I Would Never Call You Savage

The air was crisp and clean, as it was a mild autumn day. Throughout the forest, the sounds of nature could be heard. Birds chirping, leaves falling off trees in the midday breeze. The calm sounds of the woods gave way to a new sound: the gentle humming of a young female wanderer, on a quest to visit her grandmother. She quite enjoyed the sounds and view of the forest, as it was her favorite thing to surround herself with as she was growing up in the village not far from the forest edge. As she strolled through the winding paths of the forest road, she thought of the wonderful experiences of the day ahead with her grandmother.

Julia and Jackson’s family lived out in the countryside with a far-reaching forest connected to their backyard. Their parents often reminded them to not play in the forest for fear that they get lost, but this never swayed the

Autumn had arrived. Days got shorter, nights got colder; scattered yellow, brown, orange, and red leaves cut the town into pieces. Attire went from shorts and tank tops to pants and sweaters, and it was as if the town had entered a period of shared silence. It was peaceful for some, but an annoyance to others.

In William Goldings Lord of the Flies the boy’s human nature shifts into savagery without a civilization to keep them in order. The first character to start the slow descent into savagery is Ralph who because of his continual battle for power with Jack, uses violence to settle disputes, contributes to the killing of Simon, and emulates a wild animal to survive. Roger who rejects the idea of civilization from the start instills fear in younger tribe members, kills Piggy, and plans the brutal sacrifice of Ralph. Finally, Jack adapts a ruthless way of leading allowing an obsession with hunting as he segregates his tribe from civilization and leads the hunt for Ralph. The fall towards savagery of these three characters in a leadership role leads

The most noticeable sound was the noise of the street nearby, the bustle of cars and students walking to and from class. However, that noise soon settled into the background and I could hear the uncommon sound of birds. Sitting down on one of the benches on the south side of the garden, I put down my backpack and quietly observed for a few minutes. Only after slowing down could I truly see and feel the subtleties of the natural world around me.

Jonathan Safran Foer’s Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close explores the feeling of being alone -- even in a crowded room. The pages of the novel are filled with characters who are all together, but are struck with loneliness: namely, Oskar, Grandma, and Grandpa. They struggle to cope with this solitary life. While talking with Oskar’s grandfather, Grandma says, “I was more alone than if I had been alone” (Foer 82). There is a disconnect that only increases this desperate feeling. They are all trying to find a way out of it, but it is hard for them to communicate with each other. Being alone is the one thing they all have in common; an overarching theme of the novel is how to combat the feeling and connect with others.

Eeriness saturated the gaunt atmosphere, from the stillness of the night air, to the bamboo crackling in the wind, to the shadowy silhouettes of the rubber trees erected beyond the clearing of the forest ahead. Beyond the open pasture a lonesome cabin stood.

The path ended abruptly at a brook, and for a while it became so lost beneath snapped twigs and decaying pine needles that navigating it was a matter of faith. Finally, the path reappeared and took a sharp turn. As we rounded the corner, I heard a strange and sudden sound—leaves rustling and then crunching footsteps. Elgar heard it too, I could see it in his eyes.

Gabriel Utterson sat with his back to the darkened room, waiting patiently for his nightly visitor. As he watched the fire roaring in the grate, he heard the unmistakable sound of the door he’d left purposefully unlocked being slowly opened and closed as quietly as possible. Closing his eyes he focused on the sound of his visitors footsteps, on the rustle of his clothes and his anxious breathing. He smiled as he smelled the other’s cologne and felt a pair of small but strong hands being rested on his shoulders.

"Who can describe the pleasure and delight, the peace of mind and soft tranquility, the sickly boy felt in the balmy air and among the green hills and rich woods of an inland village! Who can tell how scenes of peace and quietude sink into the minds of pain-worn dwellers in close and noisy places, and carry their own freshness deep into their jaded hearts! Men who have lived in crowded, pent-up streets, through lives of toil, and who have never wished for change--men to whom custom has indeed been second nature, and who have come almost to love each brick and stone that formed the narrow boundaries of their daily walks--even they, with the hand of death upon them, have been known to yearn at last for one short glimpse of Nature's face, and, carried far from the scenes of their old pains and pleasures, have seemed to pass at once into a new state of being."

Wealthy individuals have more privileges and opportunities than the average person. Most wealthy people think down on the poor or ordinary people.  In the short stories “The Ones Who Got Away From Omelas” by LeGuin and Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut both deal with the complications many average people deal with when being judged by people with a higher power.  In each story they both deal with these three problems, the struggle of ordinary people to survive, the suffering imposed on some people in order for the majority to do well and the savagery to which ordinary people are

There they were at a pie eating contest— Rachel and Ashley going against each other. They devoured 2 pies in under 3 minutes. With the last minute winding down, Rachel plunges through a third pie while Ashley can’t take anymore. *BEEP* The timer buzzes and Rachel’s face lights up with enthusiasm and the crowd goes wild, “what a savage!” At that moment it had become clear at how drastically the word savage has changed over time.

I wonder how Eric ever came to find the place. My eyes flickered over the thick, dark trunks of the trees that rose steadily into the sky, its branches interlocking with its neighbors like giant’s arms linked together protecting their home. The trees were densely packed together, leaving just enough space to allow someone to maneuver through. I pressed my palm against its rough bark, and breathed in the scent of the forest. The musty scent of leaves after rainfall, the warm soil packed against the earth by scurrying animals, the scent of things in different stages of blooming and growth. The smell of life. The forest was teeming with

There is a place filled with a chill which travels up your spine due to the fog hindering all light from entering the silent misfortuned forest. Townsfolk avoid this area if the woods in fear of the Headless Horsemen, better yet, me. The screeches of ravens, the frost filled blow of the wind, and the winding trees set fear in the eyes of the next prey.

Aziza’s stutter was getting worse the more time she spent here. As Aziza went on, about the Earth’s crust and how earthquakes had formed, Laila scanned the clusters of children for one boy. She couldn’t find him, and she hadn’t been able to since the first day they had met. Silent, not just shy or quiet, but silent, the boy had left her with a feeling of innate goodness, like