Answer One, All or Post Your Own:
What do you think of the novel so far?
What are you thinking of writing your essay about?
What do you think will happen to the boys?
What confuses you about the novel thus far?
Ms. Gutierrez's 8th Grade English
A Convenient Classroom Tool
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January 15, 2007 at 12:08 pm
I have only read the first five chapters and I have mixed feelings about the book. There are parts that I am confused about, parts that I like, and sections that I enjoy reading. Overall, I like the book so far. One thing that I think is interesting about the book is how the author uses very descriptive figurative language to describe the setting in which the characters are trapped. He uses shadows and lighting a lot to describe the time of day and the type of environment the characters are in. He uses phrases like, “the mirages were settling a little” , “occasional flashes of light through the foliage” , “the black, bat-like creature that danced on the sand”. I am anxious to finish reading the book to figure out if these images have a deeper meaning to them, or are they just to give the reader a feel of the lighting on the island. I also find it interesting that the author uses objects to symbolize qualities. The conch represents power, Jack’s knife represents evil and war, and Piggy’s specs represent vision and their survival or rescue.
I can pretty much already tell what is going to happen to the boys. The boys start off by creating a makeshift government and elect Ralph as their chief. But, as time goes on, they start to get sidetracked and obsessed. Jack and his choir are constantly thinking about killing and slaughtering pigs and not tending to the fire. The boys are mistreating the conch and it will probably be broken or get stolen in the future. During the meetings, the kids are talking out of place and interrupting others. The boys are also starting to break up into groups based on the older kid they like. In the rest of the book, I think that something horribly bad is going to happen to the boys and it will affect them forever.
January 15, 2007 at 9:13 pm
I have mixed feelings about this book too!! I find it slightly confusing. The characters are greaet but I hate the fact that they are so mean to each other. It makes me sad to read about all the hostility, and sadness on the island. I think I am going to write my essay about the leadership styles in the book!! I find it really intresting how there are so many different people, and so many different ways they express feelings. This is especially obvious when they talk about the “beastie”. I do really like this book so far and I am excited to continue reading!!
January 16, 2007 at 6:24 pm
I have great interest in the book so far. I have only read the first 5 or six chapters, but I can’t wait to read more tonight. I am confused at some parts, especially at the beginning of the chapters because from what I have read they do not start were the last chapter ended. Fortunately I catch up quick.
I have an ideas and I am almost positive that it will happen. I think that soon the group of boys will split into many other groups and begin to fight amongst each other. I also think that piggy sees this coming and will try to stop it from happening.
January 16, 2007 at 8:28 pm
Having previously read Lord of the Flies I have an idea of the plot line, but I am recognizing some subtle quotes, descriptions, and events that I never even thought of before! Thanks to Mrs. Gutierrez I can now really see how innocence is portrayed and that started me thinking about other clues Mr. Golding tucked in to the beggining chapters. One major theme I noticed is one of human instinct. This is on two levels:
1. Civilized instinct-rules, morality etc( represented by the chief(Ralph) and government)
2.Savage instinct-power,self glory,brutality etc. (represented mainly by Jack and the hunters with the killing of the pig)
This contrast will become more evident in the chapters to come, and it will set up the many problems the boys endure.
Lord of the Flies is a great book and is an example of really good writing by William Golding.
January 16, 2007 at 9:09 pm
i think the novel is very good and interesting.
I think i am either going to right my essay on Ralph and Jacks constent tension tord each other and ther fight to both be leader. or i will right my essay on the terrible dreams and merrages the littlens are seeind and dreaming.
I think that the boys will split up into wo different groups and eventually will come back together and work together untill they are rescuede.
January 17, 2007 at 6:17 pm
In the book Lord of the Flies, the boys survival instincs are put to the test when they become stranded on the island. This becomes blatantly present in the beginning of the book. They had to get along ot survive, and have some knowledge of what they where doing.
January 17, 2007 at 9:13 pm
I don’t want to spoil anything or ruin anything for anyone, but I heard that they turn cannibalistic.
January 17, 2007 at 9:14 pm
Also I think the book’s tone isn’t really that depressing. I mean the situation at hand, boys who are stuck on an island due to a horrible crash and all, the author seems to not talk much about their outside life and only describe what they do think and do now that they are on the island. It’s not like they’re happy about it but they don’t depress themselves with “we’re going to die because there are no adults. where is everyone?!” At least that’s what I think.
(What the heck? I just wrote this whole thing and it only posted that one line.)
January 17, 2007 at 9:15 pm
Children have innocence because of their lack of knowledge. As the older kids such as Ralph and Jack have more knowledge than the others, they essentially have less of the inocence. The little children will end up growing with more and more knowledge and will lose some of the innocence they once had. Once this happens, there could be tension for power.
I just wrote this so its deffinently not final.
January 19, 2007 at 7:48 pm
Why didn’t Jack kill the pig? They needed food and the helpless animal was caught in creepers making it an easy target. He prepared himself and got out his pocket knife only to walk away. He is a young, innocent boy and the thought of killing something so small and helpless is wrong. He claimed to have not find a good place to hit it, but Ralph, Simon and the readers all know the truth. He is a young boy and the thought of killing something strikes him as wrong. Not killing the pig could have given him a new personality or a new strength so when he comes across another chance to do something for the good of the group he will know the best decision to make.
January 23, 2007 at 8:43 pm
I like the book but i can not understand why the boys are fighting over everything. It seems they don’t like each other even though they have to put up with each other for a very long time. The boys need to learn that not everything is going to go their way.
January 23, 2007 at 8:55 pm
I decited to post my third paragraph on the blog!
Is shelter nessasary? maybe but maybe not. To know the real answer someone would have to go and get themselves lost(who would do that). Maybe there should be a shelter just in case. To make a shelter it would takes time and tallerance of the surroundings. Start out with logs to make a stable side all that is needed is one horizontle side. Then take really long logs to lay accross the hoizontile logs to the gound. Then take some dirt and water and mix it together to make a paste to go into the cracks between the logs.