Chapter 12 LOTF Journal

Write your reaction to the end of the novel. Why do you suppose Ralph cries at the end of the novel, when the danger is over? Which character in the novel do you think is the most despised and why? Would you recommend this novel to a friend? Why or why not?

     I personally disliked the end of this novel because I felt that Roger and Jack should have died at the end. This is because I believe that they are the most despised characters at the end of the novel since they led the savage tribe and chose to break up the order (aka - the conch) among the boys. I think that Ralph cries at the end of the novel because he's glad to be rescued, which leads to his supposed "tears," but I also think that he cries over the grief of Simon and Piggy because the officer represented civilization, and Ralph now he realizes how destructive they've been acting on the island when the officer points it out. The shock never really hit him until someone came to rescue the boys because on the island, there was no "sense of humanity" or civilization. I think that I would recommend this to people who I know enjoy reading about human behavior because this book shares one aspect or philosophy on how man naturally thinks and reacts.

LOTF Chapter 11 Questions

1. What does Ralph's group decide they must do?

Ralph's group decides that they must approach Jack's tribe of savages and try to get Piggy's specs back. They also decide that Ralph is still the chief, so he still has authority over Jack and his group.

2. In what ways are the twins "seeing Ralph for the first time" before going to Castle Rock?

SamnEric are seeing Ralph acting like a true leader for the first time before going to Castle Rock. Ralph says that he is still the chief and Piggy reinforces it by saying that he elected Ralph as chief and gave him the conch. Ralph allows the twins to carry spears, but says that he won't because he's the chief and that Jack should listen to him.

3. Why is the boy's attempt to get back Piggy's specs and get the other boys to maintain a signal fire bound to fail?

The boy's plan to get the specs back and maintain the signal fire will fail because Jack and his tribe threw out the idea of "order" and "civilization" a long time ago due to their instincts to become savages. Ralph and Piggy's idea of Ralph being chief won't reach Jack or any of his hunters at this point.

4. Why do you think Roger pushes the rock off the cliff?

Roger pushes the rock off of the cliff in order to intimidate and scare Ralph and his group. Because he feels that he is a "savage," he wants to show how terrifying and powerful he really is.

5. How is the destruction of the conch symbolically significant?

By Jack destroying the conch within Piggy's hand, it symbolically represents that the idea of order, structure, and civilization have been "completely shattered" within the island. Now, there will only be chaos among the boys.

6. For most of the boys, what re the reasons they want a chief? What does a chief do for them?

The boys want a chief be cause a chief is able to lead the boys, discipline them, and show them comfort. A chief is almost like a parent to the boys, hence why they elected Ralph. A parent show how they care for their children, but they also discipline them. A chief is supposed to set the guidelines and rules for the boys (aka- the conch), but now the conch is shattered.

7. Come up with two ORIGINAL questions you would ask Jack if you could.

• How do you plan to live out the rest of your life? Waiting to be rescued or dying out on this island with the rest of your hunters?
• What will happen to you and your hunters if chaos breaks out among the boys of YOUR tribe?

8. In a minimum of two solid paragraphs, write a diary entry on the state of the island and the boys at this point in the book.

Dear Diary,

     The boys among Jack and his group have been nothing but violent and a bunch of bloody thieves. First they commit theft by stealing Piggy's glasses, leaving him practically blind. Sure, they have a fire, but it won't do them any good with such a minuscule size - only for cooking meals. Ralph's been trying to restore order, with Piggy's and SamnEric's help, but now that the conch was broken by Jack, there's almost no hope whatsoever in trying to reestablish a structure on the island. Simon and the kid with the birth mark have already died, some of the forest within the island has already been burnt to a crisp, and there's been nothing but fighting among the two groups and their leaders.

     At first, the island seemed quite pleasant and refreshing because it was a new environment to the boys and the boys still had their sense of humanity with them. Yet now, the state of the island is in utter chaos because of disagreements and violence between the two chiefs - Jack and Ralph. Jack has no plans of changing his instinctual savage ways. Ralph on the other hand, is trying to  get things back to the way things were before. At this rate, the whole entire island and sense of civilization among the boys will deteriorate because there is absolutely no structure.

LOTF Chapter 10 Core Questions

1. Summarize what Ralph, Piggy, and SamnEric say about what happened last night. Include 3 details from the chapter in your answer.

• Ralph keeps repeating, "That was Simon," and said, "That was murder." (Golding 156). He remembered the hunters' dance and how they encircled Simon and beat him to death. He even said, "P'raps he was only pretending," but he truly felt guilty about Simon's death. (Golding 157)
• Piggy was unable to clearly see what was happening to Simon within the circle because he was outside of the circle. Not only that, but he can only see from one eye because of his glasses. (Golding 155). Piggy kept insisting that what happened to Simon was an accident and that they needed to move on and forget about the event. (Golding 157).
• SamnEric were tired last night, so they left the dance and the feast with the other boys early. They stated, "Yes. We were very tired, so we left early. Was it a good dance?" (Golding 158).

2. What are 2 differences between Ralph's and Jack's explanations for (and feelings about) Simon's death? Include information from chapter 10 in your answer.

One difference between Ralph and Jack's explanations/feelings about Simon's death is that Ralph feels guilty about it and can't seem to drop the topic when he talks to Piggy about it. He felt scared as well (Golding 156,157). Jack on the other hand doesn't feel an ounce of guilt at all because Simon was "the beast" (Golding 160). Another difference is that Ralph knew that Simon was the one getting beaten and not the beast because he couldn't forget about Simon's death (Golding 157). Jack couldn't recognize Simon at all and therefore saw him as the beast in disguise (Golding 160).

3. What conclusion can you draw about Jack based on his order to have Wilfred beaten? Include 2 details from the chapter to support this conclusion.

One conclusion that I can draw about Jack based on his order to have Wilfred beaten is that he has basically lost his sense of humanity because he didn't have a reason to beat Wilfred, but still called for him to be tied up for hours. Another conclusion is that from hunting and being away from civilization, Jack has given in to his desires to kill and his bloodlust is so strong that he's desperate to beat up one of his own boys to satisfy himself.

• Who is the chief now and how do we know? The scene where Jack and his friends attack Ralph's camp is both violent and comical. Write a script that includes actions (very few words necessary) for each of the following characters: Piggy, Ralph, Sam, Eric, Jack, and Roger during the raid.

Jack is the chief, rather than Ralph, because Jack's hunters refer to him as "Chief," instead of calling him by his name (Golding 160, 161).

Script:

Ralph bit down aggressively on Jack and Roger's fingers until they bled profusely. Jack retaliated by punching Ralph in the cheek and sharply kneeing him in the groin until he started to whimper, gradually getting louder. Jack stayed on top of Ralph, breathing heavily, until Ralph fought back and violently pounded Jack sweaty face with clenched fists. Sam had escaped into the corner of the camp, apprehensively eyeing the bitter fight instigated by Jack and his hunters. Eric, on the other hand, managed to deliver immense pain to Roger's groin, after Roger pounced on top of him and strongly kicked Eric in the face. Eric felt his lukewarm blood slowly dripping down from his forehead to his chin. In the middle of all the clamor, Piggy was attacked by the other hunters. The hunters raided Piggy for his broken glasses; not the conch like Piggy thought.