Final Project!

Lord of the Flies: The Final Project

Due Yesterday: Project proposal that shows me your plan for each area of the project and the format you will be using so I can give you feedback and let you know if you’re way off track.  Please feel free to use one of two different graphic organizers shown below to organize your thoughts and ensure you've covered all the requirements.

Your project should do three things:
    1. Identify a theme in Lord of the Flies (i.e. Savagery vs. Civilization, the Nature of Evil, Rules and Order, Power, Loss of Innocence, Individualism vs. Community, Dehumanizing Relationships)
    2. Identify and prove with evidence Golding’s position on that theme (i.e. what does Golding use this book to say about Rules and Order in general).  That is to say, what is Golding using this book to say about the world in "big picture" terms.
    3. Provide your own position/opinion on this theme, whether it is similar to Golding’s or not (i.e. Is Golding right about what he says about Rules and Order in general?)

Format Suggestions:
    - Essay with attitude (good for college prep!)
    - Creative writing piece:
        - missing scenes from the story written as a narrative or script
        - newspaper article about “the incident” complete with photos
        - a scrapbook or diary
    - Comic strip (You can use the "Comic Life" program)
    - Poem (keep in mind, it would probably have to be on the long side to get your point across)   
    - Collage or other art piece - this would require a piece of writing explaining how your piece
       fulfills the requirements.
    - YouTube video
    - Multimedia presentation
    - A song
    - Board game
    - Any other suggestions you’d like to propose?

 

Sticky Note Assignment

Directions: This assignment was done in-class.  As we were reading chapter 9 aloud, you were to be writing down themes on sticky notes as you saw them come out in the book and place them where you see them.  After the reading, you were to write down the theme, where in the book you saw it, and your justification for why you think the theme is there.  To make up this assignment, review the book and as you come across a theme, write down the theme, it's location, and your justification.  You should provide me with five individual instances total.

Again, the themes are:

Savagery vs. Civilization
Individualism vs. Community
Nature of Evil (and the fear of it)
Man vs. Nature
Loss of Innocence
Dehumanizing Relationships
Rules and Order
Power
Identity

Effects Wheel: Theme

Directions: Show how Golding’s treatment of a theme affects the novel.  The theme should go at the center and around that theme should be eight ways that theme affects the novel. In the outer circle, show the effects those eight things in the novel have.  For instance, in the movie “Shrek”, the theme of “outward appearances” leads to “Shrek is judged based on his outward appearances,” which leads to “Shrek judges others based on their outward appearances” and “Shrek is hunted and isolated.”

Themes: 

Remember - events represent ideas!

Savagery vs. Civilization
Individualism vs. Community
Nature of Evil (and the fear of it)
Man vs. Nature
Loss of Innocence
Dehumanizing Relationships
Rules and Order
Power
Identity

Free Audiobook? Yes, please!

Are you having trouble keeping up with the reading?

Are there parts of the text that are confusing or unclear?

Do you want to review what you've read to prepare for the project, but don't want to spend the time rereading the book, trying to remember what happened?

Well, you've come to the right place.

     Audible is running a promotion right now where you can download one audio book for free if you sign up for their 14-day free trial. They have Lord of the Flies available and it is even read by the author, William Golding.

    Now this is key: DO NOT FORGET TO CANCEL YOUR ACCOUNT AFTER YOUR 14-DAY TRIAL.  Otherwise, you'll get stuck with the bill.  

    I strongly encourage you to download this!  I've gotten an indescribable amount of help from having the audio book.

Click here to be directed to the website!

What "Good" Readers Do - The Ten Dimensions of Reader Response

Adapted from the writings of Jeffrey D. Wilhelm

1. Entering the Story World: 
You prepare to read and start thinking about what the reading will be like. You think about knowledge you already have that will help you read.

2. Showing Interest in the Story Action:
You understand the literal meaning of the plot and become interested in it as you read. You make predictions and form expectations about story action.

3. Relating to Characters:
You create characters and take up relationships with them. You often become a presence in the story and make judgements about characters.

4. Seeing the Story World:
You notice clues for creating mental images and envision characters, settings, and situations.

5. Elaborating on the Story World:
You build up clues from throughout the story to create meaning.  You play detective, fleshing out clues, and filling in sto stary gaps, often creating meaning that goes well beyond that suggested by the text.

6. Connecting Literature to Life:
You make explicit connections between personal experiences and character experiences, often looking for ideas that can inform how you could solve problems or think about situations in your own life.

7. Considering Significance:
You ask how the text works to create meaning and think about the significance of various events and behaviour and how this contributes to the meaning of a story.

8. Recognizing Literary Conventions :
You notice that the author made particular kinds of conventional moves that you have to respond to, and you use previoius experiences with conventions from your reading, viewing, or talking to figure out how to do so.

9. Recognizing Reading as a Transaction:
You recognize the author and the choices of the author in telling the story. The author might be embraced or rejected as a person to converse and agree with. You see that YOU create meaning with the author and his or her text.

10. Evaluating the Author (and Self) as a Reader:
You consider the author's agenda, and your own. You think about the author's effectiveness as a writer. You consider your own reading processes and how these relate to your personal identity.

Second Interior Monologue Assignment

Interior Monologue:
Open Up That Brain and Let Us See Inside

Why do people do what they do and why do they think what they think?

Pick one of the characters we’ve discussed (Ralph, Piggy, Jack, Roger, Simon, Samneric, Littluns) or suggest another you’d like to use.  Look through your notes and the book to review your character and write down about 200 words of interior monologue in first person (I feel such-and-such and I think blahdeeblah).  “Interior Monologue” is just a formal way of saying that you write out what you imagine are the thoughts of a character in history, literature, or life at a specific point in time.  So basically - take what you know about the story and expand on it. If you use the "head" to get ideas (drawing pictures, writing down ideas), it will be worth one extra point if your grade is less than perfect. 

Two things that are different from the last interior monologue:
#1 Your character’s thoughts should revolve around or focus on one of the themes we have listed for this story. 
#2 You should be demonstrating your ability to relate to the character, which is the third of the dimensions of reader response that we have been looking at. 


But Miss Adsit why are we doing this?

    Writing interior monologues is a brain workout that takes your thinking about the book to a higher level.  By empathizing with people, no matter how different from you or despicable they seem, you are exploring the causes of human behavior.  If you can imagine why people do what they do, you can understand the world - not just this book- at a deeper level. The very act of considering, "How might this person experience this situation?" develops an important "habit of the mind” that gives you power and draws us closer together.  That’s why!

Themes To Keep In Mind:

Savagery vs. Civilization
Individualism vs. Community
Nature of Evil (and the fear of it)
Man vs. Nature
Loss of Innocence
Dehumanizing Relationships
Rules and Order
Power
Identity

Stuck?

Knowing what you do about your character, you may want to imagine what your character would say to the following questions.  You don’t need to include these specific answers in the monologue, but these questions are there to help you think about what your character is concerned with - you can choose one that sparks an idea and run with it:

How does he feel about the issue of the beast (the symbol of evil)?  What does he think the beast is?  How does he think the beast should be handled? 

How does he feel about hunting, if he has participated?  Does he get a sadistic pleasure out of it?  How does it make him feel? 

Is he thinking more like a human or like an animal?  Is he experiencing a change in identity?  Was he one way once he landed on the island and feels another way now?

Does he support or reject the rules and order and civilization? If so, why does he cling to them?  If not, why does he prefer savagery and lawlessness?

Does he crave power?  Does he feel powerless?

Is he only looking out for himself?  Or does he have the well-being of the group in mind?

Has he come to a new understanding of how the world is that has caused him to lose his innocence?

Copy this ^ and paste it in a document.

Ch. Six and Seven Responses (and tips not included in the paper)

Chapter Six and Seven Responses

Directions: Fill in the name of the Dimension you will be using and then answer the questions below in regards to chapters six and seven.  I strongly suggest having the book open and reviewing each bit before thinking about it and writing about it.  Strongly.  As in: I will not give you credit if you fill these pages with mindless babbling.  Not that you would.

We’re kicking it up a notch here, folks!

Dimension #2: __________________________________

What do you think the author wants you to notice about the affect that fear has on democracy and the law in Chapter 6?  Why?  Think about how the conch is used (or not used) at the meeting and what is said about the rules. (Look specifically starting at the bottom of page 99 through 103)












Dimension #3: ___________________________________

What problem is Simon struggling with in chapter six?  How does he feel about the idea of a “beast” and what does he think it really is?  If you found yourself in his place, how would you deal with his problem differently? Why?  Or, if you would deal with it just as he does, why? (Look on page 103 through top of 104)












#4: __________________________________________

Where on the island does Ralph decide he feels that hunting is good after all and what disturbing event does it lead to?  He hasn’t been to this particular part of the island before.  What is it like there?  Could this same thing have happened anywhere else on the island?  Or is this place special somehow? Why or why not? (This is through the first half of chapter seven, pay close attention to p. 113 through the middle of p. 115)


















#5: ____________________________________________

#7: ____________________________________________
What if the boys hadn’t run when they saw “the beast”?  What if they had gone closer and seen what it really was?  Might they changed their view of the beast?  Or just confirmed their fears?  Fit this encounter with the Samneric’s “beast encounter” in chapter six- what is Golding trying to tell us about fear and savagery? (The end of chapter seven, but you must consider the larger book here)

MISSING: PIGGY'S SPECS! REWARD (a sense of pride and peace with the universe) IF FOUND

In case you guys missed my announcement in class yesterday, Piggy's specs have gone missing. 

To the perpetrator - I applaud your sense of dramatic irony.  In the story, Piggy's glasses are the symbol of intelligence and civilization.  The fact that you stole them from the very classroom where we are attempting to use them to gain intelligence and study the nature of civilization and is a good argument for Golding's views on the fragility of law and order.  HA!  I MADE YOU LEARN!

Now please return my specs- don't make me lose hope in humanity.

Two-Column Reader Response to Chapter Five: "Beast From Water"

Directions - the same as chapter three below!  Read the questions at the top and keep them in mind as you respond to the text.  Remember - you're not just paying attention to what is happening, you're paying attention to how you respond to it as a reader!

Reader Response: Chapter 5

What catches your attention? Does any of this remind you of something from your own life? What is the mood like? Are you noticing any patterns/repeating ideas? What is the point of this scene? What idea is the author exploring? What comment might the author make about that idea? Any other thoughts?

“What’s grownups going to say?” cried Piggy again. “Look at
‘em!”
The sound of mock hunting, hysterical laughter and real terror
came from the beach.
“Blow the conch, Ralph.”
Piggy was so close that Ralph could see the glint of his one glass.
“There’s the fire. Can’t they see?”
“You got to be tough now.
Make ‘em do what you want.”
Ralph answered in the cautious voice of one who rehearses a
theorem.
“If I blow the conch and they don’t come back; then
we’ve had it. We shan’t keep the fire going. We’ll be like
animals. We’ll never be rescued.”
“If you don’t blow, we’ll soon be animals anyway.  I can’t see
what they’re doing but I can hear.”
The dispersed figures had come together on the sand and were
a dense black mass that revolved. They were chanting something
and littluns that had had enough were staggering away, howling.
Ralph raised the conch to his lips and then lowered it.
“The trouble is: Are there ghosts, Piggy? Or beasts?”
“ ‘Course there aren’t.”
“Why not?”
“ ‘Cos things wouldn’t make sense. Houses an’ streets, an’--TV-
-they wouldn’t work.”
The dancing, chanting boys had worked themselves away till
their sound was nothing but a wordless rhythm.
“But s’pose they don’t make sense? Not here, on this island?
Supposing things are watching us and waiting?”
Ralph shuddered
violently and moved closer to Piggy, so that they bumped
frighteningly.
“You stop talking like that! We got enough trouble, Ralph, an’
I’ve had as much as I can stand.  If there is ghosts--”

“I ought to give up being chief.  Hear ‘em.”
“Oh lord! Oh no!”
Piggy gripped Ralph’s arm.
“If Jack was chief he’d have all hunting and no fire. We’d be
here till we died.”
His voice ran up to a squeak.
“Who’s that sitting there?”
“Me. Simon.”
“Fat lot of good we are,” said Ralph. “Three blind mice. I’ll give up.”
“If you give up,” said Piggy, in an appalled whisper, “What ‘ud
happen to me?”
“Nothin.”
“He hates me. I dunno why. If he could do what he wanted-- you’re
all right, he respects you. Besides-- you’d hit him.”
“You were having a nice fight with him just now.”
“I had the conch,” said Piggy simply. “I had the right to speak.”
Simon stirred in the dark.
“Go on being chief.”
“You shut up, young Simon! Why couldn’t you say there wasn’t
a beast?”
I’m scared of him,” said Piggy, “and that’s why I know him. If
you’re scared of someone you hate him but you can’t stop thinking
about him. You kid yourself he’s all right really, an’ then when you
see him again; it’s like asthma an’ you can’t breathe. I tell you what.
He hates you too, Ralph--”
“Me? Why me?”
“I dunno. You got him over the fire; an’ you’re chief an’ he isn’t.”
“But he’s, he’s, Jack Merridew!”
“I been in bed so much I done some thinking. I know about people.
I know about me. And him. He can’t hurt you: but if you stand out of
the way he’d hurt the next thing. And that’s me.”
“Piggy’s right, Ralph. There’s you and Jack. Go on being chief.”
“We’re all drifting and things are going rotten. At home there was
always a grownup. Please, sir; please, miss; and then you got an
answer. How I wish!”
“I wish my auntie was here.”
“I wish my father... Oh, what’s the use?”
“Keep the fire going.”
The dance was over and the hunters were going back to the shelters.
“Grownups know things,” said Piggy. “They ain’t afraid of the dark.
They’d meet and have tea and discuss. Then things ‘ud be all right--”
“They wouldn’t set fire to the island. Or lose--”
“They’d build a ship--”
The three boys stood in the darkness, striving unsuccessfully to convey
the majesty of adult life.
“They wouldn’t quarrel--”

“Or break my specs--”
“Or talk about a beast--”
“If only they could get a message to us,” cried Ralph desperately. “If
only they could send us something grownup...a sign or something.”
A thin wail out of the darkness chilled them and set them grabbing
for each other. Then the wail rose, remotely and unearthly, and turned
to an inarticulate gibbering. Percival Wemys Madison, of the Vicarage,
Harcourt St. Anthony, lying in the long grass, was living through
circumstance in which the incantation of his address was powerless to
help him.


Two-Column Reader Response to Chapter Three: "Huts on the Beach"

On one side of the paper, copy and paste the following selection from chapter three into a document.  Make sure the text is in a column only on the left half of the page so that the right half is free for your responses to the text, since you can't mark up your book.  When you read, it is often helpful to REALLY mark up your book with your thoughts and reactions.  It helps clarify your understanding and is useful later when you need to write about it.  I personally never would have graduated college if I hadn't been a book-marker.

Think about what is happening in this text, but also your own reactions to it.  I should see responses that answer the first of the following questions and at least two others (if you have a lot to say about those two other questions - more if you don't).

Questions to keep in mind (to be answered next to the reading, where your thoughts come up):

• What are your first thoughts about it?
• What are you "seeing"?
• What does it make you think of?
• What are you imagining might happen next (as you read it)?
• What clues did that conversation give you about Jack's personality? Simon's? Ralph's?
• What other events/conversations in the book did this make you think of?
• Other events/conversations in your own life it makes you think of?

Chapter 3 Two-Column Reader Response

Jack flushed.
“We want meat.”
“Well, we haven’t got any yet,” [said Ralph] “And we
want shelters.  Besides, the rest of your hunters came
back hours ago.  They’ve been swimming.”
“I went on,” said Jack. “I let them go. I had to go on. I--”
He tried to convey the compulsion to track down and kill
that was swallowing him up.
“I went on. I though, by myself--”
The madness came into his eyes again.
“I thought I might kill.”
“But you didn’t.”
“I thought I might.”
Some hidden passion vibrated in Ralph’s voice.
“But you haven’t yet.”
His invitation might have passed as casual, were it not
for the undertone.
“You wouldn’t care to help with the shelters, I
suppose?”
“We want meat--”
“And we don’t get it.”
Now the antagonism was audible.
“But I shall!  Next time!  I’ve got to get a barb on this
spear! We wounded a pig and the spear fell out.  If we
could only make barbs--”
“We need shelters.”
Suddenly Jack shouted in rage.
“Are you accusing--?”

“All I’m saying is we’ve worked dashed hard. That’s all.”
They were both red in the face and found looking at
each other difficult. Ralph rolled on his stomach and
began to play with the grass.
“If it rains like when we dropped in we’ll need shelters
all right. And then another thing. We need shelters
because of the--”
He paused for a moment and they both pushed their
anger away. Then he went on with the safe, changed
subject.
“You’ve noticed, haven’t you?”
Jack put down his spear and squatted.
“Noticed what?”
“Well. They’re frightened.”
He rolled over and peered into Jack’s fierce, dirty face.
“I mean the way things are. They dream. You can hear
‘em. Have you been awake at night?”
Jack shook his head.
“They talk and scream. The littluns. Even some of the
others. As if--”
“As if it wasn’t a good island.”
Astonished at the interruption, they looked up at
Simon’s serious face.
“As if,” said Simon, “the beastie or the snake-thing, was
real. Remember?”
The two older boys flinched when they heard the
shameful syllable. Snakes were not mentioned now,
were not mentionable.
“As if this wasn’t a good island,” said Ralph slowly.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Jack sat up and stretched out his legs.
“They’re batty.”
“Crackers. Remember when we went exploring?”
They grinned at each other, remember the glamor
of the first day. Ralph went on.
“So we need shelters as a sort of--”
“Home.”
“That’s right.”
Jack drew up his legs, clasped his knees, and frowned
in an effort to attain clarity.
“All the same-- in the forest. I mean when you’re
hunting, not when you’re getting fruit, of course,
but when you’re on your own--”
He paused for a moment, not sure if Ralph would
take him seriously.
“Go on.”
“If you’re hunting sometimes you catch yourself
feeling as if--” He flushed suddenly. “There’s nothing
in it of course. Just a feeling. But you can feel as if
you’re not hunting, but-- being hunted, as if something’s
behind you all the time in the jungle.”
They were silent again: Simon intent, Ralph incredulous
and faintly indignant.

Uses of Theme in Pop Music

At the end of this unit, you will each be doing a project/paper on theme.  We're going to focus very closely on the themes in Lord of the Flies so that you have a lot of evidence collected even before you begin to work out it.  Before we start to study the themes in Lord of the Flies, we need to get really good at spotting themes in whatever we're reading. 

In pop music, we often see variations of the same simple themes across many songs.  They often focus on universal ideas such as love and romantic relationships and even state the themes outright- such as "love conquers all," "all  you need is love," "love stinks".

What are the themes that you see in the following lyrics?  Look for "big picture ideas" and figure out what the singer is trying to say about this idea.  Please provide at least four examples.

“Beautiful” by Christina Aguilera

Spoken:
Don't look at me

Every day is so wonderful
And suddenly, i saw debris
Now and then, I get insecure
From all the pain, I'm so ashamed

I am beautiful no matter what they say
Words can't bring me down
I am beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can't bring me down
So don't you bring me down today

To all your friends, you're delirious
So consumed in all your doom
Trying hard to fill the emptiness
The piece is gone left the puzzle undone
That's the way it is

You are beautiful no matter what they say
Words can't bring you down
You are beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can't bring you down
Don't you bring me down today...

No matter what we do
(no matter what we do)
No matter what they say
(no matter what they say)
When the sun is shining through
Then the clouds won't stay

And everywhere we go
(everywhere we go)
The sun won't always shine
(sun won't always shine)
But tomorrow will find a way
All the other times

'cause we are beautiful no matter what they say
Yes, words won't bring us down, oh no
We are beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can't bring us down
Don't you bring me down today

“Fireworks” by Katy Perry

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag
Drifting through the wind
Wanting to start again

Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
Like a house of cards
One blow from caving in

Do you ever feel already buried deep
Six feet under scream
But no one seems to hear a thing

Do you know that there's still a chance for you
Cause there's a spark in you

You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the Fourth of July

Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what your worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby you're a firework
Come on let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gonna leave 'em fallin' down-own-own

You don't have to feel like a waste of space
You're original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow

Maybe you're reason why all the doors are closed
So you can open one that leads you to the perfect road

Like a lightning bolt, your heart will blow
And when it's time, you'll know

You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the Fourth of July

Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what your worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby you're a firework
Come on slet your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gunna leave 'em fallin' down-own-own

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
It's always been inside of you, you, you
And now it's time to let it through

Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what your worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby you're a firework
Come on slet your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gunna leave 'em goin "Oh, oh, oh!"

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon

Don’t you bring me down today
Don’t you bring me down today

“Perfect” by Pink 

(edited for "adult content")

Made a wrong turn, once or twice
Dug my way out, blood and fire
Bad decisions, that's alright
Welcome to my silly life
Mistreated, misplaced, misunderstood
Miss 'No way, it's all good', it didn't slow me down
Mistaken, always second guessing, underestimated
Look, I'm still around

Pretty pretty please, don't you ever ever feel
Like you're less than, less than perfect
Pretty pretty please, if you ever ever feel like you're Nothin
You are perfect to me!

You're so mean, when you talk about yourself, you were wrong
Change the voices in your head, make them like you instead
So complicated, look happy, you'll make it!
Filled with so much hatred... such a tired game
It's enough! I've done all I can think of
Chased down all my demons, I've seen you do the same

Oh, pretty pretty please, don't you ever ever feel

Like you're less than, less than perfect
Pretty pretty please, if you ever ever feel like you're nothing

You are perfect to me

The whole world's scared so I swallow the fear
The only thing I should be drinking is an ice cold beer
So cool in line, and we try try try, but we try too hard and it's a waste of my time
Done looking for the critics, cause they're everywhere
They don't like my jeans, they don't get my hair
Exchange ourselves, and we do it all the time
Why do we do that? Why do I do that?

Why do I do that... ?

Yeah, oh, oh baby, pretty baby... !

Pretty pretty please, don't you ever ever feel
Like you're less than, less than perfect
Pretty pretty please, if you ever ever feel
Like you're nothing, you are perfect to me
You're perfect, you're perfect!
Pretty pretty please, if you ever ever feel like you're nothing
You are perfect to me...

You asked for it: Reading Schedule

Because of some confusion that some folks had over when chapter four needed to be read, one student has suggested that I post a reading schedule specifying - in print - when each chapter needs to be read by.  Awesome plan!

Here it is!  Enjoy:

Monday, Feb 7th: Chapters 1-6

Tuesday, Feb 8th: Chapter 7

Wednesday, Feb 9th: Chapter 8

Thursday, Feb 10th: Chapter 9

Monday, Feb 14th: Chapter 10

Tuesday, Feb 15th: Chapter 11

Wednesday, Feb 16th: Chapter 12

And then you’re done!

Well... sort of... Done reading the book, anyway. 

Hope this helps!

Awesome Illustrations by Sam Weber

These are some beautiful images by Sam Weber that were created for a new, illustrated version of Lord of the Flies.  Do you recognize some of these from my slides?  Do you remember what part of the story they represent?

Enjoy!

Interior Monologue Assignment

Interior Monologue:

Open Up That Brain and Let Us See Inside

Why do people do what they do and why do they think what they think?

Pick one of the characters we’ve discussed (Ralph, Piggy, Jack, Roger, Simon, Samneric, Littluns) or suggest another you’d like to use.  Write down at least 200 words of interior monologue in first person (I feel such-and-such and I think blahdeeblah).  “Interior Monologue” is just a formal way of saying that you write out what you imagine are the thoughts of a character in history, literature, or life at a specific point in time.  So basically - take what you know about the story and expand on it.

Please put at least one thing in this that will surprise me and at least two details that are not included explicitly in the reading.  I’ll be super excited if you decide to think “outside the box” and come up with another idea altogether.  You may use the "open mind" image to brainstorm ideas about your characters (pictures, ideas, concerns, worries for the future) and then write it out on another sheet, or you can fill up your "open mind" with your monologue - just make sure you're not limiting yourself with the space if you feel like going over!

But Miss Adsit why are we doing this?

    Writing interior monologues is a brain workout that takes your thinking about the book to a higher level.  By empathizing with people, no matter how different from you or despicable they seem, you are exploring the causes of human behavior.  If you can imagine why people do what they do, you can understand the world - not just this book- at a deeper level. The very act of considering, "How might this person experience this situation?" develops an important "habit of the mind” that gives you power and draws us closer together.

Stuck?

Knowing what you do about your character, you may want to imagine what your character would say to the following questions.  You don’t need to include these specific answers in the monologue, but these questions are there to help you think about what your character is concerned with - you can choose one that sparks an idea and run with it:

• How does he feel about being on the island?  Is he excited?  Scared? A little bit of both?  Other feelings entirely?  Why?
• How does he feel about the vote for chief? The three boys exploring the mountain without the rest?  The use of the conch?  The fire?  The boy with the birthmark on his face? We’ll brainstorm some more in class.
• What plans does he have for the future (other than getting off the island/rescued and staying alive)?  Does he just want to have fun?  Explore?  Focus all his efforts on finding a way to get rescued?  Why?  Does he have a plan?  Or just hope someone else does it?

Need Examples to Get You Started?

Miss Adsit's example:

Interior Monologue on the Mountain

Character: "Beastie Boy"- the boy with the mulberry birthmark on his face

I’m so scared - I know we’re supposed to go get wood for the signal fire, but I hate being in here with the creepers...and maybe the beastie...Why didn’t the big boys believe me?  I told them about what I saw, but they didn’t believe me!  It’s not fair!  I didn’t even wanna tell them... I hate trying to talk in front of everyone, feeling them staring at the mark on face...OW!  Stupid creepers...keep tripping...  How can they hear what I say if they can’t look past my mark? I’m just a little kid with a big, ugly stain on my face... a freaky looking fraidy cat...Wait...What’s that smell?  Is that smoke?  Was...was that the beastie? Run! Run! Run! I can’t breathe...run...run... My legs are on fire... I mustn’t cry... Ow!  The branches keep scraping me... but don’t stop running!  I must be brave like the big boys!  Where did everyone go? Oh, oh, oh!  What’s that noise?  It’s so dark under here with all the big trees and all this smoke!  Why is there smoke?  It keeps getting thicker...What if the beastie finds me?  What’s that roaring sound?  It’s getting louder... I can’t breathe!  I want my mommy!  I want my daddy! I wanna go hoooome!
(216 words)


“Serious” Example taken from Linda Christensen's Teaching for Joy and Justice:

Interior monologues tap other people's pain, but they also tap people's hope. After watching The Killing Floor, about the World War I black migration to Chicago and union organizing in the stockyards, Debbie wrote an interior monologue from the point of view of Frank, a black worker recently arrived from the South.
I sit and listen to the unfamiliar air of music drifting in through my window. Crickets had made music in the South, but never in a tune like this one. I want Mattie to hear this new music. The sound of white men's feet on the dirt avoiding our Black bodies on the sidewalk. Oh, to share the sounds of coins clinking together as I walk.

“Kind-of-funny/sad/messed-up” example:


Consider an excerpt from Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The situation is as follows: The spaceship is being attacked by two missiles. Only at the last moment does Arthur turn on the Improbability Drive and the two missiles are turned into a sperm whale and a bowl of petunias. The passage describes the thoughts of the sperm whale who has suddenly come into existence in free space and is trying to come to terms with his identity:

“Er, excuse me, who am I?
Hello?
Why am I here? What's my purpose in life?
What do I mean by who am I?
Calm down, get a grip now ... oh! this is an interesting sensation, what is it? It's a sort of ... yawning, tingling sensation in my ... my ... well I suppose I'd better start finding names for things if I want to make any headway [...] so let's call it my stomach.
And hey, what about this whistling roaring sound going past what I'm suddenly going to call my head? Perhaps I can call that ... wind! Is that a good name? It'll do [...] Now - have I built up any coherent picture of things yet?
No.
Never mind, hey, this is really exciting, so much to find out about, so much to look forward to, [...] Hey! What's this thing suddenly coming towards me very fast? Very very fast. So big and flat and round, it needs a big wide sounding name like ... ow ... ound ... round ... ground! That's it! That's a good name - ground!
I wonder if it will be friends with me?
And the rest, after a sudden wet thud, was silence.” (ch. 18)

Open Mind:

Making up "Flies at a Potluck" Lesson

For this assignment, students were each given a different character to bring to the "potluck".  They each studied their characters and then shared important facts about them with their fellow students.  Everyone used this shared information to fill out their worksheets and get a feel and familiarity with all the characters.

Directions: If you missed this, you will need to read each of the descriptions for yourself and fill out the different boxes with what you think is the most essential information.  Since you have already begun reading, you can also fill in things you have learned along the way if you think it will better help you remember which character is which. For the final column, I would like you to make a prediction as to what they will do or try to do on the island.  You can be creative - just make sure it is possible with the information that you have so far.

Please copy and paste this onto a document that you will print out and fill out (or you can type in your answers and then print it out).  You only need to turn in the "Flies at a Potluck" pages which should fit onto two pages.

(To Copy and Paste: To copy it, highlight the text from "Name" on.  If you are on a PC hit Control+C, if you are on a Mac hit Command+C.  To paste into an empty document, hit Control+V or Command+V)

If you have any questions, please be sure to email me at missadsit@gmail.com.  I get emails from that address sent directly to my phone and I will answer as quickly as possible.

Name: _________________

Flies at a Potluck

Directions: You are at a Lord of the Flies potluck and each of you is responsible for bringing a character to share (no, we are not yet resorting to cannibalism).  Examine your assigned character carefully before sharing information with your classmates and taking down notes on the information you get from them.  You’re not being told your character’s goals/desires, so it is your responsibility to come up with a prediction to share with everyone else! 

Note: There is no one specific answer I am looking for in the last column - feel free to be creative- just make sure your prediction makes sense with what we know about the character so far!

Character Name	Life Before the Island	Personality/ Characteristics	Predicted Goals and/or Desires

Ralph

            You are a blond, twelve-year-old boy from England and the son of a commander in the British navy.  You are among the biggest boys on the island, in good physical shape and charismatic.  It was you who blew the conch that brought everyone together and they voted you as their chief, though you did not ask for the job.  You are committed to keeping the peace - you show this in your eagerness to give Jack an important job so he wasn’t angry about not being voted chief.  You also don’t like to make important decisions without having time to think things through first: “Listen, everybody.  I’ve got to have time to think things out.  I can’t decide what to do straight off.”

            So far, you are enjoying the thrill of exploring this island - you have only read about places like this in storybooks! However, the thought of never being rescued worries you.

_____________________________________

Jack

           

            You are tall, thin and bony and topped with red hair.  You are freckled and frankly, not very attractive.  Nonetheless, you are the leader of the choir boys who are given the new job of being the hunters.  You are strong-willed and long for power, so you are furious when you lose the election for chief to Ralph. 

            The first time you encounter a pig, you are unable to kill it - but you vow that next time you won’t hesitate.

_____________________________________

Piggy

            You are intelligent and polite, but others have trouble looking past your overweight body, your asthma, your glasses, and your “lower class” accent.  Both of your parents have died, and when you went to live with your auntie, she fed you as many sweets as you liked.  You like Jack, but feel hurt and betrayed that he revealed your hated nickname when you had specifically asked him not to.  You are scientific and rational and can’t understand why the others are so unfriendly to you and disrespect you.

_________________________________________

Simon

            You are a shy, sensitive boy and one of the smallest of the “older” boys.  You are a member of the choir/hunters and fainted from the heat and exhaustion at the first meeting of the all the boys on the island.  You are friendly and positive and were excited to be chosen by Ralph and Jack to join them in the exploration of the island.  You are fascinated by nature and take special notice of it flourishing around you.

______________________________________

Roger

            You are a dark boy - dark face, dark hair, dark mood.  You are one of the choir/hunter boys, but kept to yourself.  You obey orders as they’re given to you by Jack.  You are slim and secretive-looking and keep an emotional distance from everyone - the choir/hunters included.

 

__________________________________________

Samneric (a.k.a. Sam and Eric)

            Although you are technically two people, you look, act, speak and perform tasks so alike and you are always together, so that eventually people take to referring to you as one person: Samneric.  You were both members of the choir/hunters and among the older boys.  You are enthusiastic and easily excited.

_________________________________________

The “Littluns”

            You are the young children on the island - afraid, confused and desperate for someone to take charge and be the “grownup”.  You crashed in the same place as the rest, but nobody has taken the time to learn all of your names, or even number you.  You have been resourceful and  learned to eat the fruit off of the trees, but you miss your parents and your home and hope that your chief, Ralph, will come up with a plan.  You are scared and none of the bigger kids are even talking to you.  Only the one they call Piggy even asked your name.  Nobody is watching your every movement, as they did back at home, but for once you would like to see some order and something done to make sure you are rescued.