Buchan,+M

1.) Civilization is a major concern for the boys as they realize they are stranded on an unknown island with no adults. In the first chapter of the novel, Piggy and Ralph find a conch shell lingering within the lagoon. When Ralph picks it up, Piggy says, “We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They'll come when they hear us– ” (Golding 16). This is the first step towards civilization for the boys. This quote shows success of a civilization because they realized that it would be important to have the ability to call the boys into a group if needed. It creates law and order for the boys and also reveals the upcoming leaders within the group.
 * Reading Journal for LOTF: Chapter 1 (Civilization) **

2.) Our current modern civilization is effective yet flawed at the same time. America was always thought of as a place of freedom and life long happiness. In reality, our society still faces many problems day to day. For example, there are still many people living in poverty. They are unable to provide for themselves shelter, food, or basic sanitation. Although the government is built to protect us, there are still many problems in the world that aren't being fixed. I think that we are failing because everyone has their own opinion on problems such as poverty. This makes it extremely difficult to fix the problem when our people don't come to a complete consensus on the issues at hand.

** Reading Journal for LOTF: Chapter 2 (Groupthink) ** 1.) In chapter 2 of //Lord of the Flies//, Ralph decides to blow the conch and have a meeting. He then suggests that the boys should build a fire so that ships passing by will see the smoke and come rescue them. During the making of this fire the boys, “Together, joined in an effort by the burden, they staggered up the last steep of the mountain. Together, they chanted One! Two! Three! And crashed the log on to the great pile” (Golding 39). This scenario has a positive outcome because they all work together to make the wood pile for the fire. It also shows their team work and willingness to overcome obstacles. The boys find an efficient way to work together.

2.) Groupthink is incorporated a lot in high school. Teachers use this idea for people to work together to share and converse about a certain activity or assignment. This is effective for high school students because they are introduced to a broad perspective on different topics. In addition, it opens people eyes to a variety of peoples' viewpoints. Personally, groupthink is a good concept, but I am very much an independent learner and worker. Group activities are effective in certain scenarios, but not always. For example, group projects are given to students so that they can all split up work to get it done efficiently. Throughout my years in high school, I know that this is not always the case and groupthink doesn't always work because sometimes there is not a consistent balance of work load amongst the group.

** Reading Journal for LOTF: Chapter 3 & 4 (Nyctophobia) ** 1.) During a conversation between Ralph, Jack, and Simon, Ralph tells Jack of the littluns nightmares. Simon says, “As if...the beastie, the beastie or the snake-thing, was real. Remember?” (Golding 52). This shows the young boys' fear of the unknown. Golding is trying to show the reader how societies feel uncomfortable when they don't know things. People try to plan ahead and focus on the future when in reality they should focus on what is happening in the present. The littluns realize that they are on an island without any adults and no guidance. This frightens them a lot, causing them to work themselves up and fear the unknown that is hidden within the jungle of the island.

2.) One of my biggest fears is my future. I am terrified of what is going to happen next. I work very hard in school so that I can go to college and make something of myself. But the thing that I constantly think about is the “what ifs.” What if I die tomorrow? What if my family loses all its money and I can't go to college next year? What if one of my family members die? All of these wandering questions have accumulated in my head as I got older. It is scary that anything could happen in life at any moment. I don't like feeling like I don't have control over my life and what will happen to me in the future.

** Reading Journal for LOTF: Chapter 5 (Good and Evil) ** 1.) After Jack runs off with the littluns to hunt and rejoice, Ralph contemplates giving up his position as chief of the group. Piggy tells Ralph, “If Jack was chief he’d have all hunting and no fire. We’d be here till we died” (Golding 93). This is showing the conflict between Jack and Ralph over the head position as chief. This correlates with the theme good and evil, having Ralph represent the good and Jack representing the vil. As Piggy begs Ralph not to step down, he explains how they would never get rescued if Jack was chief because he wouldn’t prioritize the group effectively.

2.) You can determine what is good and evil by the long term and short term effects. If something will positively affect the greater population than this is referred to as something “good.” Bad things are known as actions that repress or negatively affect the greater population. It is hard to find a clear-cut differentiation between what is honestly good and evil. The only fair way to look at it is its impacts on society or a group of people.

** Reading Journal for LOTF: Chapter 6 (Beelzebub) ** 1.) When SamnEric are put on fire duty, suddenly darkness begins to startle them. Golding writes, “Sam looked at Eric irritably. The intensity of Eric’s gaze made the direction in which he looked terrible, for Sam had his back to it” (Golding 98). This quote shows their fear of something evil on the island. They are terrified and feel like they are waiting for a beast to pounce on its prey. This exemplifies how humanity tends to get worked up over things easily when they lack control over the situation. It also shows how humanity likes to spread the word when a bad thing happens because they want others to feel their fear.

2.) I think that the most materialization of evil is found in the media. Society has abused the use of local and world media to scare others about potentially “bad” things. Every day, new TV shows and new stories are released to the public. This escalates the situation and makes people fear what they not know of. It also causes everyone to discuss what they “hear.” This eventually leads to an even bigger fear and can lead to many peoples’ downfalls.

Chapter 7 Diary Entry Dear Diary, Hi, I’m Fred. It’s so cold on the island at night. I’m still seven years old, at least I think I’m still seven. My stomach won’t stop making gurgling noises. Whenever I try and go to sleep at night, my mind begins to trick me. The thought of the beastie hunting me encapsulates my head. Ralph says that he can imagine, “Piggy by himself, huddled in a shelter that was silent except for the sounds of nightmare” (Golding 117). That’s all I hear. If I’m not having a nightmare, the child next to me is. I always see Jack leading the hunters to find the rest of us food. Earlier they were trying to catch a pig, but it was unsuccessful. All of a sudden, I saw all the boys circling around Robert as if he was the pig they were hunting. Should I look to Jack for reliance? Ralph always tries to be in control, but Jack barely lets him speak. I think Jack is big, strong, and most importantly, can get us rescued. Have the boys resorted to savage ways? I’m scared of this island. There are too many hiding spots where anything could be waiting for its prey. When darkness falls upon the island, I don’t have my parents to tuck me in at night and wait for me to fall asleep. All I can do is hope that we are rescued. SOS, Fred

Chapter 8 Diary Entry Dear Diary, Today everything went from bad to worse. It seems as if everyone on the island is against each other. Nobody wants to try help each other out. Jack and a majority of the other boys left the part of the island that we were staying at to make there own tribe, "I'm going off by myself. He can catch his own pigs. Anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come too" (Golding 127) I feel more alone then ever. All I want to do is get off this island and go to somewhere I can call home. I hate it here. I feel like anything I do or say is being taken in by everyone here. I'm afraid that everyone is going to go against me if I disagree with them, but I don't know whose side to take. Ralph and Piggy always seem to put everyone before them, make sure that we are all taken care of before they take care of themselves, but Jack always seem to have a plan. Though he may not be nice to us like Ralph is, he always seems to know ahead of time what his next move is going to be. I feel as if I am torn between two completely different people, all I want is for everyone to get together and figure this out together. Sleep is something I don't get much of anymore. It's hard to sleep somewhere that you don't feel safe at all. Someone please come help us soon. SOS, Fred

Chapter 9&10 Diary Entry Dear Diary, I never thought I would be dealing with things like this at my age. I never thought I would participate in a murder, "Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood" (Golding 152). The death of Simon made me realize that much more that we are all alone out here. Everyone is worried about one person here, themselves. I had no idea that the outcome would be death in someone I was beginning to call my friend. Simon wasn't trying to hurt any of us, I think he was just scared like the rest of us. He didn't want us to become what Jack is coming, but a part of me thinks that the crazy in Jack is starting to rub off on all of us. Living on Jack's side of the island was nice at first, I was almost enjoying it more then being on Ralph's side, but now look what happened. It seems that everything is falling apart right in front of our eyes. I have given up on us getting rescued. Nobody knows that we are here, and nobody cares. It's scary to be here at night, because I feel like the next time someone dies it will be me. I don't want to be murdered, but a part of me doesn't want to be on this island anymore. I have nobody to trust, nobody to talk to, and nobody to be scared with. Someone please help me. I don't want to be alone anymore. SOS, Fred

Chapter 11 Diary Entry Dear Diary, Another day, another death. Its safe to say that everyone on the island is beginning to go crazy. As if the death of Simon wasn't enough, tonight Piggy and Ralph came over to get Piggy's glasses from Jack and it turned into a huge problem. Jack and Ralph began to fight and that is what set off Roger to let the rock go and kill Piggy, "The rock struck Piggy, a glancing blow from chin to knee; The conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist"(Golding 181) It didn't hit me until now that we are a group of young boys, not even men and we are killing each other. I don't know when life became so bad for anyone of us to turn on the other. I feel like a baby saying this, but in all honesty all I want right now is my mom. She would know how to protect me from the evil that is occurring on this island. WE ARE NOT SAFE. Thats exactly what I wanted to scream from the top of the mountains, I want to tell everyone that this island is bad. No good has come out of this horrible experience that we are all going through. When is this going to be over? When am I going to be happy again? I need to get out of here. SOS, Fred

Chapter 12, Diary Entry Dear Diary, This is going to be the last entry I am writing on the island of hell. Finally, someone heard our prayers, "the officer grinned cheerfully at Ralph"(Golding 201). It was an American soldier who came to rescue us, and the moment we saw him it was almost as if nothing had happened. We stopped pretending to be adults and let all of our emotions out. The tears that ran down my face felt like tears that were waiting to be cried for years. It was almost as if we all understood each other at that very moment. We were hurt, scared, and finally we felt that we were safe. The American soldier began asking questions, how many made it? How many didn't? And so on and so on. The questions felt as if they were going on for hours, every time I heard the word Piggy or Simon a tear came to my eye. I feel as if it's my fault, part of me feels that I could have helped both of them, but I am only seven. It was like nobody would have listened to me, but I will never forget this. The images in my head are something that I will never forget. This was the worst experience of my life, and I will never let this moment go. My life after we were rescued seemed perfect, even better than before I got stranded on the island. I had taken the little things for granted. My family, teachers, and friends were ecstatic to see me return in one piece. When I finally returned after a long flight on the plane, my entire family was waiting for me. The second I took my first step off the plane I ran to my mum and pop. All they kept doing was asking me questions. Am I okay? Am I hungry? How do you feel? All I could think about was hugging them. I could feel the heat off of their bodies penetrating my body, I was finally home. I was surrounded by a group of people who loved me. And now I know that they raise me so that I can grow up to be a mature adult in the real world. Thinking back on my experience on the island is hard, but I can't get it off my mind. I can still smell the fire that we attempted to start when we first realized we were stranded on the island. The shining image of the conch still stains my thoughts. Ralph was such a good leader before everything went wrong. When I finally gave in and joined Jack's group, this was my downfall. I can't believe that I would ever stoop so low to killing innocent people that went to my school. The image of Simon and his innocence screaming as the others attacked him. His death was tragic, but I couldn't do anything to stop it. I was caught up in the heat of the chant and I just went with the rest of the group. Another moment that I will never forget, is when Roger killed Piggy. Piggy was always so intelligent when it came to group decisions. He was the perfect balance of rational and realistic. My whole experience on the island was a nightmare that I couldn't seem to wake up from. Now that were back home, I started up school again. I don't see many of the boys except a few littluns, but the one I do tend to run into is Jack. Its weird seeing Jack roam the halls and seeing how changed he has become. His small period of complete power made him different. He's very quiet and doesn't talk to barely anyone. Although people see him as the power hungry murder that tried to take over the island. Living on the island with all children and no adults impacted my view of society as a whole. There are rules and laws for a reason. I never understood why the government had such an influence in peoples' lives, but now I know. I wonder if children ruled the world, would our society end up like the one on our island? I'm happy to be reunited with my family. This experience had a lot of negative outcomes, but personally it helped me understand life. I will never forget Simon or Piggy. Now all I have left of them is the memories in my head.

Signing out, Fred