Who had the best claim to the throne?

1066 was a very chaotic year. First King Edward died, and then Harold Godwinson became King. Two other men were not very happy about this, they were Duke William of Normandy, and King Hardrada of Norway. These men both attacked England after Godwinson was made King, Godwinson defeated Hardrada, but was killed by William, who then became King.


I think that Harold Godwinson had the right claim to the throne, because he was chosen by the previous King of England, Edward. Edward was the King of England by blood, but since there were no more blood relations to become King, the brother of his wife, Harold Godwinson was chosen. Harold was already used to leading, because he was the leader of the army, and he was a strong leader who would make sure the nobles kept their power. The Witan (council of the nobles) decided that Harold would be crowned King It was also the easier choice for everyone, because Harolds rule would be similar to Edward's. So Harold had all of the right and legal claims to the throne. The other people with claims to the throne would have to invade to get the throne, while Harold was the peaceful answer.

Values and Choices

Think about a time you witnessed bullying/ostracism/peer pressure/exclusion/discrimination/violence. How did you respond? How do you wish you had responded? What stopped you from responding that way?

When I was in grade 4, some boys in my class were trying to make a girl use a calculator on a math test, so that when the teacher came back, she would get in trouble. This girl desperately wanted to be friends with these boys, and so she used the calculator, when the teacher came back, the girl got in trouble and had to go to the principal's office. I didn't do anything about it, because I didn't really know the girl. Later on I looked back on it and I wished I had stood up for the girl, and told those boys to mind their own business. The reason that I did not do it, is because I didn't know the girl, and if the teacher had come back in and seen me being mad at the boys, I might have gotten in trouble myself.

Where have we seen examples of bullying/ostracism/exclusion occurring in texts studied so far this year- factual as well as fictional?

We have seen examples of these things in The Hunger Games and the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. IN the Hunger Games there are examples of ostracism, district 12 is the ostracized District. In the boy in the striped pyjamas the Jewish are bullied by the German soldiers in the concentration camps.

1.Select one line/phrase/group of sentences that are significant to you. Explain why.

"It was as if the outcasts had been invented by the group out of a need for them." This is a girl who was excluded from a group that she desperately wanted to join. She called herself an outcast, but she was puzzled about why she was excluded, she was no different from the rest of the people in the class. The group needed someone to pick on , and she just happened to be there. She said that there were a few other people like her, one of who tried to join the group by giving them material for jokes. She said that the normal reasons people are picked on was because they were different, but in their class they were all the same. Maybe the group decided that they were getting bored, and they chose a few random people who they would bully for no reason, making fun of all the things that she did, even if they were exactly the same to what others did.

1.What’s familiar about the incident Eve describes?

The incident was familiar, because one time this girl just sort of ignored me, she never talked to me but whenever I saw her she would look at me from her group of friends and giggle something, or whisper something to them. I got the feeling they were talking about me. That was sort of like Eve's experience .

2.What surprised you?

What surprised me was that Eve said that the group did not bully the people for their differences, because they were all the same, but for no reason at all except for that they needed someone to bully and Eve just happened to be in the class.

3. How does Eve’s story relate to bullying? Was she bullied? Did she bully? How would you explain her behavior?( perpetrator/bystander/victim?). make sure you justify( back up your answer.

In a way it does relate to bullying, because the girls were excluding and laughing behind her back, and making jokes about her, which are types of bullying. She was bullied, and once she did bully, there was a girl who was much more excluded that Eve and more desperate. The 'elite' group found something that they said was her diary and they invited Eve to come and read it, and Eve laughed. That is bullying, and so yes Eve did bully, but only out of desperation. I would explain Eves behaviour when she laughed at the girl, desperation, she desperately wanted to join the group and no longer be bullied, that she bullied someone else.

4.How did Eve’s need to belong affect the way she responded when another girl was being mocked? Why does her response still trouble her? How do you like to think you would have responded to the incident?

Eve wanted so badly to join the group that she did not even think about what she was doing until she had done it. Her response troubles her because she feels like she betrayed the girl by laughing at her diary. She knows what it feels like to be mocked, and she feels bad and unfair. I would like to think that I would have responded to the incident by telling the girls to stop laughing, telling them not to be mean, but I have not been in this situation, so I don't know the pressure that Eve was feeling.

5. Eve concludes “Often being accepted by others is more satisfying than being accepted by oneself, even though the satisfaction does not last.’ What does she mean?

Being accepted by others like the "elite" group, is more satisfying than knowing that you did the right thing, but being accepted by them soon seems boring, and you look back on what you did and you start to feel sad and unsatisfied.