Comments on
Tanner M., Jane K., Hannah N., Jenny S., Jun Do, John Shin
2008년 3월 17일 월요일
2008년 3월 4일 화요일
Lord of the Flies - Setting
* Are there any settings in this novel which you have found to be beautiful? or disturbing? or memorable? describe these settings and comment on why they were meaningful to you.
"By the time Ralph finished blowing the conch the platform was crowded. There were differences between this meeting and the one held in the morning. The afternoon sun slanted in from the other side of the platform and most of the children, feeling too late the smart of sunburn, had put their clothes on. The choir, noticeably less of a group, had discarded their cloaks." p32 ,
"Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!"
The tribe was dancing. Somewhere on the other side of this rocky wall there would be a dark circle, a glowing fire, and meat. They would be savoring food and the comfort of safety. p 186
The two settings definitely contradicted each other a lot. The first passage described Ralph's assembly while the second passage described Jack's group celebrating the successful pig hunt.
According to the first passage, everyone was a decent boy at one time. When Ralph blew out the conch, boys joined for the assembly and shared ideas. Even though they were hot, they knew it was decorum to put their clothes on. Also, the choir refused to gather only with themselves and joined Ralph's assembly to cooperate. At this point, the setting proved that they worked hard, being complimentary to one other. Although they disagreed with one other often, they did not commit a riot or physically attack someone. They tried their best to plan the survival thoroughly.
On the other hand, the second passage talked about a community totally out of control. They were enjoying their comfort and celebration rather than working. I thought the phrase 'a dark circle, a glowing fire, and meat' represent the natural instinct of being wild and savage. The song itself was also an example of savagery that the boys could not have thought about before.
"Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!"
The tribe was dancing. Somewhere on the other side of this rocky wall there would be a dark circle, a glowing fire, and meat. They would be savoring food and the comfort of safety. p 186
The two settings definitely contradicted each other a lot. The first passage described Ralph's assembly while the second passage described Jack's group celebrating the successful pig hunt.
According to the first passage, everyone was a decent boy at one time. When Ralph blew out the conch, boys joined for the assembly and shared ideas. Even though they were hot, they knew it was decorum to put their clothes on. Also, the choir refused to gather only with themselves and joined Ralph's assembly to cooperate. At this point, the setting proved that they worked hard, being complimentary to one other. Although they disagreed with one other often, they did not commit a riot or physically attack someone. They tried their best to plan the survival thoroughly.
On the other hand, the second passage talked about a community totally out of control. They were enjoying their comfort and celebration rather than working. I thought the phrase 'a dark circle, a glowing fire, and meat' represent the natural instinct of being wild and savage. The song itself was also an example of savagery that the boys could not have thought about before.
The most conspicuous difference in physical setting was that the first passage was during the daytime while the second passage was during the night-time. I thought the author set the time like this to enforce the difference between good and evil.
The environment and tendency gradually changed but changed a lot. It conveyed the author's intention perfectly, which was every human being has some sort of inhumanity or evilness embedded within him/herself.
Image:http://homepage.mac.com/koji.takahashi/iblog/C1920569561/E20051208182612/index.html
Lort of the Flies - Symbols
*Entry of your choice - symbolisms
There were a lot of symbols in this novel, Lord of the Flies. Without any exaggerations, the content was full of symbolic materials and ideas.
First, the conch, which Piggy found and suggested Ralph to blow and summon boys, symbolized the democratic idea and a rule. Since the conch was used as a right to speak during the assembly, it gave everyone a chance to speak equally and a chance to be treated equally. During the meeting, only a person who held the conch shell could speak and everyone had to listen to him. This gave them a sense of order in their society. When the conch was crushed by the boulder that Roger rolled, the democracy and the rule were destroyed that Jack's group, which represented anarchy to flourish.
In addition, Piggy's glasses were also an important symbol. His glasses represented the scientific side of a society. With his glasses, the boys were able to light the fire. This gave the boys a sense of hope to get saved. When the Jack's group tried to steal his glasses but could not, the glasses were cracked, which also cracked the intelligence of boys. When the Jack's group finally stole it from Piggy, they abused the science and intelligence.
More importantly, the fire had two symbols; one was hope while the other one was destruction. At first when Piggy used his glasses and sunlight to make the signal fire, it gave them hope as mentioned before. They set the fire in hope of being rescued and going back to their own society. However, as time went on and as they paid a little attention to the signal fire, the original goal of the signal fire disappeared. Soon, the meaning of the fire turned to the opposite, destruction. Jack set the forest fire to capture Ralph and kill him. This use of fire was really unexpected for me. When I began reading this novel, I thought they would use the fire effectively for the survival, which was very opposite to their reality.
There were a lot of symbols in this novel, Lord of the Flies. Without any exaggerations, the content was full of symbolic materials and ideas.
First, the conch, which Piggy found and suggested Ralph to blow and summon boys, symbolized the democratic idea and a rule. Since the conch was used as a right to speak during the assembly, it gave everyone a chance to speak equally and a chance to be treated equally. During the meeting, only a person who held the conch shell could speak and everyone had to listen to him. This gave them a sense of order in their society. When the conch was crushed by the boulder that Roger rolled, the democracy and the rule were destroyed that Jack's group, which represented anarchy to flourish.
In addition, Piggy's glasses were also an important symbol. His glasses represented the scientific side of a society. With his glasses, the boys were able to light the fire. This gave the boys a sense of hope to get saved. When the Jack's group tried to steal his glasses but could not, the glasses were cracked, which also cracked the intelligence of boys. When the Jack's group finally stole it from Piggy, they abused the science and intelligence.
More importantly, the fire had two symbols; one was hope while the other one was destruction. At first when Piggy used his glasses and sunlight to make the signal fire, it gave them hope as mentioned before. They set the fire in hope of being rescued and going back to their own society. However, as time went on and as they paid a little attention to the signal fire, the original goal of the signal fire disappeared. Soon, the meaning of the fire turned to the opposite, destruction. Jack set the forest fire to capture Ralph and kill him. This use of fire was really unexpected for me. When I began reading this novel, I thought they would use the fire effectively for the survival, which was very opposite to their reality.
Lord of the Flies - Significant Passage
I had two memorable passages that I wanted to analyze and share. First one was a dialogue between Simon and the Lord of the Flies and the next passage was about Jack’s internal conflict when he had the first pig hunt, which happened prior to the first passage.
“ Simon’s head was tilted slightly up. His eyes could not break away and the Lord of the Flies hung in space before him.
“What are you doing out here all alone? Aren’t you afraid of me?”
Simon shook.
“There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the Beast.”” p143
Although talking with a pig’s head is impossible, this dialogue was the most important symbolical passage. The Lord of the Flies intimidated Simon that he will kill and confessed that he himself was the beast. The beast represented the natural evilness in people’s mind. Thus, the concept of the Lord of the Flies was not a concrete object but an abstract idea.
Through the dialogue, Simon realized that the beast that the boys were afraid of was actually the fear of inhumanity. The Lord of the Flies talked as if he was the one who caused this problem, which ensured that he was the symbol of evil. Enlightened with the discovery, Simon wanted to inform the fact to other boys. However, the boys misapprehended that Simon was the beast and that they murdered him.
I felt the boys were too into the wilderness. I could not understand them because they murdered Simon without a minimum rational thought. If the boys thought rationally, then there would be no such crime. I was very disappointed at them. How could a person kill another person who used to be his or her friend? Due to their cold-heartedness, I thought the murdering part was too fictionally fabricated.
" He noticed Ralph's scarred nakedness, and the somber silence of all four of them. He sought, charitable in his happiness, to include them in the thing that had happened. His mind was crowded 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. " p70
This passage was a certainly significant part of the entire novel too. This described how Jack felt after killing the first pig. Although he claimed he is supporting hunting because it provides meat to the entire group and is essential for a survival, now he is obsessed with it. At this point, he is involved in hunting so much that he cannot get rid of the thought of killing the pig.
He started to show the natural instinct of human savagery. From this point on, he was more exhilarated in killing pig rather than providing meat for the entire group. Later on, he painted his face to look wilder. Although it was not necessary in hunting, since he was so obsessed with it, he could not control his savage instinct.
Because he was busy with his hunting job, he forgot to manage the signal fire. If he managed the fire well, they could have been saved because the ship just passed by when the fire was out. Although it was his job and Ralph was so furious at him, he did not even listened to him and did not accept his fault but self-praised his first successful hunt. Indulged into and proud of his hunting skills, Jack started to pay no attention to the whole group and manage his hunting life.
I was surprised because Jack changed a lot in this short period of time. If I were Jack, at least I would not betray my friends. I thought it was a little awkward because Jack acted in his own way even thought he knew it was necessary to work in a group.
“ Simon’s head was tilted slightly up. His eyes could not break away and the Lord of the Flies hung in space before him.
“What are you doing out here all alone? Aren’t you afraid of me?”
Simon shook.
“There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the Beast.”” p143
Although talking with a pig’s head is impossible, this dialogue was the most important symbolical passage. The Lord of the Flies intimidated Simon that he will kill and confessed that he himself was the beast. The beast represented the natural evilness in people’s mind. Thus, the concept of the Lord of the Flies was not a concrete object but an abstract idea.
Through the dialogue, Simon realized that the beast that the boys were afraid of was actually the fear of inhumanity. The Lord of the Flies talked as if he was the one who caused this problem, which ensured that he was the symbol of evil. Enlightened with the discovery, Simon wanted to inform the fact to other boys. However, the boys misapprehended that Simon was the beast and that they murdered him.
I felt the boys were too into the wilderness. I could not understand them because they murdered Simon without a minimum rational thought. If the boys thought rationally, then there would be no such crime. I was very disappointed at them. How could a person kill another person who used to be his or her friend? Due to their cold-heartedness, I thought the murdering part was too fictionally fabricated.
" He noticed Ralph's scarred nakedness, and the somber silence of all four of them. He sought, charitable in his happiness, to include them in the thing that had happened. His mind was crowded 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. " p70
This passage was a certainly significant part of the entire novel too. This described how Jack felt after killing the first pig. Although he claimed he is supporting hunting because it provides meat to the entire group and is essential for a survival, now he is obsessed with it. At this point, he is involved in hunting so much that he cannot get rid of the thought of killing the pig.
He started to show the natural instinct of human savagery. From this point on, he was more exhilarated in killing pig rather than providing meat for the entire group. Later on, he painted his face to look wilder. Although it was not necessary in hunting, since he was so obsessed with it, he could not control his savage instinct.
Because he was busy with his hunting job, he forgot to manage the signal fire. If he managed the fire well, they could have been saved because the ship just passed by when the fire was out. Although it was his job and Ralph was so furious at him, he did not even listened to him and did not accept his fault but self-praised his first successful hunt. Indulged into and proud of his hunting skills, Jack started to pay no attention to the whole group and manage his hunting life.
I was surprised because Jack changed a lot in this short period of time. If I were Jack, at least I would not betray my friends. I thought it was a little awkward because Jack acted in his own way even thought he knew it was necessary to work in a group.
2008년 3월 3일 월요일
Lord of the Flies - Climax
* what is the climax of this novel? what happens? how do the events of this novel make you feel?
The climax of this novel was when Jack's group burned the forest and chased Ralph. Jack wanted to kill Ralph because he believed Ralph ignored himself and became the leader. Jack gave everyone a job even Sam and Eric to capture Ralph and kill him as soon as possible. When Ralph was hiding, a naval officer found and saved him.
The climax of this novel was when Jack's group burned the forest and chased Ralph. Jack wanted to kill Ralph because he believed Ralph ignored himself and became the leader. Jack gave everyone a job even Sam and Eric to capture Ralph and kill him as soon as possible. When Ralph was hiding, a naval officer found and saved him.
Without his best friend Piggy, Ralph had to endure by himself. Even Sam and Eric, used to be his side, left Ralph and joined Jack's group. Although they liked Ralph, they had to leave him because they feared Jack's group might attack them as well. This part sort of saddened me. To save Sam and Eric, they and also Ralph had to give up their friendship. In addition, I thought this symbolized some aspects of our human nation too. People tend to sacrifice themselves to save others. This somehow represented Christianity also. Ralph was alone, advocating the right thing, just like Jesus did to his people. Being the last conflict in the novel, this showed the result of every conflict that had happened.
At first, I thought the climax was when Simon died by the boys because after that point, the concept of civilization entirely disappeared and only savagery survived. After Simon died, Ralph again lost his hope. From this point on, Jack held the most power and everyone except for Piggy joined Jack’s group. Claming that the most important thing is to adapt the environment, Jack thoroughly re-grouped the kids for hunt. Even though Simon was killed by them, they did not feel any sympathy with him but to think in cold blood. Only moral and ethical Ralph and Piggy empathized with Simon and felt sorry for him. Later than, Jack’s group committed another serious offense, which were the murder of Piggy and the crash of conch. This caused Ralph to lose self-control and indulge into ferocious life. By that time, Jack burned the forest.
With endless conflicts, I thought it was natural to have a lot of climaxes. However, I thought the forest-fire one was the most intense and the last conflict that marked the end of the story. In fact, it was a very tense moment for Ralph and for me too. When the naval officer found Ralph hiding from Jack’s group, Ralph cried because Piggy and Simon were dead by Jack and Roger. Ralph thought everyone lost his innocence especially Jack. Thus, Ralph himself and everyone became sorrowful due to their intentions and actions. However, when the naval officer found them, the readers including myself could find out what will happen the next. Although the ending was sort of ambiguous, readers could assume that they went back to their own normal life habits.
I felt sorry for Ralph while reading this climax. I cannot imagine how it would feel if my friends left me alone, became enemies, and confronted me to kill. At the same time, I was so proud of Ralph's indomitable willingness. If I were Ralph, I should have joined Jack’s group even though I think it was wrong. As the boys got wild, I could assume that Ralph will experience a huge difficulty. I was glad that the officer found the boys. If there were no rescue, then the condition would be more brutal.
Lord of the Flies - Characters
*who are the main characters in the novel? do you like them? why or why not? what is special about them? what do they reveal about the universal human experience?
There were mainly six characters that represented certain aspects in our society. Used to be the team leader, Ralph represented human civilization but more generally, the good side of human beings. He wanted to settle there to survive. Also, he was the one who supported building shelters and a signal fire. Although he was full of good ideas, he failed to persuade and control others to support himself due to his lack of leadership.
There were mainly six characters that represented certain aspects in our society. Used to be the team leader, Ralph represented human civilization but more generally, the good side of human beings. He wanted to settle there to survive. Also, he was the one who supported building shelters and a signal fire. Although he was full of good ideas, he failed to persuade and control others to support himself due to his lack of leadership.
On the other hand, Jack represented the natural savagery. Angered at Ralph's leadership position, he decided to rebel against him and finally gained attention and formed his hunting group. He only thought about himself and the short-term future, which led him and his group to do what they want, not thinking about the counter plans about the final outcomes.
In addition, Piggy represented the scientific aspect of our nature. Even though he was fat, ugly, and had asthma, he had a superior brain. He invented water clock and suggested Ralph to blow the conch to summon the boys. Because he was weak at speaking in front of others, he used Ralph to suggest ideas instead and worked with him.
Representing the natural goodness, often related to Jesus, Simon was the only one who knew the truth of the beast. However, due to his calm and peaceful characteristic, he could not get along with other boys well, which often led him to go into the forest and meditate.
Furthermore, Roger, being the lieutenant of Jack, represented the sadistic aspect of human beings. He often irritated or annoyed the little kids by throwing rocks at them, making them frightened. Also, he killed Piggy at last by rolling the huge boulder.
Lastly, Lord of the Flies was a significant character too. Actually, it was the pig’s head that Jack offered to the beast. It represented the human beings’ internal evilness. Through the Lord of the Flies, we could know that there are limits to people’s tendency to be civilized and have rules. It proved that the natural evilness is embedded in everyone’s mind.
In addition, the novel itself was a microcosm of our society. The older boys ruled while the little kids such as Sam and Eric had to always obey at them. This phenomenon is the basic idea of nowadays-political society.
I really liked Ralph. Although he was not successful at being the leader of the whole, he tried his best and never gave up his will. Even everyone joined Jack's group, he thought that he himself was doing the right thing and had to endure from other boys' attack.
피드 구독하기:
글 (Atom)
