Scary Island!

In this blog I am going to be writing about the setting of Lord of the Flies and why it’s important to the story.
Lord of the Flies is set on a warm, tropical island. There are palm trees all around, thick undergrowth through most of the inner island. The climate is hot during the day and gets cold during the night. It’s the kind of place that you see in a horror movie. It’s lit by a moon at night and it’s cold enough to make you get goose bumps. “Soon the darkness was full of claws, full of the awful unknown and menace. An interminable dawn faded the stars out, and at last light, sad and grey, filtered into the shelter. They began to stir though still the world outside the shelter was impossibly dangerous. The maze of the darkness sorted into near and far, and at the high point of the sky the cloudlets were warmed with color. A single seabird flapped upwards with a hoarse cry that was echoed presently, and something squawked in the forest. Now streaks of cloud near the horizon began to glow rosily, and the feathery tops of the palms were green” (page 99).
This book’s “scary” setting is important because it creeps the reader out and makes the reader feel uncomfortable. In the book, the setting makes the characters feel anxious and they can’t sleep. Golding is trying to make the reader feel like they’re in the story. The author makes me wonder what I would do if I were on the island.

Jack vs. Ralph (+ Piggy)

Today I will be blogging about the main characters because they are starting to struggle for power. I will be writing about the three main characters, Ralph, Jack, and Piggy. I will be exploring how William Golding describes these characters, what they do, say, and think.

In the beginning of the story, the author describes Piggy as the “fat boy” (page 8). Piggy’s actions show he has a passive personality and is a goody-two-shoe. Here’s an example: “The fat boy waited to be asked his name in turn but this proffer of acquaintance was not made; the fair boy called Ralph smiled vaguely, stood up, and began once more toward the lagoon. The fat boy hung steadily at his shoulder” (page 9). Piggy talks about his asthma and how he can’t run because his auntie told him not to and he seems to follow all the rules. When “the fat boy” tells Ralph his old school nick name, Piggy, Ralph starts cracking up and laughs really hard. Piggy is annoyed at first but manages a slight grin.

Golding calls Ralph the “fair boy” in comparison to Piggy. Ralph is almost the opposite of Piggy. He likes the freedom of no grown-ups. Golding describes Ralph as strong, muscular. His actions and thoughts show he does whatever he wants. “He was old enough, twelve years and a few months, to have lost the prominent tummy of childhood and not yet old enough for adolescence to have made him awkward. You could see now that he might make a good boxer, as far as width and heaviness of shoulders went, but there was a mildness about his eyes and mouth that proclaimed no devil” (page 10). He has the personality of a leader: calm, strong, and popular.

Jack is the meanest and most arrogant. He is the leader of the choir and likes the fact that he can do whatever he wants. While Piggy is telling Ralph the names he knows, Jack come up to him and says “You’re talking too much. Shut up, Fatty” (page 21). This line of dialogue shows Jack’s personality.

It may be many pages before I find out who will win, Jack or Ralph. I’m not really sure why Piggy is a main character, but I think I will find out soon enough.

Welcome to my blog about the "Lord of the Flies"

What would you do if you were on an airplane that crashed on a deserted tropical island? How would you feel when it got dark? Would you be scared? What if there were no adults around? What would you do for food? How would you hunt? Where would you sleep?

Imagine the island. It’s hot and mountainous. There are some palm trees. All you can see for miles and miles is water on every side. Animals hide in the trees and you do not know what kind they are or if they will attack you. There are no grocery stores, cell phone towers, schools, houses, gyms, or parks. No Wilshire Market to go to after school to get candy and soda. No Dollar Tree to go to and buy anything you want. No video games, no MySpace or Facebook, nothing.

This is what happens to a group of British schoolboys, ages six to twelve, at the beginning of the book "Lord of the Flies". For the next couple of weeks I am going to be blogging about this book. William Golding wrote the book. I am doing this blog for an 8th-grade novel project at a middle school in Oregon.

The main characters are Ralph, Piggy, and Jack. Ralph holds the conch, which means he’s the leader, and he gives orders to everyone on the island. Piggy found the conch but could not blow it, because he has asthma. Piggy gave the conch to Ralph and he blew it. Jack is the leader of his choir. The choir is not a choir that performs music, just a group of people under one leader. Jack is also friends with Ralph in the beginning of the book.

So far, I would recommend the book, although not much has happened yet, except for the plane crash. I am currently on page 85 out of 180. The book makes me think of what I would do if I were stranded on an island with no adults.

I would hike the mountains and explore the land and trees. I would swim in the ocean and play at the beach. I would have a great time until it got dark, then I would start to get scared. I would realize that I need to find food and create a shelter. If I didn’t have a knife, I would try to carve a rock from a bigger rock to make it sharp. I would use the sharp rock to hunt animals or try to make some sort of trap. I have never hunted before, so I would not be very good. I would try to find a place where rocks provided protection from rain and scary animals. I would get freaked. I would even start praying! (I PROBABLY WOULD NOT SURVIVE VERY LONG!!!)

Compared to me, the characters were pretty happy when they landed. They were free from grownups and school. They liked their freedom until night came and animal noises creeped them out. They were hungry and tired. They built a fire to signal ships. The friendships started to fade the longer they were on the island. Ralph got angry quickly when a ship passed by and the fire happened to be out. He blamed Jack, who was in charge of the fire. Jack did not accept the blame for the fire because he was out killing a pig, which was the only food they had.

I think that Ralph and Jack will become enemies. Jack and his choir will be their own civilization. I think this because Jack is acting like he wants to be the leader. I think this will make the book interesting and fun to read. The title, especially the part that says “Lord”, makes me think that there will be a struggle for power. I am not sure about what “Flies” means yet but I think it has to do with control over the island.