Thursday, October 29, 2009
Lord of the Flies- Chapter 12
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Lord of the Flies- Chapter 11
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Diary Entry: Perspective- Simon
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Lord of the Flies- Chapters 8 & 9
I believe that the part where Jack and the other hunters put together the "Lord of the Flies" is definitely the most disturbing. This part is in Chapter 8 when they go hunting and find a large mother pig. They chase her all about the jungle, finally cornering her in a clearing. The ironic is, this clearing was absolutely gorgeous. There were butterflies flitting around and flowers everywhere. They brutally murder and decapitate the sow in the middle of it. There were gouts of blood and insides gushing out of her poor body. Jack stuck a stake in the ground and smashed her head on top of it, making it look like a huge pig-head lollipop in the earth. He says that it is a gift from his tribe to the "beastie", in an attempt to get on its good side. The swine's guts were all around her stake and the flies absolutely loved it. This, of course, made her the Lord of the Flies. The thing is, Jack and the others think this is nothing out of the ordinary at all. That is an especially disturbing contributor to this section because you would think boys of their age would be at least a little frightened or something, but they aren't. That is a part that stuck to me.
Chapter 9- A View to a Death
I believe that World War II killed Simon. There are no specific examples of this in the book, but let me explain. The boys were on a plane to school in the middle of WWII. If the war was not happening, they would have easily been there a while ago and everyone would still be alive. But since that didn't happen, the plane was shot down and crashed on the island. Then, if Ralph and Jack had gotten along, Jack probably wouldn't have founded his own tribe. Since he was going insane, him and the hunters did a get-together around a fire, where they all started going a little crazy. Then Simon happened to stumble into the mix while trying to tell the others they were safe from a beast. That was definitely a mistake on his part, because he should have noticed the mood from afar. In that ring, Simon was murdered. No part of this ordeal would have occurred if World War II had never started, so I blame the war for Simon's death.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Lord of the Flies- Chapter 7
Although he boar ended up getting away, the others were still the opposite of DUN about what happened. They decided to reenact what had just happened, using a boy named Roger as the boar. The boys formed into a circle, closing in quickly while dancing and chanting. Forgetting that this is just a game, they began to jab poor Roger with spears until he cried out and tried to escape. They almost killed Robert! Ralph had to remind everyone that this was just for fun. Robert suggested using a real boar in the next game like that, but Jack offered up the idea of using a littlun instead. How cruel! The others just laughed and agreed. I think this game was disgusting and dangerous, and wanted no part in it. I had to be IMPERVIOUS in front of the others, though.
We decided to continue on the hunt, but knew we wouldn’t get back to Piggy and the littluns until after dark. I offered to go back through the forest alone to tell Piggy the update.
Although I was not there, this is what I heard happened after I left: Ralph wanted to wait until the next day to climb the mountain of account of the difficulty of seeing, let alone hunting, at night. Jack mocked Ralph and challenged him to join him and another to continue. To be seen as leader once again, Ralph decided to go with them. Ralph and Roger went partway up the mountain, but Jack went to the very top alone. After a few minutes, Jack returned to the group sounding fearful. He saw the beast, or so he claimed. The other two went to the tip of the mountain to see if he was telling the truth. According to them, they saw it! The beastie is real! They came running back right after.
I think Ralph may call for a meeting soon, so I’ll talk to you later, Diary.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Lord of the Flies- Chapter 6
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Lord of the Flies- Chapter 5
Dear Diary,
Today I realized something. Life on this island is very unpredictable and spontaneous. Piggy is actually quite sharp. His mind is logical and scientific. The rules we initially set up for this island are not being put in play. We may never leave this place. Many of my thoughts and values were adjusted today. I needed to call a meeting.
At this meeting, I had to be forceful and serious. This assembly, unlike the others, was no fun and games. I was very DISCURSIVE when talking about how nobody is following up with their jobs. Nobody is contributing to the construction of shelters. Fresh drinking water was supposed to be put into coconut shells and covered with leaves under palm trees to stay cool. That happened for a few days. The boys aren’t even using the designated bathroom areas. They are just “going” wherever they feel, contaminating our food and areas. This lacks a lot of DECORUM. The signal fire was going to be constantly on, service of the hunters. That didn’t happen, even when we needed it most- when the ship came near. They need to know how important it is to have the fire always going! You never know when a sudden rescue vehicle could come by.
Problem is, nobody listens to me anymore. Jack keeps challenging my authority by protesting and turning other boys against me. I think he’s just jealous that I have the leader spot and he doesn’t. Actually, I know he’s jealous. He is going crazy! All he wants to do is hunt and murder pigs. He believes that I’m always on Piggy’s side, and that we always side against him. That's just LUDICROUS! I just happen to usually agree with what is coming out of Piggy’s mouth, compared to Jack’s. He JEERS Piggy so much, it makes me lose my patience with Jack extremely quickly.
Honestly, I want to give up my authority. The boys don’t respect me anymore. They speak of a beast, or a ghost that comes up from the ocean at night. This makes the littluns cry their sleep. It is really quite eerie.
Jack TEMPESTUOUSLY ran off with the hunters and littluns. Piggy wanted me to blow the conch for them to come back, but I was too scared that they wouldn’t. If they didn’t come back, I don’t think that I would have wanted to continue being the leader. I just decided to let them blow off some steam before trying to call order again.
Piggy says that without rules, chaos will reign. I believe him, but it’s not like the boys are following them anyways.
Simon told us of this secret place he goes to, but we don’t know where it is yet.
I think I’m going to go try to find out where it is; I’ll talk to you later diary.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Lord of the Flies- Chapter 4
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Lord of the Flies- Chapter 3
Dear Diary;
Today was pretty dramatic. It seems as though all Jack wants to do is hunt! Pig, Pig, Pig! That’s the only thing going through his mind. He has a sort of compulsion to hunting pigs. It is so hard to understand what is going through Jack's head. He is a pretty inscrutable person. He doesn’t help the rest of us when we’re trying to put the shelters together! There are many vicissitudes involved in building an opaque hut; we need as much help as we can get! It’s important to build the shelters, especially for the little ones. They scream in the night because they’re so scared of the “beastie” that allegedly roams the island. I even hear some of the older boys in the night!
Each boy has a job to do. Some include the hunters, the ones who keep the fire going, and the ones assigned to help with the building of the huts. But the problem is, hardly anyone is carrying out their duties! After our daily meetings, they do their jobs for oh, about 5 minutes. After that, they go off to play, bathe or eat. Ralph, Jack and I are the only ones committed to our jobs! Too bad Ralph and Jack aren't exactly happy with each other at the moment! I wish they would just be contrite with each other. We have been working on making huts for days, but only two are shaky and one fell apart.
I think that to survive, we all need to cooperate and work together. We need to not get into fights and argue, but talk things out and be productive. If we are all fighting like little kids, nothing will get done and we will never survive. If we don’t get rescued soon, I fear we may die on this island. Maybe because of the lack of food, the Beastie, or because the boys just rip each other apart, but either way it will probably happen soon.
I think I’m a pretty peaceful kind of person. I stand up for Piggy because he gets picked on too much to just sit there and do nothing about. Today, I went into the jungle by myself because I needed to get away from it all for a little. I helped some littluns reach fruit off a high branch, then just sat there to marvel at the beauty of the island.
Well Ralph needs some more help putting together a hut, so talk to ya later, Diary!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Lord of the Flies- Chapter 2
I’m getting the feeling more and more that this island is bad. A little boy told all of us that there is a “beastie” hidden somewhere in the island’s jungle! He says the beastie is a snake-like creature that blends in with the creepers during the day, but comes out at night. Scary eh? It makes me wary of the jungle now.
The group’s plan to get rescued was to build a fire. The boys were induced to start a fire by Jack. They planned that their smoke signal would be visible from both the sky and sea. They were hopeful that either a boat or an airplane would see the smoke and come rescue us. The boys were very ebullient when putting together the fire. That didn’t work out so well; as the fire had no smoke, and it lead to lighting the entire jungle on fire. And what’s even worse, they pinched my specs to light the fire! Now they’re all messed up.
But, I feel so guilty it’s incredible. While the three boys were scoping out the island, I was supposed to be taking down names. The problem was, all the little ones were running around so much, I couldn’t get everyone’s’ names! They were being very errant and officious by disobeying my requests. So when I followed the others uphill, I forgot about the boy who told us about the beastie. We only remembered him once we realized he had gotten burned to death by the forest fire.
I feel I’m different from the other boys because I’m much more mature than them. I go to bed thinking about how we will get rescued off this island. I’m pretty afraid but sort of excited too, because my auntie never let me go on any sort of adventures like this.
So overall, today was no walk in the park for me. Hopefully tomorrow will be better! Bye for now, Diary.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Lord of the Flies- Chapter 1
INTERVIEW WITH RALPH:
1. Describe the setting of the island?
The island is pretty small, with jungle in the middle. Our plane crash left a scar in the middle of the forest. On the edges it’s quite rocky and one cliff is pink! It’s the most unusual thing.
2. What major event has brought you to this island?
Well I was on a plane with many other schoolboys when our plane crashed onto a deserted island!
3. Introduce yourself and explain your relationship to the other characters (of interest) who have been introduced so far.
My name is Ralph. I have fair skin and a boxer’s body. My dad is the commander in the navy, and I’m the new leader of the group of boys. I met a fat boy named… Well I’m not sure of his name, but I call him Piggy. He is quite annoying actually. Too eager, I suppose. He won’t shut up about his “auntie” who he lives with because both of his parents are dead. He is very sensitive and has asthma. He also wears glasses and has a pale body. There is a choir group too. Their leader is named Jack. At first I didn’t like him at all but after spending a little time with him I got to know him more. He has red hair, blue eyes and freckles.
4. Why are there no adults on this island?
There are no adults because our plane driver disappeared after the crash. Nobody knows for sure what happened to him.
5. What powers does a person holding the conch have? How do you feel about the conch?
The person holding the conch seems to get respect and is listened to by the rest of the boys. I like the conch because it gives me a sort of power.
What is the choir’s job? How do you feel about the boys in the choir?
The choir boys are the group hunters. They will kill animals and such for food. I guess the boys are allright. They all seem to flock to Jack like they're helpless and need him for every decision they make.
What desirable qualities do you have that would make you a good chief?
I have leadership qualities and also the conch. The conch will definitely help me. I am adventurous and will listen to others if they have something important to say.
