Lord of the Flies by William Golding - Book Report/Review Example

The Lord of Flies 1Reading Vocabulary Deciphering Chart Chapter vocabulary Page number Definition or meaning creepers 7 Plants that grow around another plant or along the ground. Proffer 9 Refers to a proposal or an offer Efflorescence 12 Means blooming of flowers or flowering state of flowers. Specious 12 Means having deceptive appearance or misleading attraction Enmity 14 Refers to deep hatred or state of being a foe effulgence 14 Brilliant radiance or a quality of being extremely bright swathing 14 Means wrapping or binding or bandaging Conch 15 Spiral shell of tritons or gastropod used as a horn. decorous 15 Exhibiting or showing appropriate conduct or behavior Strident 17 Refers to Presentation of a controversial point of view in a forceful way. Matins 20 Morning prayers chorister 22 A leader of a singing team or choir. Bastion 29 Fortification or stronghold Hiatus 31 A break in continuity, a gap or pause Chapter 2 vocabulary Page number Meaning or definition Ebullience 38 spirited enthusiasm or zestful Recrimination 43 Opposition of another charge or accusing in return Tumult 43 Commotion involving a great crowd or disorder. Tirade 45 A violent speech Chapter 3 vocabulary Page number Meaning or definition Oppressive 49 Unjust use of power Inscrutable 49 Mysterious or difficult to comprehend Vicissitudes 49 Unexpected change or variation in life. Declivities 54 Down slope of a hill Tacit 55 Implied statements or actions. Chapter 4 vocabulary Page number Meaning or definition Blatant 58 Offensively or totally obtrusive Taboo 62 Something forbidden Sinewy 64 Tough and stingy Malevolently 71 Wishing bad things to happen to others. Chapter 5 vocabulary Page number Meaning or definition ludicrous 78 Obviously absurd or foolish Ineffectual 79 Inadequate to yield an effect Jeer 84 Mock or vocally abuse somebody Inarticulate 89 Inability to talk with clarity or incomprehensible Chapter 6 vocabulary Page number meaning Leviathan 105 A giant or very large sea creature Clamor 108 Expression of discontent Mutinously 108 Insubordinate or unruly Chapter 7 vocabulary Page number meaning crestfallen 117 Depressed or dejected Impervious 121 Difficult to penetrate Enterprise 122 Business undertaking or organization Chapter 8 vocabulary Page number meaning Glowered 127 Stared or looked at angrily Rebuke 128 To sharply criticize Demure 133 Reserved and modest in behavior Fervor 133 Intensely emotional or intense heat Chapter 9 vocabulary Page number meaning corpulent 146 Excessively fat Sauntered 150 Stroll or walk leisurely Chapter 10 vocabulary Page number meaning compelled 167 Exert a strong force Chapter 11 Vocabulary Page number meaning Luminous 169 Producing light Myopia 169 Shortsightedness Sniveling 170 Whine or complain tearfully Quavered 174 Spoke with trembling voice Parried 179 Avoided or warded off Talisman 180 An object possessing magical ability or power Chapter 12 Vocabulary Page number Meaning Acrid 186 Bitter smell or taste Cordon 191 A line of ships or people positioned to guard Elephantine 194 Enormous strength or size Epaulettes 200 A fringed strip worn on military attires 2 double entry diary and its review Chapter 1, 2 and 3 William Golding wrote the novel Lord of the Flies. The setting of the novel is at the time when Europe is at the middle of war. A plane carrying a group of boys being evacuated from England destined for Australia is shot down and crash lands in a deserted tropical island. Unfortunately, none of the adults survives the plane crash and thus the story is about boys’ descent to disorder, chaos and evil. Ralph and Piggy, two of the boys in the crashed plane notice a conch shell on the beach. Piggy realizes that the conch shell could be used to summon the other group of boys in the island. Piggy directs Ralph on the way of blowing the conch shell. The boys gathered after hearing the conch shell. After summoning and assembling of the boys in the island, the boys choose Ralph as their leader. Ralph further appoints Jack among the boys to head boys who will hunt foodstuff for the whole group. The entire group of boys unites with a common purpose of finding a rescue team. Ralph, Jack, piggy and Simon begin island exploration process with hope of getting other survivors. On their return, Ralph instructs the lighting of a signal fire for easy noticing by any passing ships. The boys successfully light the fire by concentrating sunrays on dead wood using piggy’s eyeglasses lenses. However, the boys put more emphasis on playing and as a result, the fire encroaches in to the forest. The fire gets out of control and one of the youngest boys disappears and is presumed to have burnt to death. Despite the shortcomings, the boys enjoy their lives in absence of grown-ups and spend most of their time playing games and splashing in the water. Since everyone was ignoring the fire, Ralph complains and requests the boys to maintain the fire signal. Ralph further advices the group to build huts for shelter. On the other hand, the hunters’ attempt of catching a wild pig yielded no results but Jack their leader became obsessed with hunting act. Consequently, the fire that was a responsibility of the hunters’ team burnt out. This costed the team one day when a ship was passing nearby and Ralph and Piggy realize that the fire was off and they could not signal for help. The incident coincided with Jack’s returning with his first kill and Ralph could not accost Jack because the entire team was dancing for the arrival of the food. When Piggy criticizes jack, jack retaliates by slapping him across the face. Ralph blows the horn to call for a meeting to restore peace. During the meeting, it becomes eminent that some boys had become afraid. This was indicated by nightmares the “littluns” were having and some section of the older boys believing the existence of a beast or monster in the island. The older boys attempt to convince the other boys to be rational in their reasoning asking them where such monsters could be hiding from during the day. The entire group is terrified by one of the young boys suggestions that the monster hides in the sea during the day. Chapter 4 Life in the island becomes normal for the group of boys in the island. Morning is pleasing with sweet smells and cool air and the boys were able to play happy way. “Here, imperceptible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life. Round the squatting child was the defense of parents and school and policemen and the law.” In the afternoon, the sun was oppressively hot and some boys have a nap although they are usually disturbed by bizarre reflection of images appearing over water. However, Piggy assumes the images as mirages originating from sunlight hitting the water surface. The young boys who mostly spend their days playing and eating fruits are most particular affected by the night dreams and day visions. Analytically, the boys have lived in the island for quite some time and their way of life and society resembles a political entity or state. Two centers of power develop with Ralph and Simon being kind to the “littluns” and roger and jack on the contrary are cruel to them. Due to increase in tension between jack and Ralph, the struggle for power becomes eminent. The conflict become apparent when jack neglected the fire and it went off thus thwarting the boys’ chance of being rescued.The fire symbolized the connection between the boys’ and civilization. Chapter 5 Ralph calls a meeting to bring the group of boys back on truck. During the meeting, Ralph criticizes the boys for failing to uphold the groups set rules. He states that they have not done their requirements such as building shelters, gathering drinking water, maintaining fire signal and using the designated toilet area. Ralph emphasizes the importance of fire and tries to reduce the level of fear of the beasts. “What I mean is . . . maybe it’s only us.” Is the statement used by Simon to reduce the level of fear.Simon does that by proposing that may be the boys themselves are the beasts. The term beasts symbolize the bad things that civilization had previously recued the boys before the predicament. Chapter 6 Everyone is asleep and military airplanes are fiercely battling above the island. None of the boys sees or hears the explosion. Sam and Eric see the twisted form parachutist who were dead and mistake it to a beast and rash back to the camp to notify others. Ralph and jack head the beast search and they reach island that they had never explored. There was a thin walkway leading to a hall having small caves. There was confusion with a certain group of boys wanting to settle in the new hill. From this it is clear that balance between civilization and savagery is shifting and ralph is slowly losing control of the group. Jack is manipulating Ralph by asking in the presence of other boys if he is frightened. Chapter 7 The boys stop to eat while traveling back to mountain and Ralph muses on the boys growing indiscipline. Ralph feels the ocean is blocking them from going back home. The hunting activities begin and Jack is constantly challenging Jack to join the hunting. Ralph was more into building shelter and making fire signal. We are seeing the conflict between Ralph and Jack escalating and drifting to struggle for power. Chapter 8 The monster news has the boys in a state of terror as the group gathers on the beach next morning. Piggy, who had not gone to the mountain the previous night, is baffled by the claims made by the other boys of seeing a monster. Jack grabs the conch and blows into it inelegantly to call for assembly. Jack emphasizes the existence of a monster in the mountain and claims that Ralph is a coward and should be relieved from his leadership position.“There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me.And I’m the Beast. . . . Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!” states Jack. However, the boys decline to remove Ralph from power. Angrily, Jack leaves the group saying anyone who wants to join him is can do so. Some boys follow Jack and the others remain with Ralph on the beach and start making a fire signal. Jack declares himself the new chief of his tribe or group. Jack’s group returns with a kill and still burning sticks from Ralph’s group.Simon slips away and returns to the jungle where he sat alone staring at the impaled pigs head that is filled with flies. Surprisingly, the head says to Simon in the vocal sound of “Lord of the Flies” declaring that Simon will not escape from him and promises to have “fun” with him. Troubled and terrified Simon faints.The Lord of Flies is a symbol of Freudian. Simon is compared to Jesus and flies as satan. Chapter 9 On Simon return from the hill and anxious to prove that there is no beast in the mountain, he moves the fireplace where Jack’s group was chanting and dancing. Shouting at Simon as if he was the beast when he appeared in the forest, the boys start tearing Simon apart with their bare hands. Simon’s effort to explain himself yields no results and the boys violently kill him.Simon’s brutal murder kills civilization in the island and chaos and brutality take center stage. Chapter 10 Ralph and piggy are ashamed of their behavior the night before. Piggy is unsure of his role in Simon’s death and attributes it to a mere accident. Although, Ralph insists they participated in Simon’s death. On the other hand, Jack rules with veto power at Castle rock. He punishes boys without a proper reason and warns the boys against Ralph camp stating that they are a threat to his tribe. Jack and his tribe still believe Simon was the beast and Jack advices his group to continue guarding against beasts. The group later attacks Ralph’s group who were asleep and they seriously injure Ralph and his friends. The group stole Piggy’s glasses that gave the power to make fire. Jack is taking advantage of the boy’s fear of beast to exercise his power. Chapter 11 Ralph calls a meeting to discuss their options of survival and the resolve their only option is to visit jack and his group in Castle rock and speak some sense to him. At castle rock, Ralph group is told to leave by armed guards of Jack. Ralph blows the conch shell but the group insists they leave. Jack and his group emerge from the forest carrying a dead pig. Jack and Ralph face of and start fighting. The confusion led to Piggy’s death when he was knocked by a stone and fell down the hill. Ralph escapes and Sam and Eric were tortured and forced to join Jack’s group. Upto this juncture two important symbols have been destroyed. That is the Lord of Flies and conch shell. Piggy’s death together with Sam and Eric’s conversion to Jack’s group leaves Ralph who is associated with civilization alone in the island. We are seeing civilization being defeated by the forces of primal chaos and bloodlust. Chapter 12 Ralph hides himself in the jungle and miserably thinks about the bloodshed and chaos that have struck thee island. He remembers Simon and piggy’s deaths and realizes civilization has been lost. “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of a true, wise friend called Piggy”. Ralph sneaks back that night to castle rock and luckily gets Sam and Eric guarding. They give him food but decline to join him. Jack hides in the thicket but Jack set the forest a blaze in order to smoke out Ralph. Ralph runs past the Jacks group running towards the beach followed closely by Jack’s boys carrying wooden spears. Fortunately, on the beach was a captain of the ship who had seen fire and docked. Ralph had been rescued and signaling the end of Lord of Flies. In this last chapter we see the use of irony where the fire that was set with a motive of killing Ralph is the source of rescuing the boys from savagery to civilization. The other irony is that the rescue mission is not filled with joy because the captain was not happy on how the boys had forgotten civilization within a very short time. References Golding, W. (1962).Lord of the flies. New York: Coward-McCann. Read More