Dylan Lankford
English II
12/12/16
“Arkansas” LOTF Essay
There are many instances of children killing other kids, adults, and even their own family members. A tough question that countries and states have to decide is when these children should be accountable for their crimes. The age varies from country to country, some allowing kids to be responsible for criminal actions at the age of 7 while others are much higher such as 16, or 18. In the article “Arkansas Boys Who 5 are sentenced” by Rick Bragg discusses an incident where two boys shot and killed 5 people. These boys were 11, and 13 at the time of the incident. They were sentenced to juvenile court until they turned 18 and then they were released. However, this was not a just punishment …show more content…
They were old enough to realize that what they were doing was wrong and therefore should suffer the consequences. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Roger uses a large boulder to hit and kill Piggy. Roger knew that the boulder would most likely kill Piggy and that was his intention. The reason why his ego did not kick in and stop him from doing it was because there were no adults around, leading him to believe there was no way he could get in trouble, he knew he could get away with it. This is similar to the Mitchell and Andrew because they most likely thought they would get way with the crime without any adults knowing it was them, but they did get caught and were accountable for their crime. Once Roger arrives back home Ralph should tell the police that Roger killed Piggy so Roger can be held accountable for his actions just like the Mitchell and Andrew. Children like Mitchell, Andrew, and Roger know and understand that they should not kill people, and should be punished appropriately. However children should not be tried as adults. The reasoning behind this is that children this young do not have nearly a fully developed brain. They are legally and technically not adults and therefore should not be tried as one. If a young child at the age of 10 is tried as an adult and goes to state prison, there would be terrible conditions for the child. The child might be sexually abused by …show more content…
Mitchell even plead guilty and apologized. The age a child knows and understand that what he or she is doing is wrong can vary depending on their family. One of a child’s parent(s)’s or guardian’s responsibilities is to teach their kid the basic ideas of right and wrong. They should be clearly distinguishing what is acceptable in society and what is not. Some families however never teach their child or children and as a result the kid/kids never fully understand what is right and what is wrong. However, at the age of ten a child commits a crime should be legally responsible for their action and suffer the consequences. A child of ten years or older is usually already taught by their parents what is right and wrong, but if they have not, ten years of age is old enough to learn and understand the difference between the two on your own and through other means such as school. By the age of ten most children have an ego that balances between their id and superego. In the Lord of The Flies, it is shown that the boys understand that they did realize what they did was wrong. When Simon was killed by a hysterical mob of the boys, they realized it was Simon who they killed at first. But, they then convinced themselves that they were not really involved in the killing. The boys may have done this as a coping mechanism because they were filled with grief that they killed Simon, especially Ralph
English II
12/12/16
“Arkansas” LOTF Essay
There are many instances of children killing other kids, adults, and even their own family members. A tough question that countries and states have to decide is when these children should be accountable for their crimes. The age varies from country to country, some allowing kids to be responsible for criminal actions at the age of 7 while others are much higher such as 16, or 18. In the article “Arkansas Boys Who 5 are sentenced” by Rick Bragg discusses an incident where two boys shot and killed 5 people. These boys were 11, and 13 at the time of the incident. They were sentenced to juvenile court until they turned 18 and then they were released. However, this was not a just punishment …show more content…
They were old enough to realize that what they were doing was wrong and therefore should suffer the consequences. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Roger uses a large boulder to hit and kill Piggy. Roger knew that the boulder would most likely kill Piggy and that was his intention. The reason why his ego did not kick in and stop him from doing it was because there were no adults around, leading him to believe there was no way he could get in trouble, he knew he could get away with it. This is similar to the Mitchell and Andrew because they most likely thought they would get way with the crime without any adults knowing it was them, but they did get caught and were accountable for their crime. Once Roger arrives back home Ralph should tell the police that Roger killed Piggy so Roger can be held accountable for his actions just like the Mitchell and Andrew. Children like Mitchell, Andrew, and Roger know and understand that they should not kill people, and should be punished appropriately. However children should not be tried as adults. The reasoning behind this is that children this young do not have nearly a fully developed brain. They are legally and technically not adults and therefore should not be tried as one. If a young child at the age of 10 is tried as an adult and goes to state prison, there would be terrible conditions for the child. The child might be sexually abused by …show more content…
Mitchell even plead guilty and apologized. The age a child knows and understand that what he or she is doing is wrong can vary depending on their family. One of a child’s parent(s)’s or guardian’s responsibilities is to teach their kid the basic ideas of right and wrong. They should be clearly distinguishing what is acceptable in society and what is not. Some families however never teach their child or children and as a result the kid/kids never fully understand what is right and what is wrong. However, at the age of ten a child commits a crime should be legally responsible for their action and suffer the consequences. A child of ten years or older is usually already taught by their parents what is right and wrong, but if they have not, ten years of age is old enough to learn and understand the difference between the two on your own and through other means such as school. By the age of ten most children have an ego that balances between their id and superego. In the Lord of The Flies, it is shown that the boys understand that they did realize what they did was wrong. When Simon was killed by a hysterical mob of the boys, they realized it was Simon who they killed at first. But, they then convinced themselves that they were not really involved in the killing. The boys may have done this as a coping mechanism because they were filled with grief that they killed Simon, especially Ralph