Blog Post #12

Nov. 18th 2013
Analyze the interaction between Simon and the Lord of the Flies at the end of chapter 8.

The Lord of the Flies is a reference, as we know, to the Devil. Also, Simon has been previously described as a religious figure, the keeper of faith and hope. So this interaction is therefore a conversation between good and evil, God and the Devil. And the Devil is winning. He targets Simon's vanity and self-consciousness by calling him a silly little boy and asking him if he wants Ralph to think him batty. He also targets his fear, as he is a pig's head on a stick covered in flies. The Lord of the Flies continues the one-sided conversation by saying that he is the Beast, and it has been in Simon, in humans.
The repetition in this section cannot be missed. The Lord of the Flies uses silly little boy, and poor misguided boy multiple times throughout, and is trying to make Simon feel subservient and helpless. Golding also repeats how the Lord of the Flies is expanding; it was expanding like a balloon; it was a darkness that spread. The darkness is taking over Simon, the person most faithful and hopeful boy on the island. this speaks to its power and its dangerousness to the boys on the island and thus humans in the world.

Blog Post #11

Journal #11: Nov. 8, 2013

Free Write

So far, I have enjoyed reading Lord of the Flies. It is interesting and deep, and it is a good example of allegory and symbolism. I especially like the in-class conversations about the chapters we read. For me, it helps me understand the book, and all its complexity. Recently, though, we have been doing only the written paragraphs. I don’t like this as much, because I don’t know if I will ever find out if what I write was actually relevant at all. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the book, and am excited to see what happens to the kids on the island, because at this point, they are in political and social turmoil.

Post #10

Journal 9: Oct. 31, 2013

Select one character from chapter one and write about him in detail. Use two citations in your description. Write at least 8 sentences.

I choose Piggy. Piggy is a chubby kid with glasses. His age has yet to be directly stated, but it can be inferred that he is around the age of Ralph, which is 12. Piggy is a kind person, and he immediately tries to get to know Ralph and the other kids who show up later. This tells me that he is wise, as no one will survive the island alone, so he is trying to make ties and friends to increase his chances of survival. Piggy is also a cautious person. “Piggy took off his shoes and socks, arranged them carefully on the ledge, and tested the water with his toe” (Golding 11). I think Piggy is this way partly because both of his parents have dies, and Piggy is more aware than the others about how cruel the world is. He had to grow up earlier than most, and while Ralph is more reckless, Piggy has to stand back and measure the situation. Piggy is also a target for bullying on the island. “‘You’re talking too much,’ said Jack Merridew. ‘Shut up, Fatty’” (Golding 20). Even though Piggy is just trying to be friendly, the others are quite mean to him. Piggy knows he has to stay with this group, though, so he weathers the storm, and utilizes his tick of cleaning his glasses whenever he is embarrassed to hide his humiliation.