Understanding Human Nature through "Lord of the Flies"

If you were stranded on an island with nothing to eat, could you bring yourself to kill an animal with your own hands? What impact does the mob surrounding you have on your actions?

Those are some of the questions Ms. Lizzy Solovey '09's 9th grade English class pondered following their reenactment of the pig slaughter scene — using a pig pinata — in William Golding's Lord of the Flies. Ms. Solovey, joined by High School friend Ellen Spunt '09 and High School history teacher Mr. Paul Bolenbaugh, engaged the class in a thought-provoking discussion about human nature — specifically their own — followed by a feast of pig piñata candy entrails and other Lord of the Flies-themed snacks.