Lord of the Flies - not done.

During the last three months of British literature class, we read a novel called Lord of the Flies, by William Golding. Although we skipped through a few sentences from time to time due to lack of time, the novel was overall interesting.

A group of schoolboys who were evacuating by plane were in an accident and crashed into a deserted tropical island. Two of the boys first mentioned in the book are Ralph and Piggy. Ralph is an athletic and charismatic boy while Piggy, on the other hand, wears glasses and suffers from asthma. The two boys see a conch shell and Piggy realizes that he can use to like a horn to call for the others. The boys all meet and they decide on who should be the leader – Ralph was chosen by vote. Jack Merridew, who was a choir leader, is a threat to Ralph and so Ralph lets him be in charge of the boys who will hunt food. Piggy is the least popular and is teased because of his appearance; however, he is smart and has civilized values. Ralph and Jack go to explore the island and they see a trapped pig. Jack tries to kill it with a knife but hesitates and escapes. From then on, he vows never to hesitate again. The boys were full of excitement in the beginning of the novel except for the fact that they are scared of the “beast”. The boys make the signal fire which was going to help them escape from the island. Jack and Ralph start to fight for the island the island becomes more and more disorganized.

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. City of publication: Publisher, year.

Fight Club

I just recently watched a movie called Fight Club, screening Edward Norton and Brad Pitt, while flipping through channels on TV. My brother, who had already seen the movie before, told me to watch it and so I did just that.

The main character, also the narrator, starts off as a busy office employee who needed everything to be perfect. He had to have all the furniture and household materials that he would see in magazines. Whenever he went on business trips, he’d always share the same, old, boring stories with the person next to him on the plane. But his life changes 19\80 degrees after he meets Tyler Durden, a person with the exact opposite personality, on the plane. They talk and Tyler gives him his number. When the narrator gets off the plane and goes to his “perfect” apartment, he sees that his apartment is on fire with all of his belongings. He has no one to go to and so he calls the guy he met on the plane. They drink and they agree to live together. The two often fought aggressively with each other because they liked the feeling of it. More and more people start to want to fight and so they make a “Fight Club” and let people join. The two make soap for money and Tyler teaches the narrator to be different. The journey of these two men continues and they meet many problems such as love and friendship. Only those who have watched the movie will know the twist.

I think the director of the movie, David Fincher, has done a good job. Although the movie played for a long time, it was hard to take my eyes off of the TV. This may be because of my lack of experience of watching this genre of movie but the events that happened was different and unique from the other movies I’ve seen before. Each incident flowed well and had its own charm. The twist of the novel was so unexpected but explained logically why many things happened throughout the movie. This is the movie that made me fall of Brad Pitt. He came out all tough and independent with six packs which made him look even more charismatic.





Source: Fight Club. Dir. David Fincher. Perf. Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter. Art Linson Productions. 1999.

Essay

Living abroad has been the most significant experience that has played a major role in who I am today. I lived in Indonesia and China for eight years and went to international schools with people from various backgrounds and knowledge. This experience has helped me meet new people, experience new things, be taught in a different method than that of Korea.

As there was diversity in the people that attended the school, I was able to converse and make friends with people from numerous ethnic backgrounds. While mixing with friends, I learnt about their cultures and manners and learnt to respect and appreciate their uniqueness. I learnt to open up to people from various countries and this widened my perspectives and views of people. I no longer only knew about things in my country.

I also had the opportunity to experience new things. Living abroad has helped me discover sports. I fell for sports at the end of sixth grade and so I joined all the school's sports teams. I didn't make it into two sports teams at seventh grade but after all the after school practices, I made it into all four teams in eight grade. I learnt to accept failure without whining and realized that team work and team spirit is crucial when working with a group of people. Additionally, as I was captain for two sports teams, I learnt to manage the team and be responsible for many situations.

By going to school outside of Korea, I was able to learn from teachers with a different style of teaching from the teachers in Korea. They were more one-on-one with the students which made the class more interesting, less sleepy and the best part was that everyone could participate. It allowed me to ask questions without worrying it sounds silly. I also liked the part that teachers didn't hit; this showed respect for the students which was returned with appreciation for the teachers. Furthermore, teachers were less formal and most teachers were more like a friend.

Through my experience overseas, I learnt many things that could not have been gained if I lived in Korea all my life. I got to learn about different kinds of people, undergo interesting events and learn from teachers with different teaching techniques than of those in Korea. This experience had a vital impact on me and my personality and shall be cherished for a long time.