In the end...

Now that you have finished Lord of the Flies, give your honest opinion of the novel. Explain why you feel the way you do. Also, whether you found the novel amazing, ordinary, or boring, give a quote/passage that you found thought-provoking and tell why. (The deadline to post a response is midnight, May 1, 2013.)

Fall Through the Air

Chapter 11, entitled "Castle Rock, " brings us to a very tragic moment in the novel: Piggy's death. Why do you think Golding has Piggy murdered at Castle Rock? What is he saying about the archetype that Piggy represents in the novel? What is he saying about Roger? (The deadline to post a response to this blog is midnight, Tuesday, April 30, 2013. No credit will be given to plagiarized responses.)

The Shell and the Glasses

At the end of Chapter 10, Jack and his savages raid the other boys.  What does Piggy believe Jack wants?  What does this symbolize or reflect about Piggy's views?  What, however, does Jack want?  How does this reflect his views?  What is Golding saying through this raid about the microcosm of the island?  (The deadline to post a response to this blog is midnight, Saturday, April 27, 2013.  No credit will be given to plagiarized responses.)

Trivia

You have probably seen this at the beginning of many movies.  Be the first to answer this question and get an extra 100.  What is the connection between this company and Lord of the Flies?

The beauty of Golding's writing...

Today, you read Chapter 9, in which Simon is murdered.  At the end of the chapter, Golding writes four beautifully descriptive paragraphs.  I have included them below.  Comment on the Golding's use of diction(word choice) to create mood in these paragraphs. What mood does he create and how does he do it?  (The deadline to post a response to this blog is midnight, April 25, 2013.  No credit will be given to plagiarized comments.)

"Towards midnight the rain ceased and the clouds drifted away, so that the sky was scattered once more with the incredible lamps of stars. Then the breeze died too and there was no noise save the drip and tickle of water that ran out of clefts and spilled down, leaf by leaf, to the brown earth of the island. The air was cool, moist, and clear; and presently even the sound of the water was still. The beast lay huddled on the pale beach and the stains spread, inch by inch.

The edge of the lagoon became a streak of phosphorescence which advanced minutely, as the great wave of the tide flowed. The clear water mirrored the clear sky and the angular bright constellations. The line of phosphorescence bulged about the sand grains and little pebbles; it held them each in a dimple of tension, then suddenly accepted them with an inaudible syllable and moved on.

Along the shoreward edge of the shallows the advancing clearness was full of strange, moonbeam-bodied creatures with fiery eyes. Here and there a larger pebble clung to its own air and was covered with a coat of pearls. The tide swelled in over the rain-pitted sand and smoothed everything with a layer of silver. Now it touched the first of the stains that seeped from the broken body and the creatures made a moving patch of light as they gathered at the edge. The water rose further and dressed Simon's coarse hair with brightness. The line of his cheek silvered and the turn of his shoulder became sculptured marble. The strange, attendant creatures, with their fiery eyes and trailing vapours busied themselves round his head. The body lifted a fraction of an inch from the sand and a bubble of air escaped from the mouth with a wet plop. Then it turned gently in the water.

Somewhere over the darkened curve of the world the sun and moon were pulling; and the film of water on the earth planet was held, bulging slightly on one side while the solid core turned. The great wave of the tide moved further along the island and the water lifted. Softly, surrounded by a fringe of inquisitive bright creatures, itself a silver shape beneath the steadfast constellations, Simon's dead body moved out towards the open sea.” 

In the voices of reason...

                                                                  

Thus far in the novel, there are been several statements/words/ quotes that  can be categorized as the voices of reason.  One I would like you to discuss is when Piggy says to Ralph about Jack "...he can't hurt you; but if you stand out of the way he'd hurt the next thing.  And that's me."  What theory is being expressed here symbolically through Ralph, Jack and Piggy and their roles on the island?  What is Golding inferring about society?  Give a specific example from history to support your comment. (The deadline to post a response is midnight, April 24, 2013.No credit will be given to plagiarized responses.)

It is the birthday of someone very famous????????

Be the first person to blog the answer and get an extra 100.  Today is the birthday of one of the world's most famous writers.  Who?

Simon inside the beast...

I wish my doctor would have allowed me to come back to teach today so that we could go over Chapter 8.  I think it is the most amazingly symbolic chapter in the novel.  I hope that speaking with Miss Lovelace helped you to see some of the symbolism within the chapter.  Comment on your reaction to Simon's encounters with the Lord of the Flies. Do you think that Simon is hallucinating because of the heat? Remember that Simon is only a young boy, about ten or eleven. Does such a young person usually have the kind of understanding and insight that Simon seems to possess? Do you think the Lord of the Flies's assessment of the other boys's feelings about Simon is accurate? Is there any evidence to support this? Cite it.  Do you think the Lord of the Flies's warning that the others will "do" Simon if he tries to interfere is realistic? (The deadline to comment on this blog is midnight, Monday, April 22, 2013. No credit will be given to plagiarized reponses.)

A Sign from the Outside World

At the end of Chapter 5, Ralph wishes for a sign from the outside world and it comes at the beginning of Chapter 6-- dead paratrooper. If you are the first person to answer this blog, explain the irony of this situation.  If you are the second person to answer focus on these questions: Confused in the dark, Samneric believe it to be the "beastie" they have all been fearing. What does this reveal about the archetype that Samneric represent?  Finally, if you are the third person to blog, here is your topic: Only Simon remains convinced that the beast is mankind. Is Simon right? In what ways are we humans the beasts of society?   Continue to respond in this order.  (The deadline to post a response is midnight, Sunday, April 21, 2013.)

Rules, Rules, Rules

In chapter 5, when Jack and Ralph argue, Ralph says, "The rules are all we've got!" How important are rules in society? What rules are needed in this microcosm if the boys are to survive? Why? (The deadline to post a response to this question is midnight,Thursday, April 18, 2013.)

Painted Faces and Long Hair

At the end of chapter 4, watching the hunters dance and chant, Ralph feels envy and resentment. Why do you think he is feeling these emotions? Of what is he envious? What does he resent?  Give at least one quote that shows supports your claim.(The deadline to post a response to this midnight, Monday, April 15, 2013.  No credit will be given to responses that are plagiarized.)

And then man emerged

With its benign climate, fresh water and abundant fruit, the island setting of Lord of the Flies could be seen as a modern Garden of Eden until... a little boy comes forward in Chapter 2 and asks the assembly questions. What element does he introduce to the island? How does he describe it? How does the descriptive phrase, "the small boy twisted further into himself" hint at a theme? Which theme? How does this theme connect to societies of today and of all times? Give specific examples. (This post closes at midnight on Sunday, April 14, 2013. No credit will be given to plagiarized responses.)

Where Excellence is a Way of Life!

Here they are...the newest members of "the few, the proud, the elite"...

KPU CLASS OF 2013!   

I love you all! 

At the sound of the conch...

In Chapter One, we meet all the characters you are tracking (except Percival-but remember he represents the littluns in general).  Tell us your character and give your first impressions of him.  Cite a line that has led to your inference.  (The deadline to post a response to this blog is midnight, April 10, 2013.)

88 years ago today...

Be the first to correctly answer this question and get an extra 100.  Today is the 88th anniversary of a  major literary event.  What is it?  (ONLY ONE PERSON CAN GET THIS BONUS.)

What a woman wants...

In the "Wife of Bath's Tale," the old crone tells the lusty and haughty knight that what women most desire is mastery over their husbands. Do you agree? If so, why? If not, what do you think most women desire? Give at least two reasons for either view that you take. (The deadline to post a response is midnight, Tuesday, April 9, 2013.)

Opposites attract

As you know April is National Poetry Month.  Since I can't be there with you right now, here is a poem I had planned for us to look over.  It is by Edmund Spencer.  The poem is a paradox: something that seems unlikely or contradictory but is actually true on a deeper/symbolic meaning.  Explain what you believe to be the theme of the poem and select two lines that helped convey that meaning to you.  Do not repeat what the poster prior to you has said.  Remember no credit will be given to plagiarized statements.

(The deadline to post a response is midnight, Monday, April 8, 2013)

Sonnet 30 (Fire And Ice)

My love is like to ice, and I to fire:
how comes it then that this her cold so great
is not dissolv'd through my so hot desire,
but harder grows, the more I her entreat?

Or how comes it that my exceeding heat
is not delayed by her heart frozen cold,
but that I burn much more in boiling sweat,
and feel my flames augmented manifold?

What more miraculous thing may be told
that fire, which all thing melts, should harden ice:
and ice which is congealed with senseless cold,
should kindle fire by wonderful device?

Such is the pow'r of love in gentle mind
that it can alter all the course of kind.

I need your prayers

First, I would like to thank first block for just doing what you were asked without question this morning.  I had a health emergency and things aren't good  for me right now.  Please try to understand that I didn't want to leave you all, but I had to and please pray that my doctors can fix this problem quickly and effectively. 

Just a little ironic story of three friends...

One of the most famous of the Canterbury Tales is the "Pardoner's Tale," which we read today.  Of course, Chaucer is being ironic with the avarice-driven Pardoner telling a story of the evils of greed, but which element /event of irony in the story did you find most humorous or edifying?  Give the line and identify the type of irony being used and explain what you liked about it.  Make sure you don't use the same example as the poster prior to you.  (The deadline to post a response is midnight Thursday, April 4, 2013.)

On the way to Canterbury

Although we have only met a few of them, select a pilgrim and briefly tell what you find interesting or intriguing about him or her? Why?  You may not comment on the same character as the two posters prior to your post. (The deadline to post a response to this question is midnight, April 4,2013.)