Philip Malloy Essay

Freedom of Speech is a fundamental right that makes America the “land of the free.” But this right is abused by many people, and Philip Malloy is one of those individuals. Philip Malloy’s First Amendment Rights regarding his Freedom of Speech were not violated because there was a rule that he was informed about multiple times, but he still disrespected it.
Philip Malloy and his english teacher, Miss Narwin, don't really get along. They don't get along because Philip does not bother to study for the class, and Miss Narwin has a strong love for education. When Philip gets a bad grade in his midterm, he is moved from Mr. Lunser’s homeroom class to Miss Narwin’s. One day during the morning announcements, Philip Malloy begins to hum the national anthem while it is playing on the speaker for morning exercises.
On page 35, Miss Narwin asks “Is that someone humming?” The humming continues.

Miss Narwin informs all the students in the class that during morning exercises there should be silence and that it is a rule. This rule is not made up by Miss Narwin, this rule applies to every single individual in the school. Philip doesnt care to study for english and he is like the class clown. When Philip gets a bad grade in Miss Narwin’s class, he is restricted from joining the track team. He already doesn't like Miss Narwin for that reason, but Miss Narwin also doesn't take his jokes like Mr. Lunser because of her love of education. Philip being a bad student and Miss Narwin being a devoted teacher creates a conflict in between them. Philip is considered a good kid according to some other teachers, so it is expected that he would usually follow the rules. But Philip was humming the national anthem disobeying the rule not for patriotism, but to annoy Miss Narwin. His hatred for her is so strong that he would not stop even though he was told multiple times and he was aware of the consequences of breaking the