Reading Response to Non-Fiction by Max Kessler 811

             The text, "To Kill or Not to Kill,"by Patricia Smith is about the ongoing debate about whether or not to ban capital punishment, better known as the death penalty.The author talks about how recent polls have shown a great decrease in backing of the death penalty. The author does not have a strong opinion on the issue but shows some signs of not supporting capital punishment. In the artivle the author speaks about how the general way to perform the execution is to give them a lethal injection but recently some of them have malfunctioned leaving the victim writhing around suffocating for half an hour before finally resting, this is not what is wanted, obviously.

              In this passage the author wants the reader to see both sides of the argument, and with this Smith does a great job. She shows the anti injection side when she talks about the "significant problems" of the death penalty. In which segment of the article, Smith interviews some anti-death penalty people. They say talk about the fundamental issues such as, "racial bias, uneven application of the death penalty, situations in which there were individuals on death row who were later found innocent." The author also shows the supportive side of capital punishment when she talks about some high up authority figures opinions and what they think. For example when she talks about how Obama supported it for "the most heinous of crimes." Or when she talks about Kent Scheidegger and how according to him, "There are some crimes for which any less punishment is unjust."

              I think the author does not have a bias. I say this because they keep their opinion out of the article, and shows both sides of the argument, leaving all bias or evidence of it out of the article. The author also quotes both types of people, pro capital punishment, and against it. I think the purpose of writing this article was to show the reader an important issue in today's society and to show some facts, to help the reader make a choice about which side they back up and support. 

             This article has really deepened my thinking on this specific issue. It shows me to deep arguments and interpetations of both sides of the issue. I would like to learn more about this topic, such as how many people have had botched executions, or what is the specifics someone looks for to sentence to someone to death. After reading this article I have decided to be anti-death penalty, and don't back it.

              Reaction on The Class Trip

             This trip was very interesting. I thought it was interesting to learn about the past of America and what has happened. The exhibit about women's suffrage was particularily interesting to me because of how recent and how similar it was to things that may happen today. I thought it was really admirable the way that these women stood up for themselves and refused to be treated as anything less than equal.  Also, I thought some of the slogans that these women thought of were extremely funny.

          It made me realize how little society has changed since even the 1700's in that people want their rights and will stand up for what they believe in. Like when we learned about the gay rights parades and how even though it was illegal they would march through the streets hand in hand for what they believed in. Also how people were willing to sacrifice their saftey for the belief in a certain topic, and possibly give up everything farmiliar and that they own so they can stand up for their rights. On the whole I learned a lot from this trip and found it very inspirational and educational.

            When a group of twenty boys are left stranded on an island, not much good can occur. This is what happens in the book, "Lord of the Flies,"by William Golding. Lord of the Flies is about boys who get stuck on an island, and are force to run and try and create a livable society. It is extremely diffulcult, as many kids believe that they should be in power, and who should make what decisions. The kids begin to realize that maybe a society without adults isn't so awesome after all. This book is so intriguing because of how without saying it, it portrays our society extremely accuractely.
          One example of the accuracy of this book is when Jack Merridew leaves the original clan of boys led by another boy Ralph, and decides to forget all abput Ralph's method of life and start his own. Ralph wished to keep a fire going at all times so if a ship ever came by their island they would see it and rescue them. Jack does not agree with this however, and only cares about killing animals and showing off unnecessarily. Such as, when they were about to kill a hog Jack's hunters would chant, "Kill the beast. Cut her throat. Spill her blood." Now, this killing was not needed, as they had an abundance of fruit and plants to eat. They don't even eat the hog sometimes they just kill it for fun. These hogs haven't done anything harmful whatsoever to them or the society yet they just kill it anyway. This portrays our society because it shows how sometimes people just are cruel and mean for no apparent reason other than just feeling like it.
          A second way this book is accurate to our society is the way that Piggy is treated, they are so mean to him just because he is overweight. Jack is always stealing Piggy's glasses and saying horrible things to him. For example when they are assembling and Piggy is trying to maintain order and keep the kids quiet Jack says to him, "You're talking too much, shut up Fatty." This shows how our society sometimes works today because people like to pick on other people's flaws instead of the great individual traits that they have. It's very unfortunate that it happens today, but sadly it does.
           A final way is when Jack and his followers kill Piggy and don't really care. They roll a rock off of a mountain and kill him, and no one cares about him and no one feels sympathy or anything. After Jack kills Piggy he says, "See, see! That's what you'll get! There isn't a tribe for you anymore!" Jack says this to Ralph after taking all of Ralph's followers, except for the now dead Piggy. I think this portrays our society because it shows that only the strong and powerful and cocky survive, and the good hearted shyer quieter people don't.
          On the whole this book was very good. It really made me reconsider our society and the world we live in and how we treat people. The messages from this book were mostly negative but it was almost as if to say if our society continues running the way it does people will begin to destroy each other.