Thoughts and Feelings

10) Thoughts and feeling about any aspect of the book

Hubert's response

    The things I like about the book is that it is most likely from Golding's experience from World War 2. Just like World War 2, people from civilized countries come together to fight. In the book, Ralph and the boys have a similar background as they are forced to live together on an island, eventually turning most of the boys to savagery. The fights on the island can also be compared to World War 2's brutal violence which caused many deaths. The book really shows how anyone could turn violent when under pressure or when their environment has changed.
    I feel that the book has really illustrated the struggles of people who might be deserted from others. At first, everyone keeps calm and stays the way they were when they were in the city. Building a team, appointing a leader and having commands are generally normal. However, the team is separated into half after a period of time with the boys having differing mindsets. Half of the boys have the civilized manner sticking with them till the end; acting lawfully, obeying rules given out and behaving morally right. However, the other half lost their civilization and descended to savagery; using violence to get what they want, acting selfishly, not thinking about the welfare of others and ignoring rules.
    Ralph and Jack would be the ones leading these two groups. Ralph, being the appointed leader of the group, struggles to lead the group of boys, with him trying to guide them towards the idea of leaving the island, when most of the boys just want to want fun. This causes many problems such as the building of the shelters, when nobody is willing to build it after they had put in little effort. I feel that Ralph tries his best to do what he has set out to do, but has not much leadership skills and charisma, which puts him at a disadvantage when he is trying to address all the boys. Jack, on the other hand, has charisma and leadership skills. Before they appointed Ralph as the leader, Jack was already a leader of a choir group, which displays how he already has experience in commanding a large group of people. This causes the two boys to have a little tension between them, as Jack continuously disobeys Ralph's orders so as to go hunting, while Ralph is unable to do anything. I think that Jack is intentionally disobeying Ralph as he is unwilling to cooperate and admit that Ralph is a better leader, thus making his own group of boys do whatever he wants to do, as a form of rebellion. As Ralph disapproves of Jack's brutal ways of handling matters, which is using violence, he refuses to back down from his leadership. Jack however, feels that Ralph is incapable to being a leader, thus bringing his group of boys to form a separate team. This really portrays how many people always feel that whatever they do is right, and that whoever that does not agree with them is wrong.
    With this, I feel that the book shows how different people act differently in the same environment, and how they react to their stress and changes, with some of turning to their inner nature, while others stick to what they have been taught.

Thoughts and Feelings

10) Thoughts and feelings about any aspect of the book

   Xavier's response

   I really liked the Lord Of The Flies as it can portray how young innocent boys can lead to become savage animals. The book shows that anybody can change no matter who you are.

One of the aspect that I like about the book is the characters Ralph and Jack. Ralph and Jack are polar opposites from each other. Ralph represents the civilization while Jack represents savagery. Civilization represents the goodwill and the innocence of the little boys and savagery represents evil and the primal instinct that lurks in every one of us in the novel. Civilization and savagery conflicts with each other and this causes Ralph and Jack to show tension in between them in many occasions as their ideals were opposite. This will eventually lead to the splitting of the group with Ralph leading one group and Jack leading another. 

   Ralph is a boy that has a strong sense of morality, civilization and tends to maintain his dignity throughout the book but he was not perfect. Golding shows a different side of Ralph in chapter 7. Where he joins Jack and the others in a hunting session. Ralph manages to fling his spear and stuck it through the boar for a while before coming off while Jack couldn't manage to hit the boar. "Ralph was full of fright, apprehension, and pride." This shows that Ralph felt anxious and fearful as he experienced the thrill of the hunt and he was surprised that he actually felt proud to hurt something. HE knew that Jack didn't manage to 'touch' the boar while Ralph did. Ralph felt superior in a sense that he was a better hunter than Jack and he wanted to show off and "felt the need of witness". He felt he did something that cannot be unseen. This also shows that Ralph wanted the boys to respect him as a leader. Ralph was not interested in Jack's hunting and did not understand why he was so addicted to it. However now Ralph understands as he experienced his primal instinct to hunt and kill when he actually did something impressive. Ralph "felt that hunting was good after all". This shows that Ralph is submitting himself to savagery as he had a desire to use his power to grant his desires for his amusement.

   Jack is rather different from Ralph. Jack is a person who desires power and strength over people. This can be seen in his countless killing of pigs. He did this to feel strong and he was delusional. He believes that he himself can have power over everything as he has the power to kill. This shows that Jack is very savage as he takes pleasure in killing as he likes the feeling of being overpowered. However, Jack is under Ralph as Ralph is officially the chief if the boys and that makes him very irritated. He feels that if he could hunt and kill pigs when Ralph can't, what makes him have the right to order him around. Hence Jack can be seen challenging Ralph's leadership position as Jack has a hungry desire for power to overthrow Ralph. When Jack splits from the group it symbolizes that Jack breaks away from civilization, rules and morality and submit himself fully to savagery and embrace the violence and his power.

Chapter 12 Summary

9)Chapter 12 summary

    The chapter starts with Ralph hiding in the jungle injured. Ralph was very frightened and nervous of Jack and the boys. The fact that Jack and the boys had turn against Ralph by killing his only friend and ally on the island and even hurting Ralph, it shows that the boys lose all their sense of morality. The boys are also planning to find and kill Ralph. This made Ralph very frightened as the boys commit to yet another murder and they will come for him next. From his hiding place, Ralph saw Bill but did not want to admit it because of the dramatic change from his old self due to the savagery. "This was a savage whose image refused to blend with that ancient picture of a boy in shorts and shirt.". This shows that the boys are so into savagery that their image has changed. this symbolizes that the boys are not themselves any more, they adapt and change with their surroundings for survival. The author uses "ancient picture" and it shows that they were nice innocent boys once upon a time ago. Ralph stumbles upon the 'Lord of the Flies' in the form of a pig's skull. The 'Lord of the Flies' 'teeth grinned, the empty sockets seemed to hold his gaze masterfully and without effort'. This aggravates Ralph as it seems to be mocking him as it was like it was 'one who knows all the answers and won't tell'. This brings out Ralph's fear and anger causing him to hit the 'Lord of the Flies' and destroying it in the process. With this, the two most important symbols in the story, which is the conch and the 'Lord of the Flies' have been destroyed. Then, Ralph heads back to Castle Rock and finds out that the twins were now part of the tribe, guarding the Castle Rock against him.
    Ralph then tries to talk to them, which made Eric silent while Sam tries to do his duty to guard the place. Ralph finally manages to make them tell him what the tribe did to them. Sam and Eric then says 'never mind what's sense. That's gone'. This shows how the boys have no sense of morality anymore. The twins also warn him of the danger that he would be facing tomorrow, as the whole tribe would be hunting him down. Also, they then states that they would throw their spears at him 'like at a pig', which means that they would show no mercy and would hunt Ralph ruthlessly. Then, the twins heard someone coming, which made Ralph hide in a thicket near the Castle Rock, thinking that 'they'll never think to look so close'. The twins then show how they still have a little civilization and sympathy as they pushed 'a chunk of meat' to him.
    Ralph then falls asleep, and when he wakes up he hears Jack's and Roger's voice, speaking to one of the twin, forcing him to tell them where Ralph was hiding through means of torture. Ralph then 'felt the point of his spear with his thumb and grinned without amusement'. This shows how Ralph does not like to use weapons and was only forced to for his own survival, and would not hesitate to hurt others. Then, several boys started to heave and ho and pushed down a boulder to attempt to break through the dense thicket, which failed. Then, they tried to stab their spears into the thicket, once again trying to break through the thicket and hurt Ralph. However, Ralph fights back and lunges his spear 'through the crack and struck with all his might', hurting one of Jack's hunters.
    Ralph then smells smoke, and realizes that they were setting fire to the thicket. He then emerges out of the thicket and fights through the boys, 'running with the swiftness of fear through the undergrowth'. Ralph then finds out that the whole forest was burning, and that they were desperately searching for him. Then, he sees one of the boys. 'The seconds lengthened. Ralph was looking straight into the savage's eyes'. Ralph screams, 'a scream of fright and anger and desperation'.
    Ralph escapes to the beach, in which an officer stood at. The officer was there because he saw the fire that was caused by the burning of the forest. This shows irony because their first plan was also to use a fire and the smoke as a signal to show passers-by of their existence on the island. This also shows their innocence and civilized behavior. However, they managed to attract attention to the island also by using fire, but by burning the whole forest down, which only happened because they were like savages and wanted to hunt Ralph down. At first, the officer thought it was all 'fun and games', however, he finds out that it was not when Ralph informs him that two of the boys had died. He then 'whistled softly'. This shows the shock that the officer was experiencing as he did not know that the boys would be capable of killing others. Then, the story ends with the officer agreeing to bring them back to land, away from the island, and giving the boys a time to 'pull themselves together', as they weep and sobbed.

Chapter 11 Summary

8)Chapter 11 summary

    In chapter 11, its starts off with Ralph and his gang trying to start a fire, but it proves to be futile without Piggy's spectacles to start it. Then, Piggy asks Ralph to blow the conch, with which they called an assembly. Piggy holds the conch to speak and informs them that he is unable to see anymore due to not having his spectacles, and the boys then talk about how they would share the fire if Jack's tribe had just asked. This shows how Ralph still knows how to do the right thing like sharing the fire with Jack even though they are not on good terms.  Ralph and his gang then decides that they would look for Jack's tribe in order to get Piggy's spectacles back, and try to reason with them that getting rescued off the island is very important and that they are not savages. This suggests that Ralph's gang would be the civilized people who still think ahead and know what is right, while Jack's tribe would be the people who have already became savages that has lost their civilization. Thus, they started to get ready to confront Jack at Castle Rock, and agrees to bring the conch there as a symbol of authority.

     When at Castle Rock, they were stopped by Roger from entering. Ralph then blows on the conch to call on an assembly, in an attempt to remind them of the past before all the drama had happened. However, Roger ignored Ralph and started throwing stones at them, 'aiming to miss'. This act gave Roger the feeling of superiority over Ralph and his gang that was below him. Shortly after, Jack came back from his hunting and instantly asked Ralph and his gang to leave his area. Ralph however, did not want to back down and requested that they return Piggy's spectacles, stating that they would have been glad to share the fire if they had asked for it, and called Jack ' thief'. The two boys began fighting with spears, which stopped shortly after Piggy reminded Ralph why the even went to Castle Rock, which was to get the spectacles back. Ralph then tells Jack that without the fire and smoke, there would be no way to escape the island, which Jack did ignored and instead asked his tribe to 'grab' the twins, and then 'tie them'. This made Ralph's temper break and 'screamed at Jack', calling him a 'beast and a swine and a bloody, bloody thief'. At once, they started fighting again, with Jack's tribe cheering them on. When Piggy tried to speak, the boys' 'sheer cheer changed to a steady booing'. Piggy then tried to use the conch as the symbol of authority and make the other boys let him speak. This however, did not work. Piggy, trying to get the boys' attention, reminded them of what they should be like, which would be 'sensible like Ralph is'. 
     Around this time, a delirious Roger 'leaned all his weight on the leaver', releasing the huge boulder down. Ralph was able to escape, but the boulder strikes Piggy and the conch he was holding, making it explode 'into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist', and hits Piggy off the mountain and kills him. With this, everything had changed. Roger, the most violent person in the story and one of the closest to savagery, kills off Piggy, the most harmless and sensible person in the story and one of the closest to civilization. Also, the conch has been destroyed, which was one of the most symbolic item throughout the story. Right after the death of Piggy, Jack 'began screaming wildly', saying that 'there isn't a tribe for you any more! The conch is gone---'. Jack's actions shows how he has totally lost his civilization, not even feeling any remorse for killing a human life, and even using it as a threat to another.He has fallen into savagery and has no sense of guilt for his horrible actions, and used his actions as an indication that he is now the chief. Jack started throwing spears at Ralph, which was quickly repeated by his tribe. With no other option, Ralph runs from them.
    They allow Ralph to run, then directed their attention to the twins Sam and Eric. Jack start to poke spears at the twins, asking them to join his tribe. Although the twins refuse, Jack does not stop, and soon Roger joins Jack. This is a clear indication that the twins have no right to refuse, and that they had no choice or say in it.    

Chapter 10 Summary

7)Chapter 10 summary

     In chapter 10, it starts off with Ralph and Piggy meeting each other on the beach the next morning. Piggy then tells him that the only ones left on Ralph's side was himself, the little'uns and the twins Sam and Eric. Ralph felt guilty and depressed that he was involved the killing of Simon, while Piggy states that they were not part of it. This shows how both of them still have the morality and some bit of civilization in them. This also shows the point of view by the two boys, where Ralph thinks that 'that was murder' while Piggy feels that 'it was an accident'. This goes on for awhile as Piggy tries to reassure Ralph that it was not murder while Ralph thinks he was slightly involved in the murder.

    Meanwhile, Jack has a new territory at Castle Rock and had set up traps such as having a log 'jammed under the topmost rock and another lever under that' and that 'a full effort would send the rock thundering down the neck of land'. Also, it was revealed that a boy named Wilfred was tied up for no apparent reason and was about to get beaten. This shows Jack being merciless and is prepared to kill anyone that he does not approve of that tries to enter his territory, showing how Jack has no sense of civilization as compared to his old, well-behaved self. Jack then appears and told them that they would be hunting the next day. He also warned them to be careful of trespassers such as Ralph and his gang and the beast, stating that the beast 'came--- disguised' as Simon and that it was not fully dead. This shows how the Jack and the boys were not guilty about killing Simon, unlike Ralph and Piggy, and believed that it was a disguise by the beast. This also shows that they are evading reality and does not want to face up to it. Also, it was shown that Jack and his gang was planning to go to Ralph's side to steal Piggy's spectacles as it was often used to start a fire.

    That night, Ralph and his gang were still trying to keep the fire alive. They went around collecting wood until the twins complained about it being too tiring. When the twins asked 'what's the good' of the fire, Ralph could not remember. He only remembered that it was 'something overwhelmingly good'. This shows how Ralph has also forgotten what the fire and smoke was for after all that has happened on the island, and has nearly forgotten his purpose to escape the island and return home. Then, they decided that they would only light the fire in the day as it was useless in the night. 
     Just when they were getting ready to sleep, they heard a noise. They initially thought that it was the beast coming to get them, and Ralph 'prayed that the beast would prefer littleuns'. This shows how Ralph would not care about others if it meant for his own survival. It also shows how fear can actually change someone drastically, from being caring and thoughtful to a selfish and uncompassionate person.
  In truth, it was Jack, Roger and Maurice that were lurking around their camp, hoping to get Piggy's spectacles. Then, they beat Ralph and Piggy up and stole his spectacles, which Ralph did not realize until Piggy spoke up. With this, Jack and his tribe had the possession of Piggy's spectacles and the power to start a fire, giving them an advantage over Ralph and his gang.

    

Chapter 9 Summary

6)Chapter 9 summary

     In chapter 9, it starts off with Simon waking up with his nose bleeding. When Simon continued looking around, it was then when he found the 'beast', which was the body of the dead parachutist. He examined the body and understood why the other boys thought that it was a beast, as there many 'flies had found the figure too' and that 'the life-like movement would scare them off for a moment so that they made a dark cloud round the head'. This shows how Simon is not afraid anymore after encountering the 'Lord of the Flies' and realizing that the 'beast' does not actually exist, and it was really the product of their fear.Then, Simon headed back to the boys to inform them that the beast was not real.
     Meanwhile, Jack was throwing a feast serving meat to everyone, when it only a distraction and was meant to tempt people to join his tribe, offering them food if they do. Most of the boys accept the invitation, despite Ralph's attempts to stop them, such as trying to 'blow the conch' and 'calling an assembly'. Jack retorted that 'we shan't hear it', showing that Ralph has lost most of his power as a leader and that the conch bears no more significance to the boys.
    It was then that it started to rain, and Jack with no shelter, suggested his tribe to 'do our dance'. Then, 'a thing was crawling out of the forest'. In the heat of the moment, the boys thought that the 'thing' was the beast, and immediately went to kill it. However, the beast was actually Simon, and because the 'blue-white scar was constant' and the 'noise was unendurable', they were not able to hear Simon even though 'Simon was crying out something about a dead man on a hill'. This shows that the boys had succumbed to their fear and did not bother to check whether it was really a beast or a human as their survival instincts kicked in. This also means that they would kill anything as long as it frightened them and threatened their safety. The boys proceeded to tear Simon apart with their 'teeth and claws'. With this act, it shows how the last bit of civilization that the boys had left was gone and that brutality and savagery took over, with their animalistic instincts kicking in, causing Simon's death.
    The dead parachutist was then blown to the beach by the strong wind, scaring all the boys away. Simon's body was then washed away by the strong current of the waves backwash.
    

Chapter 8 Summary

5) Chapter 8 summary

    In chapter 8, it starts off with Piggy Ralph whether the beast actually really exists, which Ralph confirms. The boys also decide that the fire is not a good idea as it may attract the beast, to which they say that they have been beaten by the beast. Ralph then unknowingly insults Jack and hunters saying that they are just 'boys armed with sticks'. This led to Jack calling an assembly out of anger. Then, the boys had a speculation on how the beast come about when Jack stops them. Jack then insults Ralph calling him a coward and said that Ralph had said that his 'hunters are no good' , which Ralph had never said. This shows Jack being really immature and is unable to handle criticisms from another person, which means that he thinks that his hunters are superior and that they are the best of the best.  Jack then tried to overthrow Ralph and take over the leadership position but no one sided with him. Jack then decides to split up with the group as he did not want to be 'part of Ralph's lot', and invited those who wanted to hunt to come with him. This shows Jack's revolution and how Jack feels about Ralph. Also, this shows how Jack represents savagery while Ralph represents the civilized. Ralph lives peacefully, free from all the violence such as hunting and mostly doing the stuff that would help them survive such as building of the huts, while Jack acts violently to gain superiority above others, not stopping at anything e.g. hitting piggy in the stomach even though Piggy was right. Many of the choir members sneaked away from Ralph's group and joined Jack in his tribe, showing that most of the choir has also fallen into savagery like Jack.

     Meanwhile, Jack was far away from the beach and had appointed himself as the leader of a small group of boys. He then told the boys that he would be prioritizing hunting over the beast and would throw a feast to draw in more of the older boys to join his group, and leaving the pig's head as an offering to the beast. This shows that Jack and his group of boys all think the same way, and does not really think about how they want to escape the island, unlike Ralph who prioritizes escaping of the island and surviving even at this point of time. Simon, who was with Ralph's group, decided to slip away from the beach to return to the place he was previously at to admire the environment around him and get away from all the commotion that was happening. This shows how Simon does not really like conflict and would rather enjoy the peace that the nature provides. It was then that he found the pig's head that Jack and his group and placed. During the moment that Simon had sneaked away, Jack and his group went to the Ralph's area to steal the wood from them, after which they ran away. This act by Jack and his group shows how they do not like to work for what they want and would rather take the easy way out by stealing from other people, which shows immaturity.

     Meanwhile, Simon was talking to the pig's head, the 'Lord of the Flies', states that it was 'fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill' and that it was part of the boys. It was then that Simon had discovered that the beast does not actually exist and it was the fear that was in everyone. Then, Simon faints.