COMMENTS

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Who do you relate with most in the novel? Why?

When reading this novel, I related with Ralph with the most. Ralph is someone who is loyal to his beliefs and will not let other people tarnish his values. I also have values that I wish to uphold until I die. Ralph values being civil and not acting like a idiot. I value loyalty in a friendship and holding onto my dreams. In the novel, everything threatens to destroy Ralphs hope in rescue and even his normal civilized being. The savagery that occurs around him sometimes seems incredibly overwhelming that Ralph feels like he too is falling into the category of being a savage. However, Ralph is strong-minded and disregards the actions of those around him. I too am strong-minded and do not let people bring me down. I am not cocky or anything but when people talk trash about me I snicker inside because that gives me more of a chance to prove them wrong.
I sometimes get into the same situation as Ralph. Ralph unknowingly participated in the killing of Simon. He came to realize that his actions were wrong and felt deep lament and sorrow. I too do wrong things and I always realize it when it’s too late to change. Ralph found out his flaw and instead of giving into it, he used the experience to learn about the evil inside, and as result he fought off the temptations of savagery easily. I also learn from my mistakes and strive to not make the same mistakes twice.
I also react to certain things the same as Ralph. In the end when Ralph meets the grownup on the shores he cries because of all the ordeals he has gone through and the new knowledge he has gained about life. I also cry when something extremely shocking has hit me. When I get news of death of someone I know I cry a lot because it is something that I can’t change and that I need to live with.

Settings in this novel which I have found beautiful?Disturbing?Why were these settings meaningful to me?

The island. Thats all I have to say. An island. William Golding is a pure genius I must say. He chose an sunny tropical sandy shore island. Now I imagine a island like that being a oasis of paradise. Don't you see all the commercials on T.V telling you how wonderful these islands are? Telling you that its impossible for you not to enjoy the cool breeze of the coconut tree shading you from the warm sun. Well, William Golding chose this island on purpose which is why I love this setting so much. He portrayed the stereotypical "tropical" island capable of causing extreme grief and misfortune. With this setting, he converted the mellow happy feel of the island into a eerie dark island inhabited by a scary beast. Disturbing, yet delightful at the same time.

This setting is meaningful to me because of my trip to Hawaii. I went to Hawaii with my family a couple years back and I absolutely loved it. I loved how it never got cold and the people were always nice to me. I loved how houses and hotels were situated right next to beautiful beaches and that you were able to gaze upon sunsets easily. I loved Hawaii so much that I chose it as my spot to live in when I become a old man and retire. Hawaii is just so easygoing. The setting in Lord of the Flies reminds me of Hawaii which is why I find it attractive.

What is the climax of this novel?What happens?How do the events of this novel make you feel?

The climax of this novel would be when the conch gets shattered. Roger rolls a huge rock onto Piggy and kills him. Piggy and the beautiful milky shell he was holding gets demolished. Piggy not only represents order and the last traces of civilization left on the island, but also Ralph’s main source of guidance and comfort. The conch represents rules and serves as the last thing from keeping Jack and Roger from killing anyone that opposes their wants. When both are destroyed, Ralph becomes helpless and is forced to run.
In the beginning when they find the conch, it is used to bring all the scattered boys on the island together with its booming roar. The conch is used to unite the boys and also a symbol of authority. Piggy makes the rule that only the person with the conch would be able to speak during meetings, and the person who carries the conch with them is officially the leader. The conch symbolizes rules and laws at that point. However the conch slowly starts losing its power throughout the book. We know because later on in the book the novel starts saying that the conch is beginning to lose its milkyness. Rules start losing its meaning as Jack and his hooligans begin rebelling. The moment when the shell shatters is when it is absolutely clear that LAW is just a fantasy on the island.
This event made me feel sad because I really liked Piggy. Piggy was always getting picked on by the boys because of his chubbiness and glasses. I picture Piggy as a cute little plump boy with chubby cheeks and Harry Potter spectacles. However when this book described how Piggy was killed, I felt like throwing up. I didn’t want to picture my little fat boy with his brains spilt all over a rock.

Are there any current situations that relate to the novel?How do they relate?Does the novel shed any light on how current situations can be fixed?

There are still many situations in the world that are like this novel. An excellent but horrid example would be child soldiers in various parts of the world. A big area of the use of child soldiers would be Africa. Like Lord of the Flies kids, child soldiers are often taken by disgusting people who train them to kill. The people who take them and train them might as well represent the absence of guidance for the Lord of the Flies kids. The people who train the kids often brainwash the feeble minds of them by telling them that if they do what they wish, they will be able to fulfill every desire they have.
This novel gives us an idea on how to resolve these types of situations. As we can see, children do not have guidance. We MUST GIVE AND SHARE OUR KNOWLEDGE WITH THEM. The children in the world, just like the Lord of the Flies kids, don't know right from WRONG. We must, I'll say it again, MUST save these poor misguided innocent children from falling into the abyss of evil. Stupid rulers of countries choose to remain apathetic of what is going on in the world. It is their responsibility to order MASS forms of help to the areas where child soldiers are being used. It is OUR responsibility to try and reach out to the rulers and inform them of how much damage this is causing. Lord of the Flies is a very good book which indirectly can help our world.

What is the mood of this novel?Do I find this novel saddens me in anyway?Why？

The REOCCURING mood for this novel would be eerie or grim. This is so because most of the time in the book there a weird sense of evil lurking in the pages. In the beginning of the novel the mood feels care-free. As we advance a little bit towards the middle of the novel the evil creeps out as conflicts slowly emerge. As the kids develop a fear of some sort of ''beast'' on the island, the eerie mood pretty much creates a home for itself in the rest of the pages. When the pig is cut and made into the ''LORD OF THE FLIES'' that REALLY made me shiver. I could picture the savageness and demonish look in the eyes of Jack and Roger when they were doing the horrible deed. I could feel how shocking it was for Ralph when Piggy was killed. I could imagine the kids doing the satanic dance with bloodlust in their eyes.

This novel saddens me because I hate the think of kids in our community capable of behaving like the Lord of The Flies kids. William Golding had witnessed many acts of human cruelness in his life and this novel depicts that perfectly. When I was a little kid I always had guidance because my parents helped me step in the wrong direction. However I realize that many kids in this world are like the Lord of the Flies kids. War and the evil of the world leaves many kids stranded without anyone to guide them in the right direction. We hear of many kids in Africa becoming soldiers and kids being sold in sex slavery. This novel should open the eyes of the world to the Lord of the Flies situations still existing today.

What is the major theme of this novel?Why is this theme important to a teenager living in 2008?

The theme for this novel is that the human heart is extremely challenged to abide by the rules of civilization when nobody is looking. Its basically law verses utter chaos. In this book the little kids are stranded in a island with NO adult supervision whatsoever. The kids in the beginning hold onto the values and rules that grown-ups and society taught them to uphold. These simple values would be being orderly, obedient, and respectful. However as time goes on, raging rebellious demons that lives inside all human hearts, slowly being to hatch from the kids' souls. They realize there is nothing to stop them from fulfilling their inner desires. Throughout the book we see the enormous change that occurs in each character in the novel. This is especially true when we look at characters such as Jack and Roger. In the beginning they reluctantly follow the rules that Ralph has laid down. However their jealously and thirst for power ultimately obliterates the good human being inside them. This leads to the serious conflict on the island between the savages and the ones with common sense of order.

This theme is important to a teenager living in 2008 because many of us are like Jacks and Rogers. These days many messed up things are shown in the media, and those of us(teenagers) that are weak-minded will be easily influenced and will attempt the things shown in the media. A huge number of teenagers in todays society break laws and disturb the set boundaries that were created by civilization to craft order into daily life. Such examples would be buying and using drugs, disrupting the peace in schools and communities, and violent crimes. I also think that underage sex is a huge issue. People my age have the ''adolescent'' rebellious mindset and often choose to disobey authority. Reading this book can cause them to mature and realize their actions are futile because in the end what good will it do them? This book made me feel sad because people are like them.