1. Adelaide
1.1. At the end of the book Piggy also gets no respect when he goes to ask for his glasses back. Dylan Mooney
1.2. The other boys have seceded from the original group on the island to form their own government. This new government is a dictatorship as compared to the democracy that they had before. -Adelaide
1.2.1. “I expect they’ve gone. I expect they won’t play either." (Golding 131)
1.3. This sentence was two pages after the re-inaction of the slaying of the pig; that, symbolizes the fall of any order to the society that the boys have created. This sentence is to me, a way of the author telling us that the character- Ralph- is unsatisfied with the animalistic nature of the island. I think that the author relates to Ralph in this moment with his dissatisfaction with his world and his society. Adelaide
1.3.1. “Ralph discovered dirt and decay, understood how much he disliked perpetually flicking the tangled hair out of his eyes." (Golding 76-77)
1.3.1.1. Bryce Simms
1.4. Ralph begins to understand how difficult it is to run a democratic society ruled by himself. He truly begins to realize that he can never have a perfect, successful society, especially with Jack in it. Annika Blanchard
1.5. A Darwin award represents the stupidity in others and almost the devolution of others that Ralph is seeing on the island as Jack and his "tribe" turn to savages. -Nicole Pihlstrom
1.6. "The conch exploded into a thousand pieces and ceased to exist." (Golding, 181)
1.6.1. This clearly is symbolic of the fall of democracy. When a person had something to contribute to a conversation or a law they would hold the conch, thus showing that is resembles freedom of speech and equal input in a society, which is the fundamental thought processes behind democracy.
1.6.1.1. The conch shattering represents Ralph's democracy completely being demolished. Over time, the conch faded representing the slow fall of his democracy. But now that the conch has been destroyed to bits, it shows that Ralph is on his own now. No longer does Ralph have his democracy. Annika Blanchard
1.7. “Which is better – to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?" (Golding, 180)
1.7.1. In this statement Ralph is asking Jack whether it is better to have anarchy or democracy. He is phrasing the question rather harshly and biased in my opinion . Even though it is somewhat true the Author has twisted an dictatorship into a ruthless and unorganized killing machine saying that the only thing that this government is good at is hunting and killing.
1.8. The boys lack of sympathy towards Piggy’s asthma perhaps represents the lack of sympathy towards the victims of the holocaust. This could also relate to any government putting globalization of their country over the health and general well being of their citizens. Rather than focusing on local problems in the U.S. we are focusing on say helping and getting involved in wars in the middle east that we have very little to do with. Adelaide
1.8.1. “My asthma-“ The response was mechanical “Sucks to your ass-mar" (Golding, 162)
1.8.2. Bryce Simms
1.8.3. The representation of the asthma Inhaler their is always a solution to a problem for a solution can not exist with out a problem and Vis-Versa. But every case is different, in the case of the the boys lack of sympathy the solution is not as easily obtained, but is in reality possible based of what Adelaide said. -Nicole Pihlstrom
2. Nicole
2.1. “Jack rose from the log that was his throne and sauntered to the edge of the grass. He looked down from behind his paint at Ralph and Piggy. They moved a little farther off over the sand and Ralph watched the fire as he ate. He noticed, without understanding, how the flames were visible now against the dull light. Evening was come, not with calm beauty but with the threat of violence. Jack spoke. “Give me a drink”(Golding, 150)".
2.1.1. In this section we see a different political views of Jack vs. Ralph. As we see with Ralph, he seems to prefer a democracy where everyone has their place in society while Jack has taken a different approach completely with a dictatorship and only caring about the well being of himself and his ego. Also, we see interesting word choice. In the sentence, “Jack rose from the log that was his throne and sauntered to the edge of the grass”, we see the words throne and saunter. The word throne suggest that he has successful created a dictatorship. The word saunter revels even more about Jack new nature, as we see in the text he is no longer fighting to be on top and the word saunter summaries his new approach to a life where he is at the top of the social hierarchy.
2.2. “The smaller boys were known now by the generic title of “littluns.” The decrease in size, from Ralph down, was gradual; and though there was a dubious region inhabited by Simon and Robert and Maurice, nevertheless no one had any difficulty in recognizing biguns at one end and littluns at the other. The undoubted littluns, those aged about six, led a quite distinct, and at the same time intense, life of their own. They ate most of the day, pickling fruit where they could reach it and not particular about ripeness and quality.(Golding, 59)”
2.2.1. I think in these social classes the biguns could try to make the littleluns do some work. If they eat all day have them collect food for everyone else. I don't think Ralph even considered having them help at all, thier not totally worthless. Dylan Mooney
2.2.2. The generic title given to the littler children of the island shows that social classes are starting to form with the littleuns on the bottom of the social rank and the biguns in the upper portion. But the social classes in this society have one twist, in a normal society the lower classmen tended to do most the work and manual labor while the upper classmen did the jobs that required more thinking like writing or ruling, but in this society, the upperclassmen are the that are doing all the work while the littluns are doing nothing. Also we see that these group have become distinctly separate, not only physically with biguns on one and end and littluns on the other, but also mentally. Based off the text, it seems that two groups have different lives. In this section overall we see social classes form with a twist and the two groups lead very different lives yet one still depends on the other.
2.2.2.1. Bryce Simms
2.3. “Another double cry at the some distance gave him a clue to their plan. Any savage balked in the forest would utter the double shout and hold up the line till he was free again that way they might hope to keep the cordon unbroken right across the island.(Golding, 195)”
2.3.1. In this section of text, we see the organization of people working together as a team. This anomaly shows that the savages on the island still have some form of a working society where everyone is capable of working together, but whether or not they choose to utilize this ability is not shown in the story. Plus, if you look deeper, they are employing this ability in order to obtain Ralph and be even more savage by chopping off his head and putting it on a stick and then sticking it the ground for the beast. Overall this section of text shows that they are capable of functioning as a society but still chose not to.
2.4. “The sun in his eyes reminded him how time was passing, so he took the conch down from the tree and examined the surface. Exposer to the air had bleached the yellow and pink to near-white, and transparency. Ralph felt a kind of affectionate reverence for the conch, even though he has fished the thing out of the lagoon himself. He faced the place of assembly and put the conch to his lips.”(Golding, 78)
2.4.1. At the beginning of the book, we see how the conch gives Ralph power over others, and now we see his symbol of power losing it color. The fact that his symbol of power losing its color, represents how he himself is losing power over others. This conch, is not only a representation of himself but also the community. As we see in the shell, the community is losing its structure and happiness which is like the conchs color. Overall, the state of the conch is represented in the condition of the society and government that they have built.
2.4.1.1. The conch represents the democracy of their society on the island, and with the color diminishing on it, it shows that the democracy is fading away. The conch represents Ralph, the community, and the democracy of the boys on the island. Annika Blanchard
2.5. “Simon’s head was tilted slightly up. His eyes could not break away and the Lord of the Flies hung in space before him. ”What are you doing here all alone? Aren’t you afraid of me?” Simon shook. “There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the Beast.” Simon’s mouth labored, brought forth audible words. “Pig’s head on a stick.” “Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!” said the head.”(Golding, 143)
2.5.1. This quote gave me insight as to how the author sees this society. Upon first glance, we see the creepy image of a pigs head on a stick talking, but as you look at this section of text it seems other worldly and extremely unreal until you find the authors true purpose. This is how the author sees the society that they have built. The head represents the leader in the society, Ralph, and that he is one of the only functioning parts of society but the leader can only do so much without the body or in this case the follower of the society, including Jack. Another interesting part of this is the way he describes the head. In a couple pages before they describe the head be chop off by savages and blood spilling everywhere which creates the intriguing mood of the piece. Looking even closer we find, ““Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!” said the head.” My guess as to what the author purpose of this is, is to convey that the society will never be fixed, but the tone also including an interesting sound, fear. It sounds as if the way to kill the beast would be to rebuild society and have it be the whole pig, not just the head
2.5.1.1. The Beast said, "There isn't anyone to help you. Only me. And I'm the Beast." The beast is our ignorance. Because of that I think that the saying, "Ignorance is bliss" is applicable here. Adelaide
3. Bryce
3.1. "The chief led them, trotting steadily, exulting in his achievement. He was a chief now in truth; and he made stabbing motions with his spear."(Golding, 168) #Bryce Simms
3.1.1. This passage from the story shows that Jack has become chief and that he is going to take advantage of his power and that he is going to be a demanding.
3.1.1.1. I also think it shows that if any one tries to deny him his power he will hurt them. Since he was making stabbing motions with his spear. Dylan Mooney
3.2. This meeting better not be fun but business. (Golding 76) #Bryce Simms
3.2.1. In this short passage you can tell that Ralph really wants to get down to business and not mess around. I think that this is smart that he is finally cracking down because he has slowly been losing respect of the others.
3.3. “We can’t leave the littleuns with piggy. Not all night” The other boys said nothing but stood round watching him. “If we went back we should take hours” Jack cleared his throat and spoke in a queer, tight voice. “We mustn’t let anything happen to piggy, must we” (Golding 117) #Bryce Simms
3.3.1. This shows the true hatred between Jack and Piggy. It also shows the amount of care and compassion that Ralph has for all of the boys even the ones who are picked on and the littluns who have no say. It also shows that Jack is trying to use his humor to get all of the boys to overthrow Ralph and to elect Jack as chief.
3.3.1.1. Jack makes fun of Ralph so that the other older children dislike Ralph as much as he does. This is a method that Jack uses to lessen Ralph's power on him. Annika Blanchard
3.4. He held the conch against his chest with one hand and pointed in the air with his index finger. “Who thinks ralph oughtn’t to be chief?”… “All right then I'm not going to play any longer not with you” (Golding 127) #Bryce
3.4.1. This piece of evidence shows that Jack has given up on his rant and hope to be chief. It also gives us information that suggests that Ralph will have a smooth chief hood from now on.
3.5. in this passage the word "Play stands out dramatically to me. It is used often in the novel and expressed that surviving and getting off of this island isn't that important because in the grand scheme of life we're born we make babies then we die. And perhaps the island will make the boys die sooner, not give them time to make babies and that's okay. It's just a game.
4. In this part of the book, Jack fails to keep the fire going while a ship passes by thus destroying the chances of being rescued off the island. When Jacks fails at his job, it’s like the structure of the government being destroyed. When a task is not done properly, it can lead to complete chaos, such as them demolishing the government they had begun to create. If one branch of the government in the United States didn’t correctly fulfill it’s duties, our country would fall out of line causing extreme chaos. This is what happens when Jack doesn’t follow through with his duties.
4.1. In this part of the book was when Jack said he would get meat. So I think the fault is on Ralph because he gave Jack the authority to hunt. So knowing this Ralph should have assigned someone who didn't have a job. Dylan Mooney
5. Annika
5.1. “If faces were different when lit from above or below-what was a face? What was anything?” (Golding 78)
5.1.1. I think that Ralph is confused and conflicted in this moment as Jack Is kind of a chaotic leader and his rival, but at the same time he is questioning why jack is wrong. What's so bad about anarchy? Adelaide
5.1.2. In this quote, Ralph is questioning what was anything therefore questioning everything they will do and have done since landing on the island. Throughout the first four chapters, Ralph didn’t understand the complexities of being the chief of their small society. But when Jack botched the chances of being saved, Ralph begins to understand that being the chief isn’t all that simple. In the beginning of chapter 5, Ralph is pondering the idea of being chief but before he realized being smart is a key point to being chief he asks to himself “What was anything?” (Golding, 78). He is questioning the purpose of having a chief, a stable government, rules, etc. and why all of those are important to running a successful society.
5.2. “There was a ship. Out there. You said you’d keep the fire going and you let it out!” (Golding 70)
5.3. “‘I’m chief,’ said Ralph tremulously. ‘And what about the fire? And I’ve got the conch-’ ‘You haven’t got it with you,’ said Jack, sneering. ‘You left it behind. And the conch doesn’t count at this end of the island-’ All at once the thunder struck. Instead of the dull boom there was a point of impact in the explosion. ‘The conch counts here too,’ said Ralph, ‘and all over the island.’” (Golding 150-151)
5.3.1. When Ralph and Jack are discussing whether or not the conch counts to everyone all over the island, Ralph defends that the conch applies to the whole island while Jack says it doesn’t on his part of the island. The conch represents laws and rules in Ralph’s democracy. Ralph defends that the conch, or laws, still apply to Jack’s tribe. Jack disagrees and says that the conch does not count toward his tribe since they broke away from Ralph’s democratic society for their own dictatorship. Jack does not want to follow the old rules of the democracy because he would rather lead his own tribe with a dictator approach than a democratic approach.
5.3.1.1. Bryce Simms
5.4. “Piggy ended, flushed and trembling. He pushed the conch quickly into Ralph’s hands as though in a hurry to be rid of it and wiped the tears from his eyes.” (Golding 170)
5.4.1. In this statement, Golding is showing how afraid he is of Jack and relies on Ralph, the chief in Piggy’s mind, to help him stand up to the terrible boy. Piggy is literally trembling and crying about how Jack, the brutal dictator, stole his glasses from him. This is similar to when in a government setting, we rely on the president or ruler to make the best decisions when trouble is taking place. Piggy desperately needs Ralph to stand up for him when Jack steals from their society.
5.4.1.1. The Great wall of China, is a representation of the hatred between the Huns and the Emperor of China and this is like Ralph between Jack and Piggy. In a way, Ralph is like the great wall of China; Protecting and separating one party from another yet they are still keen of both of their existences. -Nicole Pihlstrom
5.5. “‘The fire’s the most important thing. Without the fire we can’t be rescued. I’d like to put on war-paint and be a savage. But we must keep the fire burning. The fire’s the most important thing on the island, because, because-’ He paused again and the silence became full of doubt and wonder.” (Golding 142) “When he stopped no one said anything. After the many brilliant speeches that had been made on this very spot Ralph remarks seemed lame, even to the littluns.” (Golding 142)
5.5.1. When Ralph is explaining why the fire is so important, he begins to trail off, unlike his past speeches. Usually Ralph’s speeches are very well thought out, but this one was definitely out of line for Ralph. Even the littluns found it weak. By this time of the book, Ralph’s character has changed so much, he isn’t even the same leader from the beginning of the book. The leader from the start was determined and a problem solver, now Ralph wants to give up and can’t control his government properly. Ralph’s democracy is falling apart bit by bit, and at this rate, nothing will be left of his once organized, civilized society.
5.5.1.1. Bryce Simms
5.5.2. The Picture of the Hindu gods Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma relates to how Ralph is evolving. As we see in Annika's Analysis, Ralph is first a very well though out leader in the Creation stage, which is what Brahma Represents, and I trying to create a thriving society. Then we see him try to preserve it by keeping the democracy represent by the shell, where he is like Vishnu. Then as the society starts to crumble we see his leaderships skills be destroyed which is represented by Shiva, the Hindu god of Destruction. -Nicole Pihlstrom
6. Dylan
6.1. "Bill put his hand up."Chief?" "Yes?" (Golding 161).
6.1.1. Now that Jack is a Chief the others are afraid to talk to him unlike Ralph. When Ralph was the supreme ruler nobody was afraid to speak their mind because they had the conch. Unlike with Jack you can sense the fear in their voice, and they can't speak freely.
6.1.1.1. In Jack's tribe where he is the chief, Jack is the brutal ruler of a dictatorship. The children are frightened of what he will do to them if they disobey his orders. Afraid to talk out of turn, the boys get permission from Jack to speak to him. Annika Blanchard
6.2. "I bet if I blew the conch this minute, they'd come running. Then we'd be, you know, very solemn, and someone would say we ought to biuld a jet or a submarine or a TV set. When the meeting was over they'd work for five minutes, then go wonder off." (Golding, 51)
6.2.1. I think that Ralph is finally starting to crack down on people doing work. Then when they stop working there's no consequences. If they had a decent government people would actually do the work because they would know it's for the greater good.
6.2.1.1. Here, we see the difference between Jack's way of leading and Ralph's way of leading. Jack's way includes a punishment system so everybody does something with the looming threat that they will be punished causing things to be done and done quicker. This differs from Ralph's way completely in as Dylan described it; there are no consequences so there is no work being done. -Nicole Pihlstrom
6.3. "You could-" "Call an assembly" Ralph laughed sharply as he said the word and Piggy frowned." (Golding, 156)
6.3.1. In this text Piggy has still not accepted the fact that with Jack as a chief, him and Ralph have no power. Piggy needs to face the facts that Ralph has control over very few kids. Also Ralph knows that the conch might as well be thrown away because it will do them no good to blow it. The only way to gain back kids now would be able to hunt, which Ralph isn't very good at, also to have fire, but with Piggy's glasses gone they have no controlling power.
6.4. "We got a lot of sticks.We could have a sundial each. Then we should know what the time was. "A fat lot of good that would be." "You said you wanted things done so as we could be rescued." (Golding 65)
6.4.1. In this passage it just further shows that Piggy is more of a leader than Ralph. Piggy is actually trying to get stuff done since they've been on the island but Ralph just things everything he does is stupid. So Ralph is a hypocrite because he tells everyone to do work but he just sits around.
6.5. "So Ralph asserted his craftsmanship and could not have chosen a better way if he had thought for days. Against his weapon, so indefinable and so effective." (Golding 73)
6.5.1. I think Ralph is becoming a dictator because he never does anything and he just tells people what to do. Jack said he would find meat, so why did Ralph tell him to watch the fire when he could have chosen a kid doing nothing. Or Ralph himself could have. Another thing is Ralph has been complaining about the shelters, if he cares so much he needs to do it himself.
6.5.1.1. Bryce Simms