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This is a place for us to discuss openly and honestly the literature we are reading. Here we are all just communicating our thoughts on what we are reading. There are no right and wrong answers. However, you are expected to be polite, mature, and on topic.
3 comments:
This may be wrong but I will go with it anyway. The little boy in chapter 2 tells the boys that he has seen a snakes that are ropes in the morning. When talking about the Garden of Eden, the snake represents the devil. The devil convinces Eve that she can eat the fruit from the tree of good and evil and have all the knowledge she needs. I think the boy introduces sin and chaos into to the island. In the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve ate from the tree, they sinned. They listened to the snake, which got them in this situation, and I believe this snake represents sin. The boy says that he saw the snake at night and that during the day they "turned into things like ropes in the trees and hung in the branches." The phrase gives the sense of a theme of insecurity. The little boy did not want to speak in the first place, but, when he was laughed at, he feels that he should have never gotten up and said anything. This still happens today. When someone gives his or her opinion, many people disrespect that person and that person's opinion. They make fun of that person simply because they believe something different from everyone else. An example would be when people are choosing what religion they want to be. Before they even start to give their reasons, people who believe differently will automatically shoot them down. I am not sure if this is even close to the right thing but I tried. :)
In chapter two, a "shrimp of a boy" is urged forward from the crowd and is muttering and about to cry. The boy is panicked and when the others start to laugh and shout at him, he starts crying. He asks the group what they are going to do about the beastie or snake-thing. When I read it, I immediately thought of the snake in ths Garden of Eden. The snake represents sin, evil and temptation. The young boy was already frightened by the snake, but having everybody laugh at him made things worse and it said "he twisted further into himself." This phrase hints at the theme of insecurity or people wanting approval from others. Ralph looks around for confirmation in the group from older boys, but some of the little kids are doubtful. Ralph continued to say "but there isn't a beastie!" They are still kids and naturally have fears, but being afraid is viewed as a sign of weakness. Although the kid shared information that I feel might be useful though the book, he was laughed at and ridiculed and regrets coming forward. People have always judged others because their views are different. I agree with Brittney that choosing a religion is something where people seek the approval of others. Most people are not willing to share their religion beliefs because they know the majority of people wouldn't listen to their opinions or views simply because they aren't practicing what everyone else does. I don't know if it's right, but that's what I got out of it!
The scared little boy asks the group of older boys what they plan to do to get rid or be safe from the snake-thing or the beastie. Saying this, he points out that this perfect island has a flaw. In the Bible, the serpent tempts Eve to eat an apple which is the only thing God told her not to do. As a result, Adam and Eve are kicked out of the spectacular Garden of Eden and are forced to live in a lesser quality place. In this way, the boy introduces the bad of the “perfect” island. The boys see this situation as a game rather than a life-or-death situation, and they believe that they will most certainly get out; however this is quite a serious situation and everyone else is convinced of the island’s perfectness. At the mention of this bad creature, the island, in their minds, momentarily becomes undesirable and scary, and the atmosphere suddenly becomes cooler, and they become uneasy. The child is not exactly sure what this creature is, but he knows that it is dangerous and “ever so big”. Symbolically, badness or evil does not take any definite shape, and because it is indefinite, it can come from anywhere or anyone and at any time. The other boys shut down his idea of this imperfection of their island, and they laugh at him. The phrase “the small boy twisted further into himself” hints at the theme of loneliness or solitude. Even at first, the little boy was afraid to share his thoughts, and when the rest of the boys ridiculed him, he shut down further into himself, meaning he felt even more alone in his thoughts. He shows that the only person that will ever really understand him is himself and that he can only trust himself to not judge himself. Going back to the Bible, the Devil’s job is to implement a feeling of loneliness in people so that they get depressed. People cannot work together if they feel they are going to be put down constantly, and this happens a lot in society and in this way, society has never changed. People crave to not be alone, but there is a conflicting force inside themselves that tells them that if they let other people, the chance of evil slipping in becomes greater, and they might get hurt because people hurt people. For a specific example, a high-school-aged person makes a new group of friends. This person is the new person to the school, and the people already all know each other and are very close, so he is already shy; however, a group of teenagers are willing to be his friends. One day, when he plays truth-or-dare with his new friends, he reveals that he still sleeps with a stuffed animal. One of the other teenagers finds this amusing, so they all gang up on him to tease him; this makes him feel even more alone than before.
(I hope this is somewhat on track, but this is how I see this.)
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