Humans Love Stuff

Now for most of you the alarms are probably going off: "Stuff?Stuff! Miss Macdonald is using one of her banned words!" Right you are, but to prove a point. Usually, I banish such a vague word from writing but this time - it is worthy. Go with me...

In Lord of the Flies one of the major topics we look at is how the boys interact with the island. We see them crash land creating a deep scar, set the mountain on fire, manipulate and kill creatures as well as break rocks. There are no "tree huggers" here. As the boys claim the island as their own "This belongs to us," it becomes apparent that the boys lack a certain awareness of how their behavior affects their surroundings. They burn down their own natural resources 'for goodness sake!' (Shakespeare phrase).

I was recently sent this link by a friend and mentioned it in class. To my surprise, I had actually seen a youtube video that you all had not! It starts a little slow but it is a video showing us the "Story of Stuff." All the stuff we buy comes from somewhere and has a deep impact on our planet, similar to how the boys have a lasting impact on the island. Note the comparisons that neither the boys nor modern American culture seems to fully grasp what they are doing to the only environment they have to survive on.