The+Lord+of+the+Flies

//Chapter One // **Kristine Rupnarain, Vani Nair, and Cristian Barriga **

**The Introduction (Cristian) **
In the novel, //Lord of the Flies//, the author, William Golding introduces the characters, Ralph and Piggy, to this uncivilized island that appears to lack any adult supervision. To create a tone of mystery, Golding leads the reader into the confusion of a plane crash. Having a peaceful time on the island, Ralph and Piggy are unaware of the dark and dangerous traits that the island withholds, foreshadowing later events in the novel. As the two boys are exploring the unknown jungle they find a conch and with it's ability they call upon the other boys stranded on the island. With the group of boys they are forced to take care of one another and hope and wait for salvation, but in the mean time they are left exploring the mysterious island, in which Golding describes as an unsafe place for these children.

First Impressions (Vani)
**//Ralph://** Early on, Golding portrays Ralph as the leader. He holds authority over the other boys and makes the difficult decisions. As explained with this quote, "But there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch." (page 22) the boys choose Ralph as their chief because they find him powerful, attractive, and __#|different__ from the others. Because Ralph brings everyone together with the conch, he represents authority and leadership.

//**Jack: **//Jack has the potential to be //Lord of the Flies'// antagonist because he is very headstrong and envious of Ralph. When the boys decide they need someone to be in charge, Jack volunteers and believes he would be the best leader. "Because I'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp." (page 24) This quote shows how self-involved and over-confident Jack is as a character. He displays cockiness in __#|order__ to hide his insecurities. When Jack is exploring the island with Ralph and Simon, he encounters a pig. With intentions to kill it, at the last moment Jack cannot bring himself to do so out of fear.


 * //Piggy: //**Piggy goes unappreciated despite his intelligent ideas because most of the boys find him agitating. When Piggy volunteers to explore the island with Ralph, Jack, and Simon, he was denied because "He was no good on a job like this," said Ralph. (page 24) Piggy is introduced as an overlooked character because he would give the boys beneficial ideas but not get any recognition for it.

//**Simon: **//Upon first meeting Simon, it is clear that he has a very peaceful mindset. It appears he is a more reserved and quiet individual. For example, when Ralph chooses Simon to go with him and Jack to explore, Simon agrees but stays to himself most of the trip.



The Setting (Kristine)
The novel opens with two boys making their way through a jungle-like environment and with his diction, Golding cre ates a mood that they are in a dark paradise. Besides the jungle having limited __#|access__ to supplies of food and shelter, "a kind of glamour [is] spread over [the boys] and the scene and they were conscious of the glamour and made happy by it" (page 25). Typically jungles are described as unfavorable and yet, the air is described as "bright." (page 25) This portrays how naive and overly excited the boys are while they should be worrying about their well-being. While they are in awe of the island and elated that there is no parental supervision, Golding uses his words to let the reader know the boys should not in fact be mesmerized, but afraid. Using imagery, the author creates a tone that shows there is danger hidden under the beaches and clear skies. "The ground beneath them was a bank covered with coarse grass, torn everywhere by the upheavals of fallen trees, scattered with decaying #|coconuts and palm saplings. Behind this was the darkness of the forest proper and the open space of the soar." (page 10) With this quote, Golding foreshadows that with the island's openness and that these boys are in fact, alone and will have to fend for themselves. As the novel progresses, it will definitely get tougher for the boys as they are stranded on an island away from society.

=//Chapter Two&Three//= Hector Cardenas, Adam Vatai and Sebastian Bedoya

=
In chapter three Simon comes across a place "where more sunshine fell"(page 56). The author describes it as the most beautiful and peaceful place to be on the island; filled with gorgeous white flowers and other plants, and where you can listen to "the sounds of the bright colored birds the bee-sounds, even the crying of the gulls that were returning to their roosts among the square rocks"(page 57). The enclave reflects off Simon's pure nature unlike, how Jack feels as if he is being watched in the forest, which reflects off his savage nature. Although, this magnificent discovery may seem great, the author hints the reader of some darkness in this area the boys may have to keep an eye on when he says "Darkness poured out, submerging the ways between the trees till they were dim and strange as the bottom of the sea"(page 57). I compare Simon's sanctum to the pool on a hot day but, just like any other pool there is deep side.======

The Trepidation of the Beast
By. Adam Vatai

In Chapter 2 we meet a littlun who is described as being "a shrimp of a boy...and one side of his face was blotted out by a mulberry colored birthmark"(page 35). He tells the boys about a "Beastie that he saw in the woods and describes it as a "snake thing" that lives in the woods. The boys think that the boy was quote "had a nightmare. Stumbling about among all those creepers"(page 36). They do not believe him and Ralph kept saying to himself "but there is no beastie!" while they were discussing it. Towards the end of chapter 2 the kids went up to the top of the mountain to start a signal fire in case a ship ever passes by;however, they release their inner pyromaniac and start putting more and more logs on the fire, until a forest fire breaks out. While they were at the top of the mountain Piggy stares into the fire they built and sees something peculiar. He sees snakes, but not just ordinary snakes he sees the beastie the littlun was talking about. When he looks down the mountain to the beach he sees the littluns playing about, however he does not see the kid with the mulberry colored birthmark, and it is assumed that he died. The most important thing however is that they which resulted in a forest fire, which took the life of the littlun so figuratively they are the beastie they were the ones who killed the kid out of fear of the beastie. The beastie may be nothing more than a manifestation of fear inside the boys but it was what drove them to kill the boy, thus the beastie is them: figuratively. One more important thing was that the author singled out the kid with the mulberry birthmark. most authors would not take the time to mention his birthmark but William Golding did. The reason why is because this kid was different, he spoke out during the meeting which no littlun would ever have the courage to do, he told everone about the beastie; a normal littlun would have just kept the beastie to himself but this boy told everyone about that is what made him special.

=The Symbolic Nature of the Conch= By. Sebastian Bedoya

Ralph and piggy find a conch pink in color early in the book. The conch comes to symbolize leadership, power and organization. The conch basically brought the boys together on the island and started the events of the book. As the story progressed, it was used as a tool and an object to maintain control between the boys during their meetings. Ralph implemented the rule that he would "give the conch to the next person to speak" ( page 33) and this simple rule becomes a ongoing problem between the boys when they have their meetings because many wish to speak at once, like jack for instance. The conch also is used to calm down and unite the boys while on the island because " where the conch is, that's a meeting" (page 42). Soon however, the conch starts to lose it's power when the boys lose control and start a very large fire. This could hint that soon the boys will completely lose organization and order rendering the symbolism of the conch useless.



= = =**//__Chapters 4&5__//**= Heather Rubin, Sarin Itty, and Miranda Machado

"Painted Faces"
By Sarin Itty

In chapter 4, the concept of "painted faces" is introduced. "Like things trying to look like something else," is the the phrase that Jack uses to explain the significance of painted faces to Roger (pg 63). Literally, "painted faces " seem to symbolize camouflage. Camouflage is like a mask which increases their savagery by hiding their bad actions. Figuratively, "painted faces" seem to show of the more "primitive and wild" nature of the boys. Without the proper guidance from "grown-ups," the "well brought up British boys," were resorting to tribal traditions. The actions of painting their faces, shows that Jack and the others are accepting their true violent and wild nature. For example, "... his laughter became a blood thirsty snarl." This was just the savage reaction of Jack to the pig. With nothing to stop them, the boys were growing to embrace their primitive nature. In the beginning of the novel, Jack was already arrogant and crazy. The island provided a way for Jack to escape from the rules of the world and be himself.



Behavior of the Boys
By Miranda Machado

In chapter four, the boys have accomplished a crucial task. They have successfully killed their first pig and are able to eat meat for the first time after days of just fruit. Based on the quotes, "Then Maurice pretended to be the pig and ran squealing into the center, and the hunters, circling still, pretended to beat him. As they danced they sang 'Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Bash her in.''' I think Golding is trying to explain to the reader that the boys are now capable of killing. Some of the boys absolutely despise each other and now that they have killed an animal, maybe they wont be so scared of hurting or possibly even killing one another. Ever since Jack and the other hunters killed the pig, the boys have been acting less of civilized human beings and more of savages. On the other hand, it may have been an island ritual for their accomplishment. Perhaps it is some form of celebration.



Roger and Henry's "Disturbing Behavior"
By Heather Rubin

Roger and Henry were metaphorically protected by civil limitations in chapter four of __Lord of the Flies__. The "disturbing behavior" was depicted by Roger's gathering of "a handful of stones" that were intentionally thrown at and missed entirely by Henry. Henry, being the little'un, was protected by the "taboo of the old life," from Roger; meaning he was being protected by society's leaders in spiritual sense. While Roger, on the other hand, was playing the role of a villain. They were both playing their rightful roles in society, while operating without restraints on a stranded island.



Simon's Comments About the "Beast"
By Heather Rubin, Miranda Machado and Sarin Itty

In chapter five, a meeting held by Ralph was mainly led by the topic of what the Beast literally was. The beast was a creation of the children's own imaginations. As many of the other big'uns resented the actuality of the beast, Simon clearly supported the idea of the beast by saying, "...maybe it's only us,"(page 89). From this remark, he was implying that the group themselves could be this "beast."



Ralph and the Conch
By Heather Rubin, Sarin Itty and Miranda Machado

At the end of the meeting held by Ralph in chapter five, Ralph refused to blow the conch. The conch originally symbolized authority and since it was first used by Ralph, it made him the leader of the boys. When Piggy asked Ralph to blow the conch, Ralph was afraid to blow it because he thought the boys might ignore him and he would lose control. Ralph's initial thought of how the assembly should have gone was, "Not for fun. Not for laughing and falling off the log," but it traveled far from that. There was much more beleaguering and havoc going on than Ralph would have liked.



=Chapter 6-7= Sebastian Huidobro, Jhoy Saca, Maria Camila Puerta, Olivia Nembhard

=//__Protagonist and Antagonist__// (Sebastian Huidobro)= I believe that the protagonist of the story is the boys and mainly Ralph. He is mentioned many times and rarely excluded from the story. He is also chief of the boys making him more important than the others. The antagonist for me in the story would be the "beast" and the island. The island is making them get violent and savage-like. The beast brings more conflict to the island because it makes them fear the island. The beast will make the boys build more and more fear towards the island and maybe even frightened them too much they will not be able to concentrate. The boys have individual thought of the beast. Simon does not have fear of a beast in the island but others do like the littluns.

=__**//The Sign from the Adult World//**__= The sign from the adult world was the characters __#|image__ that it was the beast from the air. The sign was literally a fallen man that came down from a destroyed airplane from the war. The beast from the air symbolized the destructive and savage war that was going on in the outside world, which was a sign that there was a less chance of them being rescued from the island. Also the war symbolized that the nature of man was to kill each other and the explanation of the behavior of the kids on the island. Sam and Eric describe the beast as a head behind its wings with sharp teeth and claws. The boys hunt the beast and find a hump like object on the mountain and find something trying to stand up. The "beast" was a fallen soldier that had fallen from the air. However, the characters evaded the beast and did not fully acknowledge its characteristics and they did not know what it was literally. The fear of the beast led them to evade their sign of possible rescue and continue with their savage like appearance.
 * //By Jhoy Saca//**

=//__**Another Reenactment and the "game"**__//= //__**By: Maria Camila Puerta**__// Like with Maurice in chapter four, there is another reenactment. This time with Robert playing the role of the pig; however, in this reenactment the boys were amused by their brute actions. What is most disturbing is how detailed and accurate Robert is when acting out and describing how the pig was acting when being hunted. " 'He was coming along the path. I threw, like this-' Robert snarled at him. Ralph entered into the play and everbody laughed. Presently they were all jabbing at Robert who made mock rushes. Jack shouted. 'Make a ring!' The circle moved in and round. Robert squealed in mock terror, then in real pain. 'Ow! Stop it! You're hurting!'...Ralph carried away by a sudden thick excitement, grabbed Eric's spear and jabbed at Robert with it. 'Kill him! Kill him"(114). This proves how the time the boys have spent living on the island has transformed them into violent savages and are driven by impulsiveness. Not only is this a significant concern but also the negative thoughts they are having. For instance, Jack's suggestion after their "game" is very troubling. " 'That was a good game.' 'Just a game,' said Ralph uneasily...'We ought to have a drum,' said Maurice, 'then we could do it properly .' Ralph looked at him. 'How properly?' 'I dunno. You want a fire, I think, anda drum, and you keep time to the drum.'...' You want a real pig,' said Robert, still caressing his rump, 'because you've got to kill him.' "Use a littlun,' said Jack, and everybody laughed"(115). This describes the new, yet, violent, savage thoughts the boys are now having. Instead of having their celebration/reenactment using animals, they are now thinking of using the youngest boys. Its unfortunate the way the island is changing them for the worst.



=__Foil Characters__= __**Olivia Nembhard**__ There are two sets of foil characters in "the Lord of the Flies." One set is Jack and Piggy. Jack is impulsive and lives for the moment while Piggy is more contemplative. Even though this is true the boys rather listen to Jack and go along with his ideas. Jack does not think about his actions, he just does but Piggy thinks about the consequences. Another set of foil characters would be Jack and Simon. Jack is the savage hunter who is always ready to kill while Simon is more meditative. He is calm and has no fear of the jungle like the rest of the boys do. We learned in the past few chapters that the "beast" is truly themselves. Jack is experiencing it the worst. While Simon can be pretty much at peace, that mirror that the forest is acting like, turns to reflect back on Jack and he sees a scary and beastly person looking back.

Chapters Eight & Nine **Kristine Rupnarain, Vani Nair, and Cristian Barriga **

**Third-Person Omniscient Narration (Vani) **
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Golding uses third-person omniscient narration to show the different perspectives of the characters. If Golding had not used third-person omniscient narration the reader would not know of Simon's enclave, nor of Jack's intense hunting scenes. By doing this Golding lets the characters unfold by themselves, without expressing his own personal opinion. The significance of third-person omniscient narration is that it shows the differences between all the boys, and shows the reader how each boy individually thinks and feels. Another benefit of using third-person omniscient narration is that the reader creates a personal connection with each character. By using third-person omniscient narration it makes the reader feel as if they are a spectator on the island. For example, when Jack is alone in the forest trying to hunt a pig, Golding uses descriptive diction that allows the reader to feel as if they are there with Jack.

**<span style="color: #808080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">The "Conversation" (Kristine) **
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">During the peculiar conversation between Simon and the pig head, Golding reveals the message he has been trying to convey throughout the entire novel to the readers. However, the pig and Simon only have this “conversation” because Jack and the hunters, in a pursuit for a meal, drove the pig to Simon’s enclave. What made this hunt different though was the fact that this pig was a mother and Golding uses something as pure as a mother pig feeding her babies to make Jack and hid hunters’ inhumanity shine brighter. Once they decapitate the pig, Simon’s “fun” begins. The Lord of the Flies, or the severed pig head, symbolizes a devil figure and malevolence. While Golding alludes to the fact that Simon may have already known this fact, the pig head confirms that whatever morality may have been on the island upon the arrival of the boys has disappeared and been replaced with ruthlessness. The pig tells Simon that no matter where he goes, there is no escape from him because he lives in everyone. Ultimately, the message Golding tries express is that humans put on a façade to fit into society’s standards but underneath it all, people are savages.

<span style="color: #808080; font-family: Georgia,serif;"> [[image:489.jpg width="325" height="247" align="left"]]Finally... The Climax (Cristian)
<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Georgia,serif;">As we all know, chapter nine withholds the climax of //Lord of the Flies//. Before the climax is revealed there is an important event that we view in Simon's perspective. After Simon finally awakens after his awkward conversation with the pig head, he gets up and heads straight for the mountain to observe what the "beast" really is. Because Simon is aware the beast is apart of each individual, without fear, he examines the "beast" and realizes that it is a dead army man with a parachute. During Simon's investigation, Jack and his tribe, Ralph, Piggy, and Samneric are preparing to have a feast with the pig meat that was hunted. Following the traditional ritual, Jack commands his tribe to start the pig dance. As the night progresses the band of boys encounter Simon, but mistaken him for "the beast!" and surrounds him and with their inner beast they end up killing him. This is the climax because Simon is the only one on the island who obtains the knowledge about the man with the parachute and with him dead, the boys will never find out that the beast is not a physical figure on the island, but is apart of them. His death also means that Golding is left silent throughout the rest of the novel because Golding spoke through Simon and he was the only guidance that the boys on the island had. But because Golding is Golding, he ends the chapter with "glowing objects" carrying Simon toward the shore of the ocean. These glowing creatures form a halo-like figure around Jesus... I mean Simon to symbolize his holiness, but at the same time these tiny creatures are receiving the Body of Christ as they eat his flesh and is taken away by the tides of the ocean.

=//__Chapters 10&11__//= By. Adam Vatai, Hector Cardenas and Sebbi

=**__The Significance of the Tone__**= By Adam Vatai The tone plays a major role in the story. It tells us how the author feels about theme of the story. In the case of the __Lord of the Flies__ the author uses a a very dark and serious tone. The author truly thinks that if this where to ever happen in real life the children would turn savage and eventually kill each other. The author writes this book in a very dark sort of tone. Everything someone does has something about it that evil about it; like Sir egan once said, "you have to peel the surface and look at the hidden meanings" -Sir egan 2012. For example the pig dance the children do is just a harmless dance in the beggining, however then they start to actually hurt the person in the center and then eventually they even kill Simon, so something that was once just a harmless dance became something more morbid. All of these events all have a darker meaning that contribute to the darkness of the tone. There are some parts in the story that may seem "good" or "not dark" like when they first kill the pig and finally get some meat but really that is the begining of their descent into savagery. All these events show how dark and serious the author is and tells us how he feels towards the theme of the book.

=__The Falling Action...Literally__= By: Sebastian Bedoya

After the climax of the novel, we experience the falling action unfold. Ralph, Piggy and Samneric venture to castle rock to retrieve Piggy’s specs. By the way, Jack and his tribe stole Piggy’s glasses. This is important because jack now has fire and basically stole all of Ralph’s hope of getting rescued. Now, while at the castle rock, Ralph and the remaining boys encounter guards waiting for them. Suddenly Jack and hunters come out of the forest. Ralph demands he give the glasses back but Jack refuses. The two boys begin to argue and when Jack gets called a thief, he hits Ralph in the chest with a spear. The boys end up having a complete duel and while this happens, the conch gets broken into pieces. This is very important because the destruction of the conch represents the complete destruction of order and organization on the island. Further on in the fight, Roger starts to throw rocks at Ralph. He suddenly drops a boulder on Piggy and he falls off a cliff into the ocean; Piggy dies. This represents the end of reason between the boys due to the fact that piggy is the voice of reason. Furthermore, the falling action may have been after the climax but it wasn't deficient in action.

__The Main Theme__
By: Hector Cardenas

William Golding answered a very serious question in __Lord of The Flies__. In his novel he answered the question on, how man would behave without rules. Golding believes the man will become savages, just like the boys did in this novel. One interesting detail Golding included in his novel is, the adults are also attacking each other at the same time as the boys are. Also, he used children to answer this question and managed to make a group of school boys, who most likely behaved back at school (where there are rules), and turned them into a group of savages. Yet, Simon was able to remain calm the whole time he was on the island. There is still one question, how would man and women behave without rules? I believe William Golding would still have a similar approach if he did include girls in this story; perhaps there may have been even more violence if there was a beautiful girl to fight over. Therefore, William Golding made his answer clear in his novel.

=//**Chapter 12:**//= //**By Sarin Itty, Miranda Machado and Heather Rubin**//

Allegory in the //__Lord of the Flies:__//
By Sarin Itty

The __Lord of the Flies__ could be considered as an allegorical work. The main allegory in the story is how the schoolboy's savagery represents true human nature. The actions that took place on the island show us how humans act without authority. The British, private school boys were changed by the island into wild savages. For example, the conch which represented human authority and leadership was crushed into "1,000 pieces," once the children lost their sense of proper civilization. Isn't it a little ironic how well-trimmed, private schoolchildren end up as war-raging, fighting, berserk savages? Also, if you focus once again on the character development of Jack, more irony can be found. Jack, who was the one at the beginning that said that they will not end up acting like savages, ends up as a crazy for power, psycho. Through this allegorical work, Golding is trying to show us that human fate is inevitable. Humans will end up as savages when left without authority, or control. If the best of the humans (trimmed, innocent, private schoolchildren), end up killing each other, what will be our fate? We are not well behaved, private schoolchildren. In a situation depicted in the novel, we would do much worse. This simple story has a much more intense side. Although this story is based on children, this story has a true meaning - that authority and leadership is a necessity to prevent chaos in the world. Without law and order, humans will end up creating destruction.

=__Situational Irony__=

By Miranda Machado

Looking at chapter 12, an example of situational irony would be the burning of the entire island. As we already knew Jack enjoyed his new life and the island and did not support the idea of having a rescue fire. However, in an attempt to lure Ralph out of his hiding spot by setting a single tree on fire, he manages to burn down the entire island. This was never what Jack intended to do but by doing this the boys were rescued. It's ironic how the boy who never wanted to be resued in the first place, ended up saving the rest of boys that were left on the island.



=__The Resolution__= By Heather Rubin

In chapter twelve of the __Lord of the Flies__ the resolution of the story finally came into play. The moment that supposedly all the boys (well, the majority... or what’s left of them) had been waiting for. A polite naval officer came to greet the boys with small talk while a boat in the horizon could be seen. Ralph, the boy with whom the officer had conversed with, gave seldom answers to the officer since he was so paralyzed. The officer then turned around and let them have their time to collect. This was the occasion where it was excepted for the boys to commemorate their finally being able to return home. But perhaps the saving had come on too suddenly, because all these boys had been bawling in the backdrop. The depression of the party overwhelmed the actualization that a hero was there to save them. This is why everything seems to lighten for only a minute, and then the feeling is gone. The anticipation died down, and nothingness was left. This fits with the theme of Golding’s novel because throughout the entire book did his story have once slightly cheerful achievements that took sharp turns into obscurity and darkness. It is an ending to the story that fits quite accordingly to it’s previous content.