Haase,F


 * __Journal Writing For Lord of The Flies Chapters 1-6__**

__Felix Haase Lord Of the Flies Chapter 1: Civilizations__

1.) Chapter one of the novel is key when talking about civilization because this is the moment when the boys chose to become a democracy instead of resorting to anarchy. The boys where organized enough to elect Ralph as their leader and well behaved enough that even the little –uns where not interrupting the assembly. For a society to function properly a system like this is absolutely required. “Let’s have a vote’. ‘Yes!’ ‘Vote For Chief!’ ‘Lets vote-“(Golding 22)

2.) In terms of the real world I cannot really say if we are winning the battle against chaos or not, the reason being that prosperous, democratic nations are fairly tranquil while impoverished, governmentally unstable countries have problem after problem in their way. If our global society where to be measured on a scale from absolute peace to absolute carnage I personally believe that for the duration of the 20th and 21rst centuries the dial has been hovering in the area directly between the two. Of course there are instances when the scale tips slightly in favor of evil, such as during a major war or when it leans towards the side of good, when peace conferences are in session, but despite the condition of the world at any particular time it is human beings ultimate struggle to erase all of the hatred and evil so that we know only good.  __Felix Haase Lord Of the Flies Chapter 2: Nyctophobia__

1.) The first days on the mysterious island are tough for everyone, they are away from the adult world and the guarantee of protection. Here the boy’s imaginations and deepest fears run wild in the jungle. “ He says the beastie came in the dark.’ ‘Then he couldn’t see it!’ ‘ He still says he saw the beastie. It came and went away again an’ came back and wanted to eat him-” (Golding 36). The older boys dismiss the younger boy’s claims as pure childishness but cannot shake the feeling that part of what he said could be true. Ralph and Jack order a fire to be built, partly so that passing ships will rescue them and partly because they do not want to be without light when night falls on the forest and fear manifests itself. “ That little ‘un that had a mark on his face-where is- he now? I tell you I don’t see him.” (Golding 46). The boy who told the tale about the beastie has gone missing and will not be found, fear has overcome them all. Golding helps us discover that the boy’s fire may not be a signal to other people, so much as it is an attempt to rescue them form themselves and keep hope burning bright against the darkness of the unknown.

2.) Humanity’s biggest fear is that of destroying itself, yet it cannot be avoided that we fight amongst each other. We fight war so that the winners will make the world more suitable to the image they envision, but disagreements lead to more and more destruction and eventually everything spirals out of control. Eventually we look at ourselves and we find that we are looking directly into the face of annihilation, into nothingness, darkness. Ultimately we are all scared of the dark, we are scared of death and of that which lies beyond our deepest understandings. We are not hopeless how ever; many of us still cling to the belief that wherever there is darkness, light has to be nearby.  __Felix Haase Lord Of the Flies Chapters 3 and 4: Good and Evil__

1.) “You and your blood, Jack Merridew! You and your hunting! We might have gone home-“ (Golding 70). Chapters three and four are the start of what we see as the major division between the boys as well as the underlying themes of good and evil. The boys who are connected with the side of good are Ralph, Piggy and Simon because they favor having a democratic society and building a fire to signal possible rescue ships. The boys we see turning evil and savage are Jack and the hunters/choir boys who care more about killing pigs than tending to the fire and building shelters. Internally we really see only Jack becoming wicked, but externally we are able to see how Jack’s destructive and somewhat primordial behavior influences other boys to serve him. An example of both internal and external conflict is Jack’s hunting face paint on page sixty-three of the novel. This shows transformation of Jack’s sensible choirboy side into a bloodthirsty predator and the alpha male among the hunters, or quite simply form good to evil. “ A rounded patch of sunlight fell on his face and a brightness appeared in the depths of the water. He looked in astonishment no longer at himself but at an awesome stranger. He spilt the water and leapt to his feet, laughing excitedly.” (Golding 63).

2 .) Personally I think that there are two possible answers to this question. The first would state that in the natural world there is no good and evil, and that both are human inventions. When humankind was still in the hunter-gatherer era we had no rules, no justification for right and wrong or good versus evil, it was only with our sophisticated minds that we were able to come up with the concepts. With the structure of governmental and religious rules we indentified crimes and sins along with good deeds and respect. As generation after generation was taught these rules it was implanted into our brain, and has been with us ever since. The second answer would say that good and evil are naturally placed in all creatures, every living thing has feelings and based around these feelings they make a decision on how to react to every given situation. In human beings we have deep and sophisticated emotions such as jealousy, regret, comfort, confusion, frustration and happiness; these are the key elements of what we feel is good and evil. An example is that telling a lie will make a person feel regretful and bad about what they did which we have turned into the idea of evil, while giving someone a gift or compliment makes us feel light hearted and uplifted which we have turned into the idea of good. Over centuries of human evolution we have analyzed many of our emotions and how they make us feel, based on the feeling we get from an experience we are able to put it into the category of good and evil. __Felix Haase Lord Of the Flies Chapter 5: Groupthink__

1.) “The rules!” shouted Ralph. “You’re breaking the rules!” “Who cares?” Ralph summoned his wits. “Because the rules are the only thing we’ve got!” But Jack shouted against him. “Bollocks to the rules! We’re strong- we hunt! If there’s a beast we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat-!” (Golding 91). In chapter five Jack and Ralph grow father apart in their stances on how the island should be run, they cannot come to compromise because both are too stubborn to give in to the other’s demands and nobody else is stepping in to mediate. The method of groupthink is totally ignored as the assembly breaks into havoc, each person blaming another for the circumstances of de-civilizing the society. Jack and Piggy blame the little ‘uns for their incessant talk about a beastie and worrying everyone else on the island. Simon is accused of sneaking off at night and startling the little ‘uns into thinking there is a beastie in the forest. Piggy is made fun of and not taken seriously by anyone besides Ralph and Simon. Ralph and Jack blame each other for improper ideals of society. The lack of a true leader, someone who will listen to everyone and be fair in voting for final decisions causes everyone to turn against each other and things fall apart.

2.) In a classroom setting teenagers use the aspects of groupthink during academic, extracurricular or athletic activities or events where they are required to work with one or more other classmates. Sometimes bad communication in the group causes a few students to do all of the work and the group becomes very dysfunctional. Outside of school groupthink becomes more versatile as teenagers have the entire world at their disposal. Amongst friends usually a definitive leader offers possible group choices, this person tends to be the most outgoing and talkative, but not always the most intellectual. Another person in this group of friends acts as the mediator and allows everyone’s opinion to be heard, this person could also take on the role of peacekeeper if arguments break out between the group leader and the other members. Groupthink is quite widely used in the teenage world as friends are often made based around common interests and similar taught processes. Groupthink helps teenagers come to consensus about anything, but in some relationships the majority will get their way, or the more dominant person/ people instead of the vote being unanimous.

__Felix Haase Lord Of the Flies Chapter 6: Beelzebub__

1.) “We’ve seen the beast with our own eyes. No- we weren’t asleep-“

‘It was furry. There was something moving behind its head-wings. The beast moved too-”

“That was awful. It kind of sat up-“

“The fire was bright-“

“We’d just made it up-“

“-more sticks on-“

“there were eyes-“

“Teeth-“

“Claws-“

“We ran as fast as we could-“

“Bashed into things-“

“The beast followed us-”

“I saw it slinking behind the trees-”

“Nearly touched me-“ (Golding 100)

Sam’n’Eric were the first of the older boys to see the beastie. Little is known about the mysterious monster by the island society, but it was believed to be fictional due to the fact that only the little ‘uns had claimed to have seen it. Though even the older boys were not totally able to mentally overcome the unexplained disappearance of a little’un with a mulberry colored birthmark. When Sam’n’Eric re-accounted their scare on the mountain, Ralph was left with no choice but to call another assembly. The boys agreed that the only way they would ever feel completely safe would be when the beastie was proclaimed dead. In this chapter it is apparent that humans have different ways of dealing with fear. Sam’n’Eric ran away from it, even abandoning the fire that could get them off the island. Jack and the Hunters wanted to face their fear and beat it into submission. In the previous chapters the older boys used denial to deal with the fear they all truly had. Out of all of the boys Simon’s view of the beastie is probably the most interesting. “However Simon thought of the beast, there rose before his inward sight the picture of a human at once heroic and sick.” (Golding 103). Simon believes that if another human is the source of all their fear then they will begin to fear each other and their society will collapse.

2.) Historically in the United States we have seen many instances when Beelzebub showed itself in our culture or in single events. Some of the most notable are; the era of slavery and oppression of African Americans, the destruction of Native American homelands and civilizations, the mistreatment of immigrants and sexism towards Women. Some single acts of hatred include the assassinations of great men. Among them are Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lenin. Other horrible acts in our history include the 9/11 attacks, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In current events we have witnessed the movie theatre shooting in Aurora, Colorado, the shooting of Trayvon Martin in Florida, the ongoing destruction in Syria and the nonsensical power struggle between Democrats and Republicans. On television cop dramas include graphic violence and use of narcotics while horror movies use the influence of demonic and evil figures in the plot. Lyrics in music can approve of greed and lust or speak about hatred and pain.

__Diary Entries For Lord of The Flies Chapters 7-12__

__ Chapter 7 Diary Entry __

Dear Diary,

This is my first entry since our plane crash-landed on this strange island, and I am quite aware that I may never see home again. I have decided to keep a log of the events taking place here for anyone who may one day find this book. I would like to first introduce myself; my name is Thomas, I am eleven years of age and previously lived in Birmingham, England in the United Kingdom and later attended a boarding school in London. My father, who is in the armed forces, told me that a great war about to take place in every corner of the world. As a result I was sent away on this airplane to an unknown destination. I was accompanied by schoolboys form my own school and many others. During the journey an unknown enemy shot down our plane. All adults on board the plane died trying to save us, we are now on our own. So far we have been fairly successful at setting up a civilized community and have found plenty of food and water. We are keeping a fire going so that a rescue ship will find us. The leader of our community is Ralph, the next two in charge are Piggy and Jack, another named Simon takes care of the smaller boys we call the little’uns. One major problem we have faced over the course of our stay here is that a mysterious creature has been frightening the little’uns and it is starting to get in the way of our daily activities. We have nicknamed this creature “The Beastie” or “The Beast”. As of today all of the older boys excluding Piggy went out to track down and kill the beast, Jack and the rest of the best hunters were confident that this would be an easy task. Ralph and Jack led us to a part of the island we call Castle Rock where many of the boys began climbing on and throwing rocks. Jack encouraged their fun while Ralph wanted to keep moving, it seems like the two of them are becoming increasingly bitter enemies. We took a break for food and drink we by the castle rock and continued marching on through the jungle until late in the day. At this point many of the boys decided to head back to camp where Piggy and the Little’uns where waiting. Jack wanted to keep hunting and questioned if Ralph was brave enough to join him. “I don’t mind” (Golding 120) Ralph replied coyly. “We’re silly. Why should only two go? If we find anything, two won’t be enough.” (Golding 120). Roger decided to join them and the trio headed up the mountain. Later that night they returned to camp horrified at what they had seen atop the mountain. The beast was real.

Sincerely, Thomas

__ Chapter 8 Diary Entry __

Dear Diary,

After reflecting on today’s events it is apparent that things have gotten significantly worse for all of us. This morning the three older boys: Ralph, Piggy and Jack had an argument about the Beastie, which they now believe is a very real and dangerous threat to all of us on the island. Jack ended up taking the conch shell and calling his own assembly. Many of the boys trust him more than Ralph, but personally I think he is just hungry for as much attention as he can get. Ralph and Jack bickered about the current situation and our survival, finally Jack decided to leave the group and start another one with hunting as utmost policy and himself as chief. It wasn’t until much later in the day that I noticed that almost all of the big ‘uns had left to join his new tribe. I decided to go see what they were up to and make up my mind later about whose side I was truly on. Jack’s first orders where of course to start hunting. We painted our faces, wielded spears and began chanting, we truly where savages. In the forest we found a group of resting pigs, we went after a large sow. After a long chase we finally we able to kill it in an open meadow, jack stuck it’s head upon a stake and declared it an offering to the beastie. Something about that pig’s head seemed more grotesque than any ‘beastie’ I could imagine, I hope the flies eat it away quickly because I fear I will be haunted as long that thing still stands. Jack announced quickly that Maurice, Robert and himself would raid Ralph’s camp for fire while the rest of brought the pig back to castle rock. As we passed the meadow I could not help but looking at Jack’s hideous offering once again. When I glanced towards it I noticed someone in front of it, one of the choirboys, I think his name was Simon. I slipped to the back of the hunting procession and watched what he was doing; he seemed to be talking to it. Suddenly I heard it’s voice too, it was a sinister baritone that made me tremble as it spoke. “You’re a silly little boy, just an ignorant, silly little boy” (Golding 143), it was speaking to Simon but its strange words penetrated my conscious as well. “ There isn’t anyone who can help you. Only me. And I’m the Beast.” (Golding 143). Stricken with fright I fled back to Jack’s camp, I did not tell anyone of what I just saw, I did not want the other boys to become as silly and ignorant as me and Simon.

Sincerely, Thomas

__ Chapter 9 Diary Entry __

Dear Diary,

The weather was unpredictable today; the sky was dark and thunder rumbled in the distance. I suggested we build a more permanent shelter but the others rejected my opinion, as it was similar to that of Ralph and Piggy. Jack and Roger were not phased in the least by what nature’s torment and decided today was as good as any to celebrate. Some of the boys form Ralph’s camp; SamnEric and Bill came to join us, Jack let them in, it wasn’t them who threatened his new rule. I helped collect firewood and fruit and the party began. Later, towards the evening as the party was ending Piggy and Ralph showed up, the boys welcomed them as the friends they always were. Jack gave them some meat and allowed them time to eat and talk with the others. Things got hectic when Jack asked who would join his tribe, Ralph refused saying that they had all voted and chose him as chief. Ralph had allowed Jack and his hunters to hunt as much as they wanted, that was their duty and everyone needed each other to successfully survive. Jack would no longer listen and in defiance rallied his tribe to do their dance, they chased roger around with spears chanting “kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!”(Golding 152). The thunder rumbled more loudly, the dance became more wild and the chant more violent. Suddenly the beastie emerged from the forest and tore into the middle of the ritual. For a brief instance I thought I heard the beast say something, something about a body on the hill, but it drowned out by the rampage as the boys attacked. There was absolute chaos on the beach as they stabbed and pummeled the beastie with any available weapon, then everything was still. The clouds opened and the storm passed, the boys separated and the beast lay dead by the ocean, its blood running steadily into the surf. I crept towards where it lay and looked more closely at the silhouette. It was much smaller than I had imagined and strangely almost human- like in shape. At closer inspection under the moonlight I saw that this was no beast at all but Simon. Horror swelled through my entire body and I fell backwards in disbelief. I ran next to the other hunters into the overwhelming darkness that now encircled the island. That night I could not sleep, emotion got in the way. I wondered if children where capable of killing other children in a civilization outside our own, one that is not ruled by beasts.

Sincerely, Thomas

__ Chapter 10 Diary Entry __

Dear Diary,

The pain is unbearable yet my body forces me to go on as if Simon was still breathing. I see other boys talking and laughing amongst themselves and wonder how they are able to forgive and forget so easily. Jack most of all seems totally unphased by the experience of last night, he even seems more confident that the island will be his. As was walking to a stream for a drink I overheard Roger and Robert talking; “He’s going to beat Wilfred” “What for?” “ I don’t know. He didn’t say. He got angry and made us tie Wilfred up. He’s been tied for hours, waiting-.“(Golding 159). I was surprised that after last night Jack would be capable of torture. A little while later Jack called us together and announced that tomorrow we would be hunting and repairing the fort. As for tonight Maurice, Roger and himself would be raiding Ralph’s camp for fire. I talked amongst the rest of the boys and wondered if Jack would steal the conch shell as well, or worse he would perform that horrible hunting dance and kill one of the boys over at Ralph’s end of the island. As it became nighttime on the island jack, Maurice and Roger returned not only with fire but also with Piggy’s broken spectacles. I wondered to myself ‘how will we start fires without those glasses? How will we ever signal a boat for rescue?’ but my thoughts soon subsided as I joined the rest of the boys for a late supper. This night’s sleep was better than any of the previous ones. I continued to have the same thoughts over and over. I realized that even though Piggy was the one who’s glasses where broken; only Jack was truly helpless and blind.

Sincerely, Thomas

__ Chapter 11 Diary __

Dear Diary,

It wasn’t until mid afternoon until trouble occurred again. At Jack’s camp I sat by the surf, staring out into the open ocean, Jack and some others had gone out hunting, the rest of us where ordered to stay behind and watch for Ralph and Piggy to show their faces. Last night they had smashed piggy’s glasses and stole their fire, when Jack presented the trophies to his brainless savage followers they cheered and howled at the barren sky that bore witness to their cruelty. The things I felt now turned into regret, I was part of Jack’s mindless force I was just as guilty as they where. My never-ending self-conflict was brought to a sudden end when I heard someone blowing the conch shell. I turned to see that the boys where looking at the entrance to the Castle Rock. Approaching it from the forest was Ralph, SamnEric and Piggy who was totally blind without the aid of his glasses. Ralph took his lips off of the conch and spoke; “I’m calling an assembly” (Golding 175). The savages stood silently, unsure of what move to make without their leader. Ralph had the conch and with it came power that was so feared by jack and his tribe. It was at this time that Jack and two of his hunters returned from their outing, Jack and Ralph locked eyes. “You go away, Ralph. You keep to your end. This is my tribe. You leave me alone.” (Golding 176). Ralph refused to back away, it was clear that he had had enough of Jack’s immaturity. The two of them faced each other, spears at hand, I watched wondering if they would kill each other as mercilessly as we killed Simon. Jack swung first, and then they went at each other with all of the pent up rage their young bodies where capable of holding. They swung and jabbed at each other to the point of exhaustion. Then Piggy stood in the dust of battle holding the conch above his head. “I got the conch! – I got this to say. You’re acting like a crowd of kids. – Which is better- to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?” (Golding 180). Piggy’s words hung in the air as jack ordered the hunters to charge. Then Roger pulled the lever, the lever that unleashed a massive boulder down towards the Ralph and Piggy. It smashed into Piggy’s body with full force, shattering the conch and shooting him towards the sea. Jack yelled victoriously as Ralph stood blinded in the wake of destruction that had killed his best friend. Jack flung his spear at Ralph, giving him a glancing blow across the ribs. SamnEric where pounced on by the rest tribe and Ralph ran towards the forest. Tonight I prayed for Piggy and Simon and that someday I would get to see home again, before my world faded into the darkness. Sincerely, Thomas

__ Chapter 12 Diary Entry __

Dear Diary,

Today the world awoke from darkness only to be set on fire. Jack addressed us simply this morning; we had one task today and that was to find Ralph. We painted our faces and held spears, torches and anything that could be used as a weapon. Roger sharpened a stick at both ends; he planted it into the ground next to the one that held the head of a sow killed yesterday. I wondered what it could be for, we where not hunting pigs today, we were only……then the true intention of the stake flashed in my brain for a brief second, my whole body shivered. Soon we moved out in a line around the circumference of the island, we were ordered to signal each other by shouting so the rest of us would wait up if someone had to catch up. I wondered what was in Ralph’s mind, maybe he would submit not knowing that the stake was waiting for him. Suddenly I smelled smoke, I turned to see walls of fire burning the forest down. Animals ran through the blaze and boys screamed either in terror or delight. Then I saw Ralph running for the beach, I followed knowing that it was the only safe place now that fire overwhelmed the forest. Boys were following me as well, running towards the last oasis the world of children had to offer. We fell onto the sand and then looked surprisingly upwards into the face of a man, an actual adult man! He was clad in a naval uniform and was talking to Ralph who looked just as surprised as the rest of us. “ Are there any adults- any grown ups with you?”(Golding 200). Ralph shook his head and the rest of us sat flustered. “ I should have thought hat a pack of British boys –would have been able to put up a better show than that – I mean-“ (Golding 202). We felt ashamed and confused by his words, and soon all of us broke into tears. I don’t know for how long I cried but I knew that if I cried long enough I would be able to drown this pathetic island under the sea where the dead bodies of two innocent boys rested as well.

Sincerely,Thomas

__Epilogue__

Dear Diary,

It has been two or three months since our rescue and return to London. So far life is extremely hard for all of us Big’uns. It will still be a long time before we learn to cope with the drastic change in environment and lifestyle that now surrounds us. It has been quite a while since I last wrote an entry in this old diary, so I suppose I will tell of all events in the order they occurred after our homecoming. Upon arrival in the U.K. we were given a chance to shower and bathe, comb and cut our hair and were given as much food as we could eat. The adults told us that the ‘Great War’ had just ended and that boys were returning to the U.K. form other parts of the world where things had been safer. Out of the many hundreds of evacuee planes that had left carrying school children, ours was the only one that crashed off radar. We spent a few nights in the refugee shelter until some of the officers on board the rescue vessel visited to tell us that we would be reunited with our families tomorrow. Later however they pulled Ralph, Jack, Roger, Bill, Maurice and myself aside to tell us that our fathers had all fought on the front lines and had died bravely in battle. The rest of our families had fled to other parts of the world and could not be reached. Emptiness welled within us as we realized the world of adults contained more despair than our own. We wept beside our father’s graves the following morning while Little’uns hugged their parents again for the first time in what seemed like forever. Time passed and we were all sent to the same boarding school outside of London; they knew that the only family we had left was each other. We had struggled against one another on the island, but now it was impossible to do even the smallest task alone. Coping with the real world has forced us to become close friends despite the overwhelming scar left by the deaths of Piggy and Simon. Though we have become close, we do not joke or laugh nearly as much as any good friends should, sorrow has taken that away. We attend our studies under the supervision of government agents who will act as our guardians until we become legal adults. Ralph, Jack and Roger attend private therapy sessions a couple times a week to help them reconcile with the dreadful reality in which we live. A week ago the Naval officer who first found us on the island came to visit, he asked us to tell him exactly what happened on the island and why it was taking all of us so long to recover from it. None of us said a thing. We knew his complex adult mind would never be able to comprehend the heinous acts we were willing to commit when the rest of the world turned its shoulder. It seems that all of us want to forget what happened there, and already many of us already refuse to remember. The only proof of our experiences remains in the confines of this diary, which I keep hidden at all times. To this day I have never told anyone of its existence, except for Ralph. Sometimes he asks me to read a portion to him before we are told to go to sleep by the prefects. He sits at the foot of my bed, staring off into the unknown as I read of one day’s events quietly enough so that only the two of us can hear it. He never interrupts me during the readings or speaks a single word; it is only when I am finished that he stands, walks to the door and whispers “Thank you.” I know life can never be the same for those of us who have lived to see destruction and hatred manifest themselves into their most malevolent forms, but maybe we can teach the generations of tomorrow to not make the same mistakes as we have.

Dear Diary, The most important thing is to never let the flame of hope be extinguished.

Sincerely, your friend Thomas