they are also making themselves more vulnerable to negative effects such as being hurt.

The unknown quadrant can make people scared. In this day and age, people want to be able to control all aspects of their lives. Not knowing something can deter people from spontanaeity and can cause people to over stress about small matters. There will always be an unknown area because no one can predict the future. It is important for people to be able to take good times with the bad and learn from the mistakes they make and realize that everything they do can help prepare them for the unknown.

The Shipman's Tale

I chose to read the Shipman's Tale. I thought it was an ok tale. It was confusing because I didn't know if Don John was the merchant, the monk, or a totally different character. It was nice how the merchant was always generous, and he treated the monk as a cousin. I didn't understand the storyline involving the money and a wife, but the message I took from the tale was to be careful with your money.