Lord of the Flies Similarities & Differences--due Thursday, March 5, by Midnight

Use all of our exercises--notes, discussions, lectures--to accomplish this exercise. Write 200+ words, showing similarities and differences Lord of the Flies has to anything you have ever read, seen, or heard. We've begun this exercise in written and spoken form already; now, structure and expand your ideas. Jack is like the Joker, but how? In what scenes?

Be specific and use all the critical thinking skills you've developed to earn up to 30 points. Show you've invested some time and some thought.

Lord of the Flies, Project 2090, and Film Deconstruction Paper: In class on Wednesday, February 11.

(1) Type two excerpts from Lord of the Flies (pp. 7-75) and include their page numbers.

• The first excerpt must display a revealing dialogue exchange between characters. What is not being said that should be said? What might a character's words be masking/covering? What do these words reveal about a character? What is being heard or not heard by the intended listener? What could/should be said that is not? Is Golding accurate in his depiction of the speech patterns of young boys?



• The second excerpt must show masterful use of language to show--not tell--the reader a setting or action. What sense(s) is Golding stimulating? (see, hear, touch, taste, perceive/feel)

(2) Type your initial ideas for what your group will do for Project 2090, which will be held from April 14-20. You get wisdom from elders, then share it with the class, presenting for 45 minutes. To whom will you speak? What will you ask these wise, venerable, respectable interviewees? Will you have up to 15 minutes of filmed material? What sort of handout will you have? What sort of powerpoint slides will you have? (leave the republican vs. democrat stuff out)

• How, specifically, will we prevent WWIII (LOTF) and dystopia (1984)?


• How will we, as a society, heed the urges of our collective reason and/or superego?


• How will we remain unique, if that's possible?


• How will we be better Americans?


• How can we think for ourselves?

(3) What are you thinking for your film deconstruction paper? Are you leaning toward comparing the two LOTF film versions, or selecting your own single film to deconstruct? (I saw Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist last night--and could definitely deconstruct many aspects of it.)

• How might a director and producer make LOTF differently than another?
• Or, what might you say about a single film, if that is your route?

Epstein Analysis (80+ words due Saturday, March 8, by 10:00 a.m.)

(1) Find and read E.L. Epstein's essay on Lord of the Flies in the back of your Lord of the Flies book. It is on pages 203-208. (2) Using 25-35 quoted words of Epstein's, respond to his assertions with 80+ words of your own. Epstein is respected throughout America as a preeminent literary scholar. What do you think about Epstein's ideas?

Please email me or come see me if you have problems.

Literary Criticism

React to one or more of the following excerpts from professional literary critics: Wendy L. Sunderman, Bern Oldsey and Stanley Weintraub, Leon Levitt, Mary Ruthe Carter, Bernard F. Dick, Richard H. Lederer, Jerome Martin. Their words can be found by clicking on the comments link below. (The picture on the left is the cover of one of the best children's books ever. Relates interestingly to Lord of the Flies.)

Essay, Visual Project, and/or Test Progress

How are your ideas for your essay coming? How about your ideas for your visual project? And are you going to be ready for a matching/multiple-choice/true-false test? What help do you need from me or from other students to be successful?

Golding's Thesis

What is William Golding's thesis communicated through Lord of the Flies? What is the main message we are supposed to consider?

Beelzebub = "Lord of the Flies"

(Cool that Golding was "knighted" by British monarchy for his significant contribution to the human condition!) This novel is just packed with literary devices of all kinds, making it among my favorite allegories. The title is particularly evocative: Beelzebub is one of Lucipher's henchmen, I think.

My College Essay on Lord of the Flies

Click on the "comments" link to read an essay on Lord of the Flies I wrote for my USD graduate class, using the theories of Louis Althusser. Make sense?

Lord of the Flies Task 2

Golding knew Freud's theories very well and incorporated them into his novel. Ralph represents the superego. Jack represents the id. The ego, then, is within the reader's mind. Find and copy text here from the novel that makes these connections between the characters and psychoanalysis. What part(s) show(s) that Ralph is acting like the superego of the collective mindset of the boys? What part(s) show(s) that Jack is acting like the id of the collective mindset of the boys? (One comment here from each of you is due February 14.)

Lord of the Flies Task 1

Golding is considered by many to be a master of prose. He won a Nobel Prize for this book and, because he sold so many copies, lived a more than comfortable life. Show and respond to an example of a masterfully-written section of setting, narrative, or dialogue. An example that helps you feel, visualize, clarify, question, predict, or otherwise be involved with the book. See the first comment--the one I posted--as an example of what to do. And do include page number, as I have done. (One comment here from each of you is due February 14.)

Lord of the Flies Prediction

Based on what you have heard, seen, and know of classic British literature, what predictions for William Golding's Lord of the Flies can you create? What might the pictures show on this blog--and the pictures that come up when you Google (verb form of "Google") Lord of the Flies?

Art in Literary Analysis

What role can art play in the analysis of literature? This is a painting that reveals a lot about the boys of Lord of the Flies. A critical reader and viewer can make a lot of meaning from combining art and text.