Mr. Frantzich
AP Comp.
19 November 2014
Independent Reading Assignment
THE AUTHOR AND HIS/HER TIMES: William Golding, an honoring novelist and poet, was the author of Lord of the Flies. He was born on September 19, 1911, and he passed away on June 19, 1993. William Golding grew up in cozy house in Cornwall, England, and was greatly influenced to have an accomplished career by his father, Alec Golding, while growing up. His father was a science mastermind at a grammar school, and his chronicle awareness for rationalism rubbed off onto William. His mother, Mildred, also participated in accompanying popular movements; the women’s suffrage to be specific. Growing up, William was constantly motivated to become educated because …show more content…
his parents had a cultivated life, and their support took him on a very far path. Shakespeare was an idol to him as he matured, and he wrote many different types of literature such as scripts, novels, and poems.
Before he settled into his writing career though, William randomly went into the navy for five years. Because he was negatively impacted by thought and cause of war, his perspectives about life changed. He departed from the idea of rationalism his father had on the world, and he claimed that “man produces evil.” Writing began to be his priority, and he related his literature to his passions. He ran into a few obstacles in the beginning of his career, though. Many rejections were sent William’s way because publishers felt his writing wasn’t great. His determination though is what began his career. His first fictional novel, Lord of the Flies, was published in 1954, and it was awarded the Nobel Prize. This book revolved around human civilization. A society’s power and rules are brought to the test between morality and surviving. William’s parents played a role to the theme of the novel; their participation in public movements contributed to William’s natural perspective of Lord of the Flies. William went on an overwhelming journey as he grew up, and I can see how his writing has a relationship with him. War …show more content…
immensely changed his idea of life, and William Golding connects humanity to his beliefs.
POINT OF VIEW: Lord of the Flies is written in a third person omniscient point of view. William Golding expresses everyone’s thoughts on the island with his own perspective on it. The novel does have a recent viewpoint to it, whiling using present tense. It also has times where the narrator changes to different thoughts and scenes, but it is still third person omniscient. The point of this view contributes to the readers neutral and unbiased toward scenes, and we only view it through one perspective, the author’s. The readers also become more aware of multiple characters.
CHARACTER: There are many characters in the novel Lord of the Flies, but the central ones are Ralph, Jack, and Simon. Ralph is the protagonist in the story, and he is only 12 years old; yet, he seems to be the oldest one out of everyone. Ralph is dressed in an “ordinary school uniform” and can be described as “tall and handsome” and “fair and attractive”. His personality and habits are very understanding and reasonable in the novel. His perspectives of authority relate to the common morality of people, and he is determined to maintain equality between everyone in the group. Ralph seems to be the strongest boy on the island, and he is after all, the leader of the group. One response made by the group that relates to his personality is “this expresses his understanding and caring side.” The main reasoning of his leadership is that will solve any problem on the island with rational resolutions. Ralph wants to keep the group together, and avoid separation. His desire is to be rescued and do whatever it takes to survive, rather than being careless like some others on the island. Another main character in Lord of the Flies is Jack Merridew. Jack is the ‘head’ of the boys in choir, and he is around the same age as Ralph. He can be described as a very ugly person who has a careless, immature, and controlling nature. He is “tall, thin and bony”, and is the typical bad kid of every school. He is a red-head who’s “face was crumpled and freckled”, and he was relatively ‘evil’. Jack is the total opposite when compared but Ralph, but he similarly idolizes leadership like Ralph. Jack abuses his power though, and creates a goal to be above everyone. From the beginning of the novel, when everyone voted Ralph over him, and to the end of the novel, when he devoted himself to savaging, Jack wanted to have authority over everyone. His violence and immatureness however make him distant from his goal. The kids on the island then start to question whether Jack is a “heartless savage, or he is just a little British boy playing a game?” This quote made by the group describes Jack, and both parts are true. Jack is selfish, and his purpose is to cause chaos, unless he is held the most powerful. He is very self-centered and not as smart as the other kids. This quote really represents Jack as a whole, especially when it relates to his leadership.
Piggy is another main character in the novel, and he is rather quieter than Ralph and Jack. His name relates to his physical appearance, and he is described as a “fat boy” with asthmas that has “four eyes. Piggy is the ‘brains’ of the group; he is also smart and kind, just like Ralph. He is very close to him and is like his personal assistant. They have each other’s backs and like to defend the morality on the island. Piggy is like the parent of all the kids on the island; he wants rules, he wants respect, and he wants fairness. He advises everyone to respect the conch represents authority). He also warns the boys of their reckless acts, and he urges them to behave. Piggy always seems to be caught up in problems with the ‘bad kids’ at times, and when he loses his glasses, a large rock kills him. Piggy was a really thoughtful and mature kid. He was always “so full of pride in his contribution to the good of society”. This quote perfectly speaks for Piggy. His adult-like supervision for the group, and help with Ralph depicted the good on the island. He was truly important to the morality of the group.
SETTING: Lord of the Flies takes place on an abandoned tropical island during a nuclear war. The group describes the island as ”jungle”; surrounded by the vast sea, palm trees, “pink cliffs”, blue lagoons, and coral reefs. The island itself represents isolation, the blue water can connect to the trust and loyalty on the island, and the jungle represents the darkness of what might lurk on the island; whether it comes from the kids or the island. Golding uses setting by creating mixtures of tones to the novel, using loud, descriptive words to enhance the imagery, and the kid’s insight of a new island. There are many different pictures created as the story progresses. For example, in the beginning of the novel, the land is described as a tropical island. As it progresses though, we imagine a “scar” on the island. Preceding that, we see trees and hills creating a delusion of an animal. So as the novel ends, we get many different images of the atmosphere as the kids continue their journey. The setting is very important to the novel because it secluded the group from the outside world and it affected the journey the kids were on. All of the different images of the island foreshadow what happens further into the story. For example, when the group visions an ‘animal’ out of the trees and hills, it foreshadows that they will hunt. The scene that followed supported this thought.
DICTION/VOCABULARY:
1. Immure: to enclose or confine (V); “Immured in these tangles, at perhaps their most difficult moment, Ralph turned with shining eyes to the others.”
Synonym: lock up Other form: immured
2. Gesticulate: use gestures, especially dramatic ones, instead of speaking (V); “He gesticulated widely.”
Synonym: signal Other form: gesticulated
3. Whittle: cut small bits (V); “Jack had stopped whittling.”
Synonym: carving Other form: whittling
4. Impalpable: not perceptible to touch (adj); “With impalpable organs of sense they examined this new field.”
Synonym: intangible Other form: impalpably
5. Contrite: expressing pain or sorrow for sins (adj); “Simon’s contrite face appeared in the hole.”
Synonym: sorry Other form: contriteness
6. Officious: intrusive in an offensive manner (adj); “There was pushing and pulling and officious cries.”
Synonym: intruding Other forms: officiously
7. Tirade: speech of violent denunciation (n); “By now they were listening to the tirade.”
Synonym: harangue Other form: none
8. Flail: used in manual threshing (v); “Now the forest stirred, roared, flailed.”
Synonym: beat Other form: flailed
9. Subside: sink to a lower level (v); “His voice subsided to a mutter.”
Synonym: lessen Other form: subsided
10. Loll: be lazy or idle (v); “Ralph lolled in the water.”
Synonym: inactive Other form: lolled
11. Pendant: adornment that hangs from a piece of jewelry (n); “Here was loop of creeper with a tendril pendant from a node.”
Synonym: charm Other form: none
12. Apex: the highest point (n); “Then, at the apex, the grass was thick again because no on sat there.”
Synonym: peak Other form: apexes
13. Decorum: propriety in manners and conduct (n); “That was from Piggy, shocked out of decorum.”
Synonym: behavior Other form: none
14. Gape: to look with amazement (v); “He gaped at them for a moment, then he swayed and sat down.”
Synonym: gaze Other form: gaped
15. Jeer: remark or sound (n); “A sound, half-laugh, half-jeer, rose among the seated boys.”
Synonym: taunt Other form: jeering
16. Fleck: a small contrasting part of something (v); “Jack’s face went so white that the freckles showed as clear, brown flecks.”
Synonym: blotch Other form: flecks
17. Opaque: impenetrable to sight (adj); “The opaque, mad look came into his eyes again.”
Synonym: obscure Other form: opaqueness
18. Efflorescence: process of budding and unfolding of blossoms (n); “it was clear to the bottom and bright with the efflorescence of tropical weed and coral.”
Synonym: blossoming Other form: efflorescing
19. Swathe: to wrap in swaddling clothes (v); “Ralph was already clambering over the first swathes of the scar.”
Synonym: cover Other form: swathed
20. Fulcrum: the pivot about which a lever turns (n); “Ralph used one hand as a fulcrum and pressed down with the other till the shell rose, dripping, and Piggy could make a grab.”
Synonym: prop Other form: none
SYNTAX: Lord of the Flies is a novel that does contain a lot of sentence variety and structure; the long sentences are used for the calm scenes, and the short sentences are used during violent scenes. Golding uses different syntactical techniques in various scenes though, to create and emphasize the sinful human nature of mankind. He uses a lot of connation in his writing, and makes it very contrasted too. One very important statement made by Jack in this story that contributes to syntax is when he talks back to Ralph and says,” Maybe, or maybe there is a beast or what I means is or maybe it’s only us.” He even shouts out “Bullocks to the rules! We’re strong and we hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat!” The use of repetition in this quote reveals the emphasis on savagery, and it creates a dangerous atmosphere for the group. Jack points out to break the rules, and go against each other even if all of them are beasts. This scene lets the reader visualize how brutal Jack’s intentions are, and how wicked his personality is. The author wants to emphasize this as a turning point in the story; it further pushes the idea of chaos occurring. The purpose of emphasizing this remark supports the theme, and the evil within human nature.
CONCRETE DETAIL/IMAGERY: Imagery played a very important role in Lord of the Flies. It depicted a very realistic and relatable situation of the group. Imagery enhanced the novel immensely, and it grabbed the reader’s attention. Not only did it create an image where it physically took the reader on a dangerous adventure with the group, but it made the novel more alive. For example, when the group killed the pig, the scene was depicted as their “eyes shining, mouths open, triumphant, they savored the right of domination.” An image of the kids, with their heads held high, is created as they are overwhelmed with joy because they dominated their target. Another part of the novel where the imagery is very loud, is when William describes Jack’s mental position after he killed the pig. “His mind was heaving with memories; memories of the knowledge that had come to them when they closed in on the struggling pig, knowledge that they had outwitted a living thing, imposed their will upon it, taken away its life like a long satisfying drink.” This quote reveals how congested Jack’s thoughts are about one thing: the pig. He is very excited and starts to adore the feeling of superior power of the pig, and his desire to hunt becomes an obsession from this point and on in the novel. The imagery used in the novel really captures the mood created by the characters, and it completes vision of a scene perfectly by bringing life to it.
SYMBOLISM: there were many images used as symbols in this novel, ad the one that stood out most to me was the conch shell. It is used to represent refinement and stability, so it was used during any conferences. It gave the right for a person to talk, and it gave he/she some type of power in the moment. Towards the end of the novel, the shell is broken, and it represented the collapsing of their society. Another symbol that really reached out to me was Piggy’s glasses. Since Piggy was the ‘brains’ of the group, the glasses represented his intelligence. When he used them to start a fire, it supported the idea that they used the tool efficiently to survive. When the glasses are out of Piggy’s hands though, the half of the group is left behind powerless, and vulnerable to any dangerous creature on the island. The separation then led to chaos and hunting. The absence of the glasses meant the absence of the smartness. If the group was smart enough, they could have sticked together and survived on the island peacefully. This move was only the beginning of what led to the two groups into hunting.
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE: Lord of the Flies contains figurative language from the beginning of the novel to the end. The author’s intention to exaggerate the imagery of the scenes really intensified the situations. When Piggy stated, with “ a touch of pride”, that he “was the only boy in our school what had asthma”, personification is being used. Pride is given a human ability of touching, and its purpose was to connect to superiority. This specific scene is compared to the whole novel to point out that the kids misused power to be higher of each other. The kids are pleased to have authority over another, even if they got it through bad decision-making. This resulted in savagery, and it was the start of the chaos. There are some similes that also connected to the central conflict of novel. When the Jack took advantage of his power, he sated that “this toy of voting was almost as pleasing as the conch.” “As” is used to compare the voting to the conch. The significance behind this statement is that Jack, again, uses his wickedness to get power. When he lures the others to turn against Ralph, he uses a fake relationship with his friends to have authority rightfully. Instead of earning the conch, which is symbolized as power, he attempts to make himself leader by luring others into his dirty tricks.
TONE: Lord of the Flies has many complementary, dark tones behind its story and meaning. William Golding creates a very pessimistic view of humans towards the novel and the readers through the use of diction, imagery, and figurative devices. Since the diction was so powerful in the novel, it bolded out the negative connotations and vibes of the scenes. For example, when the group precedes after Simon’s death, they “ at once surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, it, tore.” The author’s use of loud descriptive words, such as surged, beast, screamed, and tore, enhanced the harshness of the scene. These kids were satisfied with savagery, and the author wanted to emphasize this cruel act. Another part of the novel where the author uses a glum, yet cruel tone is when Jack is killing the pig as “the enormity of the knife was descending and cutting into the flesh; because of the unbearable blood.” The image created behind this gory scene summarizes Jack’s lust for hunting. His mind draws attention to the blood and cutting of the flesh. When the author compares the murderous scenes to being “as dim and strange as the bottom of the sea”, he creates a gloomy feeling them.
THEME: There are numerous ideas portrayed in Lord of the Flies, but human brutality and savage instinct is the main one. The natural instinct in humans to live by rules, and the nature of being superior of another connect to the theme of the story: the sinful nature of a human can lead to civilization verse savagery. There is a lot of symbolism that supports the theme. For example, the conch, which symbolizes civilization, rules structure, and order, is related to the theme of the novel; it reveals how the boys turned into savages after the conch was broken apart. Because the anarchy eventually overpowered the stability on the island, violence was the result. The idea of sustaining a government didn’t last long at all, and disorder was the role player for it. The Lord of the Flies is also related to the theme because the pig’s cut off head revolved around bringing out the darker side of humanity. Golding wanted to emphasize the humans are naturally evil, and that . Piggy’s glasses and the fire were also a huge contribution to the theme. They represented the last hope of survival and being rescued for the group. The negative, ethical essence of humans is what the theme revolved around, and these ‘defects’ were sought out throughout the novel. The theme is illustrated clearly because the author portrayed it throughout the novel with the use of symbols.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TITLE: The title of this novel didn’t really appeal to me at first. As I read the novel though, I became more aware that the result of the pig’s head, which was overloaded with flies, was what the author wanted his readers to focus on. The pig’s head connected to the idea that humans are naturally evil. “Lord” meant power, and it was what everyone was striving for. Because the group had superior power to the pig, they killed it. This idea of hunting is what Lord of the Flies is all about. Chaos and abusive authority are the results for having power this power though. The flies represent the decay in the scene. Power and decay obviously led to death, and it tore down the entire group. Any person reading this novel won’t have a clue what the title means, until they read they novel. Its significance revolves around the central problem of the story.
MEMORABLE QUOTES: There are many important quotes in Lord of the Flies, but there are only a couple that really compared with the theme of the story. “Within the diamond haze of the beach something dark was fumbling along. Then the creature stepped from the mirage on to the clear sand, and they saw that the darkness was not all shadow but mostly clothing.” This quote is very important to Jack’s character because it’s a first look at him in the novel. He is seen as a creature and it foreshadows how he becomes a savage. Because the transition of words end with an unlikely picture of Jack, it shows how he was going to be vicious. Another important quote is when Ralph says “he saw the beastie, the snake thing, and will it come back tonight…he says in the morning it turned them into things like ropes in the trees and hung in the brunches.” This quote states that there were multiple beasts in the novel. Not only were the kids going to become savages, but the island itself was a threat. It’s isolation also affected the group’s chaotic actions. “What would a beast eat?” “Pig.” “We eat pig.” “Piggy!” This conversation summarizes the sinful essence of human nature. The boys are unaware that they, themselves, are beasts. So when they confront each other with the question, the meaning represents the savageness in everyone. When Piggy’s name is stated in the quote, it also represents his death, due to the kids. When “Jack was the first to make himself heard” in the novel, he “had not got the conch and thus spoke against the rules.” This quote entirely symbolizes Jack, and his immaturity and carelessness about rules or a government. He is self-minded and only cares about authority that is superior over anyone else. As the novel came towards the end, the boys were described as “… hair much too long, tangled here and there; clothes worn away, stiff like his own with sweat, put on, not for decorum or comfort but out of custom.” This horrible state represented the condition the boys were in mentally and physically at the end of the book. They were less cultivated, and became weak and fraught at the end. My favorite quote is when “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.” This quote summarizes the state the group leaves the island with. They were rescued during this scene, and all
Ralph thought about was the horrific journey they went on. Their savageness will always stay with them in the future, and they changed immensely on the island. Their inner- beast transformed their lives, and we get a glimpse of their fate. His mourning was due to the fact that they will never escape from the beast, whether its physical or emotional.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Lord of the Flies is a very interesting novel, and it really caught my attention as it captured the darkness that lives within humans. It contained many natural challenges society goes through, and some of them are relatable. This novel was very easy to follow for me; and the setting, plot, and struggle in the story were very noticeable and understandable. I also really enjoyed looking at scenes through Ralph’s eyes. This helped me understand the feelings and personality of the characters more thoroughly. I did struggle with the vocabulary sometimes.
Some words were very uncommon to me, and looking up the definitions and rereading the passage took me a while.
I didn’t have any difficulties with any other problems. This novel doesn’t relate to any other books I’ve read, and it’s one of the reason I liked it; it was different. This novel doesn’t really have anything I would take from it for the future, but I would still recommend others to read it. It’s a very adventurous novel, and its uniqueness will probably appeal to others. The title might not seem attracting at all, but once the reader begins the novel, they will understand the ugly truth behind it. I am definitely going to make sure my younger brother reads Lord of the Flies, and I hope my friends do
too.