LOTF Take 2: Chapters 7-9
Let’s do it again! (See below if you need to see instructions again….) Remember, you need to get your blogging done in enough time that people can comment on what you say BEFORE our Tuesday class….don’t procrastinate!
Ms. Duyvejonck’s WebPage
Updates on What’s Going On
February 5th, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Ok, so I think that Jack has gone completely bonkers. First, he tries to out Ralph in front of the tribe, until the tribe votes that Ralph is still the leader. Embarrassed, he walks out and has his own little tribe. They kill yet another pig, sodomized it, and place it’s head on a stick as a sacrifice to the “beast.” He has started bizarre rituals and a, yes, cult.
February 5th, 2010 at 10:43 pm
So, yeah, ignore the grammar errors. Here’s what I’m trying to ask: What actions from Jack’s cult have disturbed you?
February 6th, 2010 at 2:30 pm
I Agree with Miki… I think Jack has gone crazy and it seems like he is going to do anything to get his way. What does he think he’s going to accomplish other than making things worse? And after they feast when they start going crazy, reinacting how they kill pigs i can’t believe how far they go with it. I just can’t believe what happens to Simon. That is so horrible and now they will never know that there isn’t a real beast because Simon isn’t there to tell them anymore the truth about everything.
February 7th, 2010 at 2:48 pm
I really think this whole Jack thing plays part in the human nature theme…we have seen his mental and moral decline through out the beginning chapters and now he is in my opinion to the point of no return.I think Jack is going to influenece and draw others into his “tribe” and turn on those who do not join.
February 7th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
I think in Chapter 7 the author ( I don’t remember his name…) shows that no matter who you are, you can get caught up in the idea of blood and savagery. Even Ralph, who before was sooooooo dedicated to the signal fire and being rescued, goes crazy when he finally goes on the hunt. And then, Oh My Gosh! Poor Robert!!!! What the crap were they thinking!!! For some reason, that part seemed a little far-fetched for me. I mean, even if you are going crazy, you can still see that a human is a human and NOT a pig…There are quite a few differences. For one, I expect Robert was shouting “Stop you flipping idiots! That hurts!” which, with my experience with pigs, I have never heard one be able to speak. Of course, I don’t live on a farm so maybe there is further knowledge that I am not aware of. Danielle you can enlighten me later…So i’ve realized so far that I have pretty much rambled and haven’t really asked any questions…hmmmmmm Okay, here’s one!I understand that Ralph had to go up the mountain at night to prove he wasn’t a coward leading to them STILL thinking that the dead parachute guy was the beast but why would they think the beast would be in the EXACT same spot they saw it last time…I mean if I was a beast, I’d lurk around and rule the whole island. I wouldn’t stay in one spot! Maybe the boys are just to insane to be suspicious but whatever. That’s all i got for now.
February 7th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
my question is now that “the Lord of the Flies” has been named as the pig head, what do you think the beast actually is? bc when the pig head talks to Simon, it says that it’s the beast…so is the beast death, sin, savagery, human nature?
also, does simon get killed by the tribe? i was really confused. all of a sudden he comes down the hill to tell the boys about the beast and the next minute the boys are chanting & then he’s dead? yea i didn’t get it.
February 7th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
@ Kelsey - I agree on the whole “Let’s attack Robert” rant. Honestly…These boys havn’t been on this island THAT long. That whole section makes it sound like the boys are litterally insane. These boys are young, but I don’t think I ever let my imagination run that wild when I was twelve. At what point did they just “happen” to forget that they weren’t actually attacking a pig?
Absolutely insane…
…anyone else wanna chime in on this part?
February 7th, 2010 at 4:55 pm
@ Cristina - Page 153 “The beast/[Simon] stuggled forward, broke the ring and fell over the steep edge of the rock to the sand by the water. At once the crowd[Jack's Tribe] surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws.”
Yeah, they kill Simon…
Pretty sick…
February 7th, 2010 at 5:58 pm
I agree with Kelsey what the heck is up with Robert it doesn’t even seem like he is an important character and what is with all the boys acting out their kill of the pig I find it disturbing. Also, why did they kill Simon and why do they think that he is the beast or whatever they are stupid they should be able to understand what they are doing.
February 7th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
Ok I just finished the other chapters and I’m pretty sure Mr. Author was on something when he wrote them. In the slim chance that he was actually sane when he wrote them, then maybe he was trying to symbolize some things. Obviously the pig’s head on a stick was a symbol like Cristina said and I’m pretty sure it stands for the devil or evil. I actually talked to my brother about this part and he said that in one of his lit classes they talked about Simon being a symbol for Jesus and the pig’s head was like the devil talking to Him in the desert. Simon also, in a way, gets sacrificed. There are some differences though, like how Simon didn’t get to “spread his word” about the beast and how Simon’s death only fueled the evil unlike Jesus’. Are there any other symbols in these chapters that I’m missing?
February 7th, 2010 at 8:18 pm
@ Kelsey- it is true, pigs don’t talk. (unless you count Piglet from Winnie the Pooh)
February 7th, 2010 at 8:21 pm
So that part where the pig head was talking to Simon was really creepy, but what i don’t understand is why Simon was hallucinating it in the first place. Pig heads do not talk, especially if they are seperated from their body. Was Simon on drugs or was it something he ate? Any ideas?
February 7th, 2010 at 8:26 pm
At the end of chapter 9 (before Simon is killed), i think it’s funny how Jack and Ralph are arguing. They sound like five year olds. They have both regressed into more primitive beings with less higher thought and almost no ability to think logically. They are both stubborn. Without compromise or a convenient plot twist, all the boys will die; I for one don’t car about any of the characters, so bring on the consequences.
February 7th, 2010 at 8:56 pm
So finally in chapter 8 we hear the name of the book “Lord of the Flies” and he’s talking to Simon. Simon was suffering I believe from dehydration and he started to hallucinate that the pig head was talking to him. The pig came off as the beast. What major role is the beast? Will he play a major part in the rest of the book?
Before this though William Golding gave a big descriptions about how the hunters track and kill the pig. Through those pages I was disgusted by it and I thought it was weird to read. One of the reasons though my book was torn and some words were missing but, it was gruesome. The way they killed it was like a wild beast. They themselves has turned into beasts.
What do you all think will be the coming reactions from everyone when they find out that they didn’t kill the beast they killed Simon?
February 7th, 2010 at 9:23 pm
Miki-I agree. Jack has absolutely lost his mind. All he wants is his way or the highway.
Erika-He isn’t going to accomplish anything. Things are only going to get worse and i think that he is to blame. I also agree about Simon. Its sad that it happens in the first place and then knowing that they won’t know about the beast now, its frustrating.
Kayla- The beasts major role is to represent the boys fear for not being
rescued by making someone or something else seem to be the cause for
their fear. I think the beast will play a major part in the rest of the book.
February 7th, 2010 at 10:44 pm
Danielle- I think Simon was just starting to go crazy because he is on the island, however he is dead now so I guess it will not matter.
I feel like this book is kind of going nowhere because everyone is just going crazy yet nothing really important is being said.
Kelsey Kay- I agree with you on the author being on something when he wrote this haha. It really was interesting what you said about Simon symbolizing Jesus though. I did not really think of that until now.
February 7th, 2010 at 10:54 pm
Oh!
And I really did not understand the parachute guy. They mentioned him very little before Simon was killed. How they can mistake Simon for a beast is beyond me. However, I agree with Cristina in the fact that it is SICK! How can they really do that and have these hunting rituals?
February 7th, 2010 at 11:05 pm
I can’t believe what they did to Robert! I mean come on…I know that boys tend to get carried away when playing games but seriously that’s just down right ridiculous
I am just glad that they stopped before they like killed him
@ Danielle
)
Ummm…so Babe and Gordy and Wilbur totally talked! I know my pigs alright and I know that they talked. But yes REAL pigs do not talk ( at least not in english
February 7th, 2010 at 11:12 pm
so I know that this shouldn’t make me laugh and I’m not laughing in a haha this is so funny way. I’m laughing in a I can’t believe that Jack is such an idiot kind of way. forming his own tribe….pulease he is such a loser. and I totally agree with the him losing his marbles idea that we have going on here.
February 7th, 2010 at 11:13 pm
Other topic: What symbols in this book are political, psychological, or religious? Ex: Jack becoming savage= civilization being overcome by power and domination is a political symbol (to me anyway). It sounds like a dictatorship.
February 7th, 2010 at 11:23 pm
I feel that there’s too much symbolism in this book. Do you really think Golding meant for about a quarter of these symbols?
@ Kelsey On the topic of Golding’s maybe substance abuse or psychological damage- All I know is that he was probably inspired by his job as a schoolteacher and his involvement with launching rockets during the D-Day invasion. PTSD?
February 7th, 2010 at 11:27 pm
Okay last post of the night for me…my mother keeps distracting me and I lose my train of thought.
First of all I find it very creepy that Simon thought that the pig’s head was talking to him ( I believe Kelsey said something bout that) but I find that it was an omen/foreshadowing of things yet to come (aka what happens in chapter 9).
Then the boys kill him and I’m just like what the heck??? First they almost kill Robert and now they murder ( and that’s exactly what it was) Simon!! How can you be that caught up in the excitement to not realized that you are killing your friend?? Brainwashed the lot of them I tell you.
@ Cristina
I think that the beast is really Human Nature. Think about it…the pig’s head said that he was going to have some fun with Simon and then Simon goes up the hill and finds out that the beast is only a dead guy in a parachute and when he comes back down the hill to tell them, he gets killed, and not too pleasantly might I add. Maybe I am wrong but to me it seems like the pig’s head was trying to explain that humans are just simply animals and that even though we are more sophisticated, we are still wild animals that sometimes don’t think before we act. Again I could be totally wrong…
February 7th, 2010 at 11:33 pm
I know that I said the last one was it for the night but this whole death of Simon thing has me totally ticked off.
@Danielle
I honestly think that the author put that in there so that we would have a bit of foreshadowing. Cuz unless Simon was sniffin glue, snortin coke, or smokin the grass why on earth would he hallucinate that a pig’s head was talking to him?? This author is totally wierd you know…..agree with Kelsey that good ole’ William was higher than a kite when he wrote this book.
February 7th, 2010 at 11:36 pm
@ Miki
Love the symbolism thing you thought of!! Speaking of Golding being influenced by his era….what kinda drugs were popular at that time??? I am so getting to the bottom of this!!!
February 7th, 2010 at 11:40 pm
Kelsey you ahve a point about Simon not being able to spread his word about the beast but at the end of the chapter the parachute guy falls down onto the beach, scaring the kids. So maybe in a way the word will get spread after all. And I guess I don’t know if the pig’s head was sybolising evil…maybe it was symbolising the truth that human’s are afraid to face?? just a thought. and now I think that I am done cuz I am very tired!!
February 7th, 2010 at 11:52 pm
Danielle- I think Simon is hallucinating the talking pig head because he has lost his mind. I agree with the other boys who said he was batty because he was. There is a possibility that it is the friut, they have no idea what they are eating.
Are the boys even going to know that they killed Simon? They are all mad, and his body was carried out to open sea?
February 8th, 2010 at 9:30 am
This book continues to get weirder and weirder. i feel that this section is foreshadowing the soon collapse of life on the island as they have been living it. Everyone is going out of their minds and it’s starting to get creepy and gross. i honestly don’t even know what question to post on here because my head is swarming with them! but since most people have covered the top ???s i will go with this… why would anyone in their right mind decide to be a member of jacks tribe? honestly if they were thinking clearly they should follow piggy because Ralph is a basket full of crazy too.
February 8th, 2010 at 9:36 am
@ Jennifer. i honestly think that once they actually realize they killed Simon they’re really not going to care. they are all wayy past sensible now and i feel it didn’t affect them at all to kill a fellow human. it seriously sickens me but i mean look at the beginning of the book when that mulberry colored birthmark boy disappeared and probably died… they didnt really care then so they’re sure as heck not gonna care now.
February 8th, 2010 at 9:55 am
Jack says, “I’m not going to play anymore.” Then runs off. Has this all been a game to him til that point? What did he think was going to happen when he tried to overthrow Ralph??
February 8th, 2010 at 10:18 am
What parts of these chapters indicate foreshadowing? I think there are many signs throughout the book that Jack will go absolutely crazy, but do you think this is as far as he will go? Why do you think Jack has done all of these things? What is different about him from the beginning of the book? He seems to be getting crazier as the story goes on..he went from not being able to kill a pig to killing it excitedly and then sodomizing it. On top of that, he now is the leader since he has more followers, which is scary. What do you see happening in the next few chapters?
February 8th, 2010 at 10:55 am
I was very disturbed by Jack’s actions and the action of his group that has become like a cult. Jack is espicually loosing his touch with reality and becomming more savage like with every day that passes. It was absolutly rediculoius how they murdered poor Simon, i do find it ironic that they mistaked him for the “beastie” when he was trying to prove that there was no monster on the island. Does anyone else find that jack is loosing touch with reality more and more? i dont think that the book is going to end well espicually with the recient events that have occured.
February 8th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
i honestly think that this whole thing is turning into a dictatorship/cult or whatever you want to call it because now that Jack is in control all the little ones are going to follow him because he keeps persuading them on with all the hunting and he is making them believe he is the better leader, when really none of them are in the right mind.
@ Jen, i think that Piggy and Raulph with notice that Simon is gone. idk if they were part of the group that killed him, cuz that part confused me a little, but i have a feeling that when Piggy mentions it hes going to get overpowered by the cult & i just know somethin bad is going to happen to him.
February 8th, 2010 at 2:13 pm
I think that Jack does think this is some sort of game. They act out the killing of a pig on Robert & they geT WAY to carried away with thier game of make-believe. Also, with the whole i have to be leader thing, Jack just wants the feel of everyone listening to him. He feels more popular that way, and dosent understand this isnt some game. The children need to be lead in the right direction towards civilization, not acting savage-like! The leading of Jack is just going to end with all of them corrupted or dead.
February 8th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
I didnt like this section…..too sad! I dont really get why the book is named Lord of the Flies or why Simon even called him that? &why would they kill him? Anyway, I think the book needs a different title because that one is…well…..a little stupid. in my opinion anyway.
February 8th, 2010 at 2:48 pm
&& Ms. D, i dont think he meant “play anymore” as in the sense of ohhh we’re kids we play hopscotch and tic-tac-toe, i think he meant that he wasn’t going to play the power struggle this with Ralph anymore.
February 8th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
I agree with Miki. Jack and his followers are showing signs of definitely being a cult. I’m still wondering whats to come though for Jack. What will he think when he finds out that he killed Simon not the beast?
I’m a bad person and I kinda read a little of the back page so I knew Simon was going to die but it said nothing about Jack so I wonder? What happens to Jack? At this point I don’t care but I really want to know his reaction to killing a human being and not a pig. Will he feel anything or will he change drastically?
February 8th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
I agree with Miki enough with the symbols it seems like in some parts maybe we read too much into them but then again maybe he did mean for them all and wanted his readers to sit here like us and figure them out. I don’t like him for that if it’s true haha. I also find it very disturbing that they killed, out of all the pigs, the sow because if they were smart they would have gone for a different one because now what are all the piglets going to do and they could have had more food later on because its most likely that they won’t get rescued.
Ms. D: I think that this has been a game for Jack all along because obviously he is the devil of the group and wants all the other boys to join him and forget about the fact that they need to work on getting rescued and just have fun which will be the death of them because sooner or later it will catch up to them.
February 8th, 2010 at 6:30 pm
I agree with Dalinda. This had been a game to Jack. To him it’s a power struggle. Has he won though? I am not sure. I can see him becoming a tyrrant.
I feel bad for Ralph. I think he is completely right about the whole fire being the most important thing. If I were him I would try to sneak off of the only with his group is a ship actually comes and not let Jack and his follwers know that. They double crossed him so he owes them nothing.
February 8th, 2010 at 7:38 pm
Adding on to Jen and Dalinda i really think also that this had been a game to Jack. For awhile now i have seen how tense it has been between Jack and some of the other boys. He is trying to prove a point… he wants to be top dog and he showed he was going to stop at nothing to do it. Unfortunately, he got some boys to follow him. Do i think that Jack has won? No i do not think he has won at all.
Matt- I’l have to agree i think that he stuff Jack and his little so called tribe does now is a little disturbing…. and i was a little grossed during the passage about killing the pig. I mean come on we get the fact that they killed a pig why do some of the stuff they did? and why explain it? eww
Also i remember reading some one talking about how it was weird when Simon thought the Pig head was talking to him… because that was weird. I guess if your on a island that long you start to go a little bonkers… but my main concern is in reading the rest of this book is too se what happens bewteen the boys like i already feel like they wont be saved so i’m just excited to see more drama thats going to go down between the boy. Especially when the boys realize that Simon is gone…. Also i’m still waiting for Piggy to do something crazy haha
February 8th, 2010 at 8:24 pm
Soo….these chapters were depressing…
A lot of our predictions came true, Pig Cult (One point for Danielle), division of the group, and loss of “morals”(the killing of Simon and nearly Robert)…
I finished reading the pig killing part right before dinner NOT a good idea ><…
Sooo anyways my questions about this section are: Was Simon a symbol for something? If so what do you think he symbolized? Do you think Piggy and Ralph will join the Pig Cult? and Is the Lord Of the Flies going to kill them all or will they survive?
February 8th, 2010 at 9:07 pm
oh Jenn I love the whole it’s in the fruit idea….I personally think that our English class should rewrite this book and throw in our ideas…it would be much more interesting and it might even make sense….
February 8th, 2010 at 9:10 pm
@ Hannah- Simon calls the pig head the lord of the flies because it is nasty and decaying and there are a bunch of flies swarming around it
Maybe all the boys got food poisoning from the half cooked pig and weird fruit they eat which caused them to think Simon was a beast. Or they are just bloodthirsty idiots. You never know.
February 8th, 2010 at 9:10 pm
@ Danielle
the pig in Mary Poppins not only talked but sang as well
@Ms. D.
I think that Jack thought everything was gonna be just peachy keen when he tried to overthrow Ralph. He probably thought that Ralph would just step down from the ‘throne’ and let batty Jack have control of everything.
February 8th, 2010 at 9:18 pm
So I just want to point out that pretty much all of us thought that something would happen to Piggy (like they would kill him or he would meet with death over breakfast or something like that). But look at who was first (well technically second if you include the birthmark boy who disappeared)….Simon, a main character (kinda) was the first to be “voted off the island”. Do we still think that something is going to happen to Piggy and if so, what? Maybe the foreshadowing that was going on with Piggy didn’t mean that he would die…..just curious as to what everyone thinks.
So far we are a little over 30 left to meet the last blogging record. =O
February 8th, 2010 at 9:19 pm
So I just want to point out that pretty much all of us thought that something would happen to Piggy (like they would kill him or he would meet with death over breakfast or something like that). But look at who was first (well technically second if you include the birthmark boy who disappeared)….Simon, a main character (kinda) was the first to be “voted off the island”. Do we still think that something is going to happen to Piggy and if so, what? Maybe the foreshadowing that was going on with Piggy didn’t mean that he would die…..just curious as to what everyone thinks.
So far we are a little over 30 left to meet the last blogging record. :O
February 8th, 2010 at 9:20 pm
So I just want to point out that pretty much all of us thought that something would happen to Piggy (like they would kill him or he would meet with death over breakfast or something like that). But look at who was first (well technically second if you include the birthmark boy who disappeared)….Simon, a main character (kinda) was the first to be “voted off the island”. Do we still think that something is going to happen to Piggy and if so, what? Maybe the foreshadowing that was going on with Piggy didn’t mean that he would die…..just curious as to what everyone thinks.
So far we are a little over 30 left to meet the last blogging record.
February 8th, 2010 at 9:21 pm
ok I have no idea why there are 3 of the last blog that i wrote…..weird
February 8th, 2010 at 9:45 pm
Miki- I totally agree with you! He threw Ralph under the bus! This shows what a good friend he is. Ralph goes along trying to do what he can and Jack just has to try to ruin it because he is totally JEALOUS!!!!!! Get over it Jack! Nobody likes you and I bet Ralph is way cooler anyway. Jack’s forming of another “tribe” is just embarrassing. People are always going to revert back to the person that is truely good and helpful, so jack is screwed.
February 8th, 2010 at 9:50 pm
Simon…Poor Simon. He ended up losing his mind after all, and his life.
Cristina- Agreed. Killing Simon because they thought he was a beast was sick and ridiculous. I kinda think the title Lord of The Flies was meant to symblize how flies are attracted to dead carcass and such…which would make Simon….Lord of The Flies
February 8th, 2010 at 9:56 pm
I totally thought they were going to murder Robert. Something inside is triggered when they start hunting and it makes them crazy and want to murder everything.
Kayla- I think that Ralph will go crazy and become super depressed because they killed Simon and I think Jack will just think of it as not a big deal. I think that the boys would care about murdering Simon more if they had actually been a very close group and cared for each other.
Brittany(your #16 comment)- It does seem like the book is going nowhere because no one will really take charge and enforce some rules.
Why didn’t anyone see the parachute guy before he fell onto the beach?
February 8th, 2010 at 9:59 pm
Becky’s comment about Ms. Ds post- I don’t think Jack ever thought about actually ending the life of whatever he was killing. It kind of was a game to him because he did it for fun and he did it to get good at being a hunter. He did not hunt the pigs just so the boys would have something to eat he did it because he was obsessed with winning the “game”
February 8th, 2010 at 10:01 pm
Miki- Pretty much all of Jack’s pig cult actions have thoroughly disturbed me…and somehow i always seem to read them right before a meal…William Golding has a personal vendetta against my appetite ><
Miki- If Golding did not intend for these symbols then this is just a random story about a bunch of wild kids becoming cannibals…though i have suspected the same, I’d like to still believe that there is more to this story =]
Ms. D.- I concur with a number of the others, I think that Jack was saying that he wasnt going to toy power around with Ralph anymore.
February 8th, 2010 at 10:19 pm
I personally think that Simon now has the most insite in the group because whether he was halusinating or not he still sees what the other boys are missing. He sees that power is the root of all evil…well one of the roots. Whether it is a pig head or a boy (Jerk…I mean Jack), Simon notices that things are beginning to get out of hand. Is this because he is already in touch with nature before he gets to the island? I don’t know. just want to throw out there that I find it hilarious every time somebody in the book does something completely barbaric, because they are from England, where everyone is from blue blood, and if you did not have a title passed down to yo from you great great great great great great grand FATHER, you were of no conciquence.
It makes me smile when I picture British aloof-ness (it’s the red blood in me)…also if they are blue blooded and Americans are red blooded, how come they are the ones with the red coats? jw 
February 8th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
Hailey-
I agree with the fact that in the end they will all go back to Ralph. I hope that is what happens seeing as he is the only one who seems to be level-headed. Piggy also seems quite (unusually) content, and not really scared. It kind of makes me worried about Jack though. I am pretty sure he is going INSANE!!!!!!
February 8th, 2010 at 10:26 pm
becky-
I did not think of all those names. Wow I am random, sorry 
haha You know your talking pigs well
February 8th, 2010 at 10:30 pm
Mariel- that thing inside them that is triggered when they start hunting… well it’s called crazy-pants syndrome. I looked it up. seriously, look up crazy-pants syndrome on wikipedia… It’s on there. fer sure.
Kayla- I think they killed Simon because they realized that he had potential to be stark-raving mad. Seriously, think about it. Quiet, skinny kid. Infamous (V) for fainting. Talks to pig-on-a-stick. Plus, he likes to go hideoff in the bushes when nobody is looking. I know this is kind of callous, but I just thinkthe author didn’t give me as the reader, enough time to become emotionally attachd o Simon for me to actually mourn his death. Which, maybe he did this on purpose. We barely know more than the other kids on the island. Mybe it’s easier to kill someone if you don’t know them. Maybe it’s easier to go crazy if you don’t have an image from your previous life to uphold. Yeah, there are the choir boys, but they are crazy together. They are on the same side. Simon was standing up for what he believed in, and paid the price. “Simon, you are the weakest link. Good bye.”
February 8th, 2010 at 11:07 pm
When the boys place the severed pigs head on the stake, I think this finally shows us how savage the boys have become. The boys went to a boarding school which probably means they were exposed to Christianity of some kind. When the boys give the offering to “the beast” I feel that it shows just how desperate and barbaric. The boys abandon their faith, the only thing they can truly rely on. It is the final straw that broke the camels back, aka the moral characters of the group, which can be seen with the ruthless murder of Simon. I went out on a limb there with the whole religion deal…take it or leave it.
February 8th, 2010 at 11:11 pm
Wow, sorry for the proof reading fail!
February 8th, 2010 at 11:47 pm
Becky- At first i thought that Piggy was going to finally do something bold and daring to stick up for himself but that never happened. So then I expected him to be the first to die on the island but that also was not the case. However, I do not believe that Piggy is going to get killed off the island.
Cody-I agree with the thought that the boys have become desperate and barbaric. I like that you talked about their morals. We argued a lot in class about what true morals were and good and bad morals. So what is your take on this situation? Do you think they had good morals with killing Simon?
February 8th, 2010 at 11:51 pm
danielle…i think i’m going to wake my parents up with how loud i laughed after i read your comment..too funny.
& kelsey, nice touch calling william golding mr. author. lol
i find it kinda funny that everyone is basically saying how noble ralph is & how everyone will eventually flock back to him bc he’s really not that great of a leader. well here are the choices: insane power-hungry 12-yr old who has a strange obsession of hunting pigs or a jealous 12-yr-old who can’t seem to take charge & is busier trying to maintain his power than actually doing something beneficial. my conclusion- they are screwed.
what bothers me about this book is that whenever something seemingly important happens, golding makes it extremely hard to actually understand what happened by making run-on/incomplete sentences & it’s getting aggravating. it’s almost like he’s compensating for the fact that he didn’t really know how to describe in writing what he wanted to happen. but this usually happens to me when i read a book for the first time. sometimes it takes two reads to actually like it.
February 8th, 2010 at 11:54 pm
nichole- i was confused by your comment bc u said simon stood up for what he believed in & therefore he was the weakest link? wouldn’t that make him the strongest? too much confusion…blah.
February 9th, 2010 at 12:03 am
wow these chapters were….wierd and like everyone else said sad and depressing. since the beginning of the book i haven’t like jack or ralph because i thought that they were incapable leaders which is obviously true now. jack has gone crazy and ralph cant even think for himself. piggy for some odd reason still has respect for ralph when in my personal opinion i think ralph is an idiot.
haha okay so this is a random thought but when ralph’s tribe first created the fire on the beach and the lil un’s started cheering and dancing around it it totally made me think of cast away when tom hanks dances around the fire that he managed to start and kept on saying “i…have created fire!!!!!!” it just made me laugh.
and maybe i didnt read it carefully enough but did anyone else find all of the parts about simon to be kind of hard to follow? i got the basic picture but when he started talking to the pig head thing and saw the dead parachuter i got a little confused….
February 9th, 2010 at 12:14 am
mariel- i get what youre saying about jack obsessing over winning “the game” but also dont think that he was always so obsessed about it @ least in the beginning. i think that what triggered his obsession was that first time when he had the pig in his hand and didnt have the courage to follow through with the kill. ralph who had just been named their chief or whatever was like um hello??? why didnt you kill it??? i think that ralphs dissaproval/disappointment over jacks weakness @ the time is what made him obsess over killing things…just my opinion though…
alright so im totally going to bed now haha hopefully we wont see each other tomorrow (fingers crossed for a snow day!)…
sorry i probably just jinxed it hahaha whoops
gnite to anyone who waited til the last possible second to blog:)
February 9th, 2010 at 7:54 am
I totally agree with brittany about how the book goes nowhere and that everyone is just going crazy lol but I think that the craziest one of them all is baby hitler jack.im pretty sure his mental decline was the fastest and the most clear of them all.
February 9th, 2010 at 10:52 am
Well…I’m thinking Cristina, Rachel, Cody, Nicole and Brittany were PRETTY sure last night that we weren’t gonna have school today. LOL.
February 9th, 2010 at 11:42 am
Yea rachel..I was one to wait til last minute but its because of my computer! I got sick of trying to make it work so I’m on my phne now! Its probably going to show up way later in the day…but whatever.
Anyway…so I totally agree with kelsey on simon kind of being a religious figure in the way that he couldn’t spread the word that the beast is within them. And I think the “beast” within them does symblize the devil. Its making the boys think whatever they do is guna be right…including killing the beast that night which ended up being simon! Poor guy!
February 9th, 2010 at 11:50 am
Oh and I forgot to say that I think the boys are so messed up in the head by this point, I don’t think they’re even going to care that they killed simon! In fact without adults being there they won’t care. They said it in the begining…without adults they can do whatever they want to do…I guess that includes murder!? Wow…and I don’t know about anyone else, but I found it really weird that piggy was in on the whole dancing and then killing simon! I thought he was going to be the smart lne on the island. But I guess it just goes to show that the devil or beast can get to anyone..
February 9th, 2010 at 11:51 am
Oh and I forgot to say that I think the boys are so messed up in the head by this point, I don’t think they’re even going to care that they killed simon! In fact without adults being there they won’t care. They said it in the beginning…without adults they can do whatever they want to do…I guess that includes murder!? Wow…and I don’t know about anyone else, but I found it really weird that piggy was in on the whole dancing and then killing simon! I thought he was going to be the smart one on the island. But I guess it just goes to show that the devil or beast can get to anyone..
February 9th, 2010 at 11:55 am
Oh and I think the boys are so messed up in the head by this point, I don’t think they’re even going to care that they killed simon! In fact without adults being there they won’t care. They said it in the beginning…without adults they can do whatever they want to do…I guess that includes murder!? Wow…and I don’t know about anyone else, but I found it really weird that piggy was in on the whole dancing and then killing simon! I thought he was going to be the smart one on the island. But I guess it just goes to show that the devil or beast can get to anyone..
February 9th, 2010 at 12:04 pm
Nichole- I never thought about that…that we never got attached to simon so we can’t be that sad for him. I think we got more attached to him that we did or will most of the other boys though…so if it was that easy to kill simon then I feel there are going to be more murders. Especially if they get the crazy pants syndrome everytime they hunt!! I mean look how close they were to murdering robert earlier!!
February 9th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
I thimk that Simon slightly represents a sacraficial figure…. Slightly like Jesus. If you think aout it… they both die right after finding out major truths about humanit… the both die pretty sacraficial deaths… but jesus dies after he tells of what he knows and Simon didnt even get a chance to tell the others that the beast is really only alive inside of them. Maybe im crazy… IDK..
February 9th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
And to what Sam said… I totally agree/// The fact that Piggy joined in on the dance and the killing of Simon showsa that the beast is inside of everyone and if you are not strong enough it will get to you and overtake your humanity.
February 9th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
Ok…It’s pretty sad when you’re sitting your house on a snow day with a trillion and one other things I could be doing but the first thought in my head is “You know, I think I’ll go blog some more about Lord of the Flies”… yes I am that lame…
and then the rest of us would fall in to support each other the best we could. That’s were the boys messed up. They were screwed from the very beginning when they elected stupid Ralph just because he had the stupid shell. But of course they didn’t know then that Ralph wasn’t a fit leader. In our classes case, we would have already known everyone’s potential to lead. The boys were strangers therefore lost and confused so they appointed the first person that looked good. I mean who know! Maybe if they would have elected Jim or Carl, they would have been okay…we will never know…and I’m tired of typing…
Now I was thinking last night “What if we hypothetically put our Advanced English class on this same island” I thought maybe that would help with the whole “how the heck did the boys get this crazy??!?” question. Now I know this violates our NO GIRLS ON THE ISLAND rule but I think it’s crucial to think about. I think we would have more Ralphs and Simons in our group than anyone else so maybe we wouldn’t be as bad as the boys. I can think of someone who may have been a Jack but unfortunately, he is not with us anymore (Danielle, Kate, and Miki yes I AM referring to who we talked about in Peoria). But anyway, the point I’m trying to make is When we examine these characters, there is a crucial character missing. In most books there is a villain (JACK!!!!!) but there is also a hero(???). I don’t think either Simon or Ralph or even Piggy could fill those shoes. They all have major flaws that keep them from saving the day. In our English classes sake, I think we would all fall into specific roles and we would know our duty…I;m pretty sure Hannah would be out leader since she’s had the most years of experiance
February 9th, 2010 at 7:08 pm
Kelsey you make a good point. However, and you touched on this a little, we already know the people in our English class. Therefore the situation wouldn’t really be the same. Not to mention the fact that we are all older than any of these boys. Many differences, but the point is still the same and I think you may have brought to attention a very important piece to this puzzle