Blog Post #1: Golding’s whole point in Lord of the Flies is to examine the nature of man. What kind of a world produces a Mother Teresas and an Adolph Hitler? What makes a person decide to do evil or good … or maybe even both? Is there a heart of darkness in man? Or are we a little lower than the angels? What prevents us from acting out savage, violent, or cruel behaviour? Do we resist bad behaviour because of our conscience or because we are avoiding punishment or the censure of society?
By the time we get to the end of Chapter 5, the boys are steadily losing the outward veneer of British culture. With the exception of Piggy, they no longer look like little English school boys. They no longer act as if the headmaster or a parent is in the wings, watching them.
Do the following: Write about the society they left in England. Now list three scenes which show a character losing the beliefs/behaviour he was taught. The most obvious example is in Chapter 5 when Jack paints himself as a savage. Choose three different characters.
Your blog post must have the following:
- a sentence or two that specifically discusses the society they left in England
- 3 instances when a character shows their belief system/behaviour radically altering’
- your post should be a minimum of 10 sentences long
- your post should be posted on YOUR blog
- DUE DATE: Tuesday January 29
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Blog Post #2: In Chapter Five, “Simon became inarticulate in his effort to express mankind’s essential illness.” What is the essential illness and what are its symptoms? Look to Chapter Five for your answers.
Your blog post must have the following:
- 3 symptoms of mankind’s essential illness in Chapter 5
- your post should be a minimum of 10 sentences long
- your post should be posted on YOUR blog
- DUE DATE: Thursday January 31
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Blog Post #3: In Chapter 6, which boy is suffering the most, psychologically? Give three reasons for your choice.
- three reasons
- your post should be a minimum of 10 sentences long
- your post should be posted on YOUR blog
- DUE DATE: Thursday February 6
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Blog Post #4: Golding believes that society’s influence prevents us from being savages, that there is a heart of darkness in all of us. Do you agree or disagree? Prove your belief by referring to two historical events of figures.
- 2 figures
- your post should be a minimum of 10 sentences long
- your post should be posted on YOUR blog
- DUE DATE: Friday February 8
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Blog Post #5: Simon’s behaviour is becoming more and more unusual. He and Piggy are the only boys who show empathy toward the littl’uns, but Simon is different from Piggy because he doesn’t seem to feel resentment. He seems selfless. Even more, than Ralph, Simon is the strongest contrast to Jack.
Based on his behaviour in previous chapters and in Chapter 8, in particular, give your view on the following question. Is Simon experiencing spiritual insight about the nature of evil or is he experiencing some kind of mental breakdown? Give three reasons for you opinion and write a paragraph of at least ten sentences.
- 3 reasons
- your paragraph should be a minimum of 10 sentences long
- your post should be posted on YOUR blog
- DUE DATE: Wednesday February 13
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OTHER TERM 2 ASSIGNMENTS:
- Bread Clone
- Incredibles
- Confused Words/Spelling handout
- Autobiography
- 3 Stories
- Galliano Island Brainstorming
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Lord of the Flies Essay: DUE FEBRUARY 25
Your essay should be 500 words in length, minimum. It should refer to at least three specific scenes in the novel and have four quotes from the novel. It should have a clear topic sentence and thesis statement. It should come to a clear conclusion and answer the question.
The marking criteria is as follows:
- /10 topic sentence/thesis statement
- /10 four quotes
- /10 three scenes
- /10 grammar/usage
- /10 content
1. Discuss the role of fear in Lord of the Flies. How does it affect the boys and influence the narrative?
2. Discuss the role and symbolism of the littl’uns in Lord of the Flies. Refer to how they are treated by two characters.
3. Discuss the character of Piggy or Ralph in terms of what we know of their life in England before they crashed on the island. In what way does their experience in England influence what will happen to them on the island?
4. Of all the characters, it is Piggy who most often has useful ideas and sees the correct way for the boys to organize themselves. Yet the other boys rarely listen to him and frequently abuse him. Why do you think this is the case? In what ways does Golding use Piggy to advance the novel’s themes?
5. The sow’s head and the conch shell each wield a certain kind of power over the boys. In what ways do these objects’ powers differ? In what way is Lord of the Flies a novel about power? About the power of symbols? About the power of a person to use symbols to control a group?
6. What role do the littl’uns play in the novel? In one respect, they serve as gauges of the older boys’ moral positions, for we see whether an older boy is kind or cruel based on how he treats the littl’uns. But are the littl’uns important in and of themselves? What might they represent?
7. What is the symbolism of the conch? Why does it seem to have so much power? What characteristics does it have in common with what it appears to symbolize?
8. Compare Ralph and Simon. They are both “good” characters but they act and think
in different ways. Is there a difference in their “goodness”?
WatsonWork 
In England the boys had a lifestyle of proper manors, parents telling them what to do and how to act. They became used to relying on the grownups in their life to pick up after them and remind them of the things that needed doing. One of the biggest ways the boys have shown change is as they are forced to fend for themselves on this grownup free Island Jack takes a different perspective on how things should run compared to how he wants them to. Jack was determined but still friendly at the beginning of the novel but as the novel progressed he became more aggressive than just filled with determination . His friendly attitude became a overwhelming need for power and authority, Jack was no longer a boy but more of an emotionless beast ever since his first killing of the pig. The sense of taking somethings life without it having a choice empowered him with strength and the feeling of being invincible. Jacks change in personality lead to Ralph’s doubt in survival . Ralph began to question who was on his side and who wasn’t, he became overly controlling to insure he remained in chief status. It’s slowly starting to sink in that Ralph is becoming a bit more paranoid and trying to be as forceful as Jack just to keep his position as leader but not as successfully as he would’ve hoped. Lastly, Simon shows he’s also finally starting to have some fear and doubts in how safe the island is and how long they may be there for . He show’s this when the boys hold a meeting and he speaks up to say maybe there is something else with them on the island. He even suggested that a ghost may be on the island with them striking a fear in the rest of the boys who had labeled this figure beasty.
– Chelsea M.
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Let’s put this on your blog, Chelsea. Remind me at school and we’ll transfer it.
Blog #2 :
The essential illness is Simon’s struggle to speak with leadership and earn respect from a group of his peers and children. Symptoms of his stage fright are lose of thought and stuttering and freezing up leading to him backing down from any sign of embarrassment.
Let’s put this one on your blog. Ask me at school and I’ll show you how to post posts. Also, I think Simon mean the “essential illness” of all mankind, not just himself. Think about what’s been going on in terms of behaviour and degeneration. How did they start out and what are they acting like now? That’s what Ralph has been asking and what Simon is answering. Why do things break up and go wrong? Why does that always happen? It’s like flowers. You get a pretty bouquet of flowers and within a week, they rot. Ralph is saying that about people and relationships and systems.
My blog post #4 wont go up. Could I email it instead; I’m not sure how to fix the problem.
I’m sorry it won’t work, Paige. Maybe try logging in again and making a new post. Don’t go back to the original post. Are you going to wordpress.com and logging on? I remember seeing people go to some weird “other” place on wordpress to do their blogs. Whenever they did that, they had problems. If you still have a problem, show me at school and I’ll try to figure it out. Right now, though, just email it to me at the address under the cat face. (I know. That sounds SO weird.)
It worked when I Made a new post, thanks Watson
Ms.Watson, I have a question.
So for the LOFT essay, do we choose a topic from the eight given topics above? Or just mention all of them?
Yes. You choose.
I posted the essay on my blog as you told me. Please check it there