Lord of the Flies
William Golding on his novel Lord of the Flies:
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Author Stephen King on Lord of the Flies:
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from a review by E.M. Forester
It is a pleasure and an honour to write an introduction to this remarkable book, but there is also a difficulty, for the reason that the book contains surprises, and its reader ought to encounter them for himself. If he knows too much he will lean back complacently. And complacency is not a quality that Mr. Golding values. The universe, in his view, secretes something that we do not expect and shall probably dislike, and he here presents the universe, under the guise of a school adventure story on a coral island.
How romantically it starts! Several bunches of boys are being evacuated during a war. Their plane is shot down, but the "tube" in which they are packed is released, falls on an island, and having peppered them over the jungle slides into the sea. None of them are hurt, and presently they collect and prepare to have a high old time. A most improbable start. But Mr. Golding's magic is already at work and he persuades us to accept it. And though the situation is improbable the boys are not. He understands them thoroughly, partly through innate sympathy, partly because he has spent much of his life teaching. He makes us feel at once that we are with real human beings, even if they are small ones, and thus lays a solid foundation for the horrors to come.
Meet three boys….
It is a pleasure and an honour to write an introduction to this remarkable book, but there is also a difficulty, for the reason that the book contains surprises, and its reader ought to encounter them for himself. If he knows too much he will lean back complacently. And complacency is not a quality that Mr. Golding values. The universe, in his view, secretes something that we do not expect and shall probably dislike, and he here presents the universe, under the guise of a school adventure story on a coral island.
How romantically it starts! Several bunches of boys are being evacuated during a war. Their plane is shot down, but the "tube" in which they are packed is released, falls on an island, and having peppered them over the jungle slides into the sea. None of them are hurt, and presently they collect and prepare to have a high old time. A most improbable start. But Mr. Golding's magic is already at work and he persuades us to accept it. And though the situation is improbable the boys are not. He understands them thoroughly, partly through innate sympathy, partly because he has spent much of his life teaching. He makes us feel at once that we are with real human beings, even if they are small ones, and thus lays a solid foundation for the horrors to come.
Meet three boys….
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Reading Pace:
2/24: Chapter 1-2
3/1: Chapter 3
3/3: Chapter 4
3/8: Chapters 1-6 Test
3/10: Chapter 7
3/12: Chapter 8
3/17: Chapters 9-10
3/24: Chapters 7-12 TEST
2/24: Chapter 1-2
3/1: Chapter 3
3/3: Chapter 4
3/8: Chapters 1-6 Test
3/10: Chapter 7
3/12: Chapter 8
3/17: Chapters 9-10
3/24: Chapters 7-12 TEST
Lord of the Flies Literary Analysis Procedures
- General annotation guidelines (informal per chapter) 30%
- Close reading objectives by chapter and passages (informal per chapter) 70%
- Extended Analysis (suggested)
1. General Annotation Guide
Annotate your interpretations, thoughts, reactions, etc. to the following:
Annotate your interpretations, thoughts, reactions, etc. to the following:
- Title: what it symbolizes, what it might foreshadow
- Setting: reflects characters and their actions, foreshadows events, symbolizes major themes
- Character: behaviors, dialogue, actions, changes in physical descriptions,
- Plot: turning points, recurring events, events that seem to hold a thematic significance, or events that could be interpreted beyond their literal meaning
- Quotations: important lines
- Vocabulary: define unfamiliar terms in the margins
2. Close Reading Objectives
CRO Chapters 1-4 | |
File Size: | 14 kb |
File Type: | docx |
CRO Chapters 5-8 | |
File Size: | 15 kb |
File Type: | docx |
CRO Chapters 9-12 | |
File Size: | 16 kb |
File Type: | docx |
3. Extended Analysis (suggested)
Instructions:
Instructions:
- Use post-it notes to mark passages that seem to represent the meaning of the work as a whole. You may want to mark 2-4 passages per chapter.
- Compose a short summary on the post it justifying your analysis.
- After you have completed the close reading objectives, go back through the chapter and consider which “post-it passage” is the most significant to you.
- Remove the post-it note and place it in your composition book.
- After composing a quick plot summary, write a short paragraph analyzing the text, connecting it to what you may believe is the meaning of the work overall. These will likely represent the novel’s themes.
- You may mark passages that you have close read, especially if you feel that those passages carry strong significance.
Annotation Samples
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Chapter Notes
This section of the page houses the chapter notes. The notes will be posted temporarily, so you must either copy them into your composition book or print and annotate them before submitting them in your composition book.