Lord of the Flies - Entmoot Book Club Discussion

***azalea*** · 01-25-2004, 11:37 PM

Found my commentary notes. Here's what I wrote down for ch. 7 (remember, this is what the Cliff's Notes had to say about it. I am just typing what I wrote, so it may be choppy and/or repetitive -- it's been a while since I wrote them!):
Ralph's metamorphosis into a representative of adolesence in that he has a new awareness (has an awareness of larger issues than own enjoyment of the adventure) and ability to analyze events, but is still unable to use it effectively, ie, fear of the beast.
Ralph's daydream is a device to embellish his role of well-bred English boy, so that when we "cut back to real time" and Jack's blood lust, we are prepared to rationalize that while some are like that (prone to violence), there are good people who don't succumb (Ralph). But instead, Golding shows us that "every individual has the seeds of violence and the urge to kill within him," as evidenced by Ralph's enthusiastic participation in the hunt.
The ritual dance (Robert acting as the pig and they get carried away so that he is hurt) makes the point that "evil in society can be traced back to the individual, ANY individual."
Foreshadowing in Jack's statement re: the littluns (showing his contempt for the weak) AND in the boys' reaction to it -- laughter.
Simon's feeling of oneness with the forest in contrast with the horror of it felt by the others shown by his happily volunteering to get the message to Piggy.
Childlike bickering = adult fear of the unknown
Beast = gorilla or mutant in their eyes. The child's mind transforms it because of their horror. But it is human, but NOT human as they thought of it -- it symbolizes their wish to avoid the knowledge of what it really is/ what they really are/ are becoming.
Approaching what they think is evil incarnate, "they are vexed with the results of the true source of evil," specifically, their own irresponsibility, shown as the forest they burned. They are blinded by the ashes, which symbolizes their blindness to the actual source of evil.

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01-25-2004, 11:37 PM	#40
*azalea* Long lost mooter Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Florida Posts: 3,342	Found my commentary notes. Here's what I wrote down for ch. 7 (remember, this is what the Cliff's Notes had to say about it. I am just typing what I wrote, so it may be choppy and/or repetitive -- it's been a while since I wrote them!): Ralph's metamorphosis into a representative of adolesence in that he has a new awareness (has an awareness of larger issues than own enjoyment of the adventure) and ability to analyze events, but is still unable to use it effectively, ie, fear of the beast. Ralph's daydream is a device to embellish his role of well-bred English boy, so that when we "cut back to real time" and Jack's blood lust, we are prepared to rationalize that while some are like that (prone to violence), there are good people who don't succumb (Ralph). But instead, Golding shows us that "every individual has the seeds of violence and the urge to kill within him," as evidenced by Ralph's enthusiastic participation in the hunt. The ritual dance (Robert acting as the pig and they get carried away so that he is hurt) makes the point that "evil in society can be traced back to the individual, ANY individual." Foreshadowing in Jack's statement re: the littluns (showing his contempt for the weak) AND in the boys' reaction to it -- laughter. Simon's feeling of oneness with the forest in contrast with the horror of it felt by the others shown by his happily volunteering to get the message to Piggy. Childlike bickering = adult fear of the unknown Beast = gorilla or mutant in their eyes. The child's mind transforms it because of their horror. But it is human, but NOT human as they thought of it -- it symbolizes their wish to avoid the knowledge of what it really is/ what they really are/ are becoming. Approaching what they think is evil incarnate, "they are vexed with the results of the true source of evil," specifically, their own irresponsibility, shown as the forest they burned. They are blinded by the ashes, which symbolizes their blindness to the actual source of evil.