Chapter 7 & 8 - Shadows and Tall Trees & Gift for the Darkness

I felt my body heating up as I watched the sun's rays reach down and touch my already sunburned skin.  My skin was dark from the mud and the same held true to all the other boys.  I desperately wanted a pair of scissors so I could cut the hair out of the way of my eyes.  I missed my toothbrush too.  I missed the everyday things I took for granted but most importantly I missed my home.  We had been on the island so long now that it surprisingly started to feel like normal, to feel like home.  But it was not my home.  Rescue was still the first thing on my mind.  Simon seemed to sense how I felt and reassured me that we'd get back to where we came from but a small part of me didn't believe it.  The boys wanted meat so I let Jack lead the hunt.  A pig was no more than five yards away from me, I lined it up with my spear and threw it toward the wild animal.  It hit its mark and the pig squealed loudly before it took off running into the undergrowth.  The pig escaped but we weren't satisfied.  Robert made a snarling sound and pretended to be the pig, while we all circled around and pretended to hunt him.  We were running out of time to get to the mountain top to search for the beast.  I led the group along the ocean rocks and realized we'd be leaving Piggy alone with the littluns all night.  Simon offered to go back to tell Piggy that they would not be back until later and I let him.  I thought it would be a good idea to wait until light again for us to climb the mountain to search for the beast but Jack decided he wanted to go and I couldn't let him make me look like a coward so I went too.  Roger went too and the three of us scaled the mountain.  At the top was the beast.  We took of running before it had seen us as it bowed and plopped.

We returned to the beach where Piggy and the littluns were.  We told Piggy what we had seen up on the mountain.  Jack had my conch and had blown into it to signal a meeting.  I was mad about that but I let him start off the meeting when everyone arrived anyways.  He asked the boys who they thought should be chief and no one dared to say him.  I was glad but Jack stormed off into the distance saying how he was leaving the group forever and that anyone could go join him too.  Piggy tried to tell me that he'd be back by nightfall but something told me otherwise.  Then Piggy suggested we build the fire down on the beach so we wouldn't have to climb up the mountain to where the beast was.  It was a brilliant idea and I had everyone start building it.  There were some boys missing, mostly the biguns but we didn't need them.  We were doing just fine on our own.  The wood we collected was damp and hardly worked for our fire but it was the best we could do for now.  A group of boys from Jack's tribe came running out of the woods, scaring all the littluns.  They raided us for our fire.  They needed it for themselves without Piggy's glasses.  He even tried to sway everyone to follow him by inviting those who wanted to a feast.  I hoped no one else left to join him.

Personal Connection:  These chapters relate to my life because Ralph and Jack challenge each other to do things they would never do without the other being there to push the other.  Jack challenges Ralph's authority and courage when climbing up the mountain to search for the beast and that is what causes Ralph to go along even though it is dark out.  I am like that with my friends, we always try to out-do each other in everything since we are competitive.  These things lead to good and bad things but there is no doubt we would not do them without each other.

Quote:  The quote, "Ralph too was fighting to get near, to get a handful of that brown, vulnerable flesh.  The desire to squeeze and hurt was over-mastering." on page 115 in chapter 7, Shadows and Tall Trees, is important because it is showing how even Ralph, the rational type character is now turning wild.  He has been on the island so long that he is started to become like Jack, in search of the blood of a pig after he had fun wounding one on his first hunt.

Chapter 5 & 6 - Beast from Water & Beast from Air

I blew on the conch to signal a meeting.  It would be all business and serious, none of the fun, joking types we had before.  I sat on a dead log and waited while the other boys circled around.  This was the latest assembly we'd ever had but it was concerning very pressing matters.  I was firm when I told the other boys about all the points I wanted to make.  I told everyone that we were lacking people to get water in coconuts.  That we needed to sleep in our huts at night and more people should have helped build them.  That we had let the fire go out because of the hunters when it needed to be sending a signal of smoke constantly.  That there would only be one fire on the mountain top, not even small ones for food. That we would use the rocks for a lavatory.  I also mentioned how I sensed the fear of everyone but told them they didn't need to fear.  Jack, Piggy, and I all agreed that there was no beast on the island but Simon dissented.  He said the beast may only be us and the  other boys laughed at him.  I questioned whether I should give up being chief.  I was losing control, it might happen eventually and at least this way it would be on my own terms.
I woke up to Sam and Eric frantically shaking my tired body.  They said they had seen the beast.  I had them quietly call another assembly.  The fear in their eyes and in their words told me it wasn't just a dirty trick.  I gathered the biguns and had them grab spears to hunt down the beast with.  The littluns stayed behind on the beach with Piggy to watch over them.  Jack told me how there was only one place he had not yet been to on the island.  There was only one way up to that place.  We started on our way but I was the furthest behind.  I was too busy in thought to lead and Simon slowed to walk with me.  We had reached the "castle" and there was only one way to access it, a narrow path made of rock.  I was the chief, I had to go first so I went but I was glad when I heard Jack following close behind.  There was no beast at the "castle".  I was glad because now it will prove to all the other boys that there is no beast on the island.

Personal Connection:  My personal connection from chapter 5, Beast from Water, and chapter 6, Beast from Air, is that I understand how it feels to look for help when there is none just like Ralph felt when he was arriving at the "castle".  Ralph was so fearful of what he was about to face because he thought it would be the beast.  It is hard to stay strong when others are looking up to you to lead them and help them and you don't know what to do or how to help.  Ralph overcomes his struggle just as I overcome mine too.

Quote:  The best quote from these chapters regarding Ralph was on page 104 and says "Ralph dismissed Simon and returned to his personal hell.  They would reach the castle sometime; and the chief would have to go forward."  This shows that despite Ralph being the one others look to for help and to make decisions, he has his own fears and feels the need for an adult to come help him solve his problems.  He is looking for someone to look up to himself while needing to stay strong and lead the others so they can survive long enough until they can be rescued.

Chapter 4 - Painted Faces and Long Hair

I was sitting in the shade of the palm trees when Piggy came over to talk to me about new things the group needs to do while we wait to be rescued.  He suggested we build a sundial out of sticks in the sand and everyone would get their own but I knew it would just lead to more hopeless things we would want to build and not accomplish.  I told him to shut up and I walked away.  I was sick of hearing his ideas when he did nothing to help put them in motion.  I went to the pool of water and saw Maurice diving into the water.  Piggy had followed me though and I rolled my eyes.  He just doesn't understand.  I saw smoke out on the horizon.  It was from a passing ship.  I thought we were about to be rescued but Piggy told me there was no smoke on the mountain top.  The fire was dead.  Jack let the fire go out.  Jack and his group of hunters came out of the woods carrying a pig.  They were chanting something but they were too far away and my anger was messing with my senses anyways.  I confronted Jack about it and he hardly seemed to care at all.  Jack punched Piggy and it broke Piggy's glasses.  Finally Jack apologized for letting the fire go out but it was useless.  He couldn't make the ship come back.

Personal Connection:  The events in chapter 4, Painted Faces and Long Hair, relates to my life because I know how bad Ralph wants to be rescued and I have wanted something that bad too.  Jack didn't care for being rescued, he was overwhelmed with the thrill of the hunt instead of doing what he was told.  Often this is the same result I find when working with others, there are often disagreements on the goals wished to accomplish and the ways we will achieve those goals so I understand Ralph's anger when Jack lets everyone down by failing to do his job.

Quote:  "Yet Ralph's throat refused to pass one.  He resented, as an addition to Jack's misbehavior, this verbal trick.  The fire was dead, the ship was gone.  Could they not see?  Anger instead of decency passed his throat."  This is an important quote about Ralph in Painted Faces and Long Hair because it shows that Ralph will never forgive Jack for letting the fire go out.  This will drive the boys further apart to go their own ways and to not stay unified under the rule of Ralph.  Their conflict continues and this is another big point of lasting anger.

Chapter 3 - Huts on the Beach

I was working with Simon to build a hut on the beach when Jack came out of the creepers drenched in sweat.  We walked down the beach as he explained how his hunting went for the day.  He had been trying to catch a wild pig but he has been unsuccessful since the start of his efforts.  I know Jack has been trying his hardest to kill a pig and bring back its meat but he has hardly been of help in any other way.  All of the other boys have even run off to do whatever they please except Simon who stayed back to help.  I tried to persuade Jack to help build huts instead of hunt for pigs but he was consumed with the idea of the kill.  He refused to listen to me despite the fact that I am the elected leader.  He is becoming an animal.  I reminded Jack that his hunters or choir boys needed to maintain the fire that would signal our rescue.  I thought he saw a ship out on the horizon of the ocean but he was talking about something relating to a place he will hunt down a pig to kill.  A place up high on the cliffs where the pigs would lay when the sun was extremely hot.  All I wanted from him was to help pitch in on the beach as much as he focused on tracking and killing wild pigs.  When I returned to the hut I had been working on, Simon was gone.  I didn't see him at the bathing pool either and I wonder where he could have run off to.

Personal Connection:  The events in chapter 3, Huts on the Beach, relates to my life because I know what it is like to feel ignored and unappreciated much like Ralph does in this chapter.  He feels that no one is listening to his ideas on how they will survive on the island and I understand how he feels.  Being a teenager, I often am overlooked by adults when it comes to ideas despite the fact that I feel my ideas are just as important as theirs.  Age should not matter when it comes to listening to ideas.

Quote:  "Indignation took away Ralph's control.  'I was talking about smoke!  Don't you want to be rescued?  All you can talk about is pig, pig, pig!'"  This quote shows more conflict between Ralph and Jack over how the group should behave while stuck on the island together.  Ralph wants to focus on building huts for shelter and keeping the fire burning so they can be seen and rescued.  Jack wants to kill a pig for meat and thinks being rescued isn't important until then.  This just expands on the problems that will occur between Ralph and Jack.

Chapter 2 - Fire on the Mountain

I blew into the conch to get the attention of the other boys.  We all gathered around for a meeting on the platform by the beach.  I told the boys about what had happened while exploring the island.  Jack, Simon, and I had determined we all were on an island and so I told the other boys that.  I also said that we had seen a wild pig so there is food on the island that we would just have to hunt for.  I came up with the idea that whoever wanted to talk would have to be holding the conch so we would have order.  A little boy had stepped forward to speak to the group so I gave him the conch.  He was physically distressed and I could tell something was bothering him.  He said there was a beastie, some kind of snake thing.  I didn't believe him.  There is no beastie.  I moved on to the next order of business instead, how we will signal our rescue.  I determined we needed a fire to allow passing ships or planes to know we were stranded.  Immediately when I said it, all the boys except Piggy ran up the mountain to start building it.  I didn't know how to light the fire and I could tell neither did Jack.  But we got the bright idea to use Piggy's glasses.  I feel bad for taking them off him but it was for the good of the group.  He even went off on a rant and told us how savage we all were and I felt kind of bad because I knew he was right.

Personal Connection:  This chapter relates to me because like Ralph, I also have a fear of the unknown.  Whenever I don't know what something is, I like to pretend it doesn't happen or that there is some logical reason even when I can't think of it right away.  This means that I can understand why Ralph denied that there may be a beastie when the little boy with the scar brought it to the attention of the group.

Quote: "'A fire! Make a fire!'  At once half the boys were on their feet. Jack clamored among them, the conch forgotten.  'Come on! Follow me!'  The space under the palm trees was full of noise and movement. Ralph was on his feet too, shouting for quiet, but no one heard him. All at once the crowd swayed toward the island and was gone—following Jack.(pg 38)"  This quote is important because it foreshadows the struggles Ralph will have at controlling all of the boys.  It also foreshadows that Jack will steal some of the boys' loyalties and cause problems for Ralph and his group.

Chapter 1 - The Sound of the Shell

Ralph blowing into the conch shell to signal the other boys to come out of the forest.

I heard a voice coming from the undergrowth.  A plump, fat boy popped out of the tangled foliage and asked me where the man with the megaphone was.  I told him I didn't think there were any grown-ups around on this island.  It must be an island because of the reef out in the sea.  The fat boy would not shut up.  He kept rambling on and on and on despite my attempts to end the conversation.  I finally had walked down to the beach line and saw a large pool of water.  The fat boy told me the name the kids at school used to call him, Piggy.  I burst out laughing at the thought of him being called Piggy.  The heat was unbearable so i took off my clothes and jumped into the water.  The water was hot too.  I told Piggy that my father is a Commander in the Royal British Navy and that he would soon be arriving to rescue us off the island.  Piggy tried to tell me that no one knew we were here but I know my dad will find us.  I saw a creamy shell in the sand.  Piggy helped me get it and I couldn't wait to examine it.  When I blew into it, a loud farting noise came out and I saw many boys come out of the jungle.  A large group of robed boys approached us.  Jack Merridew was their leader and he was slightly intimidating to me.  The boys took a vote on who they wanted to be leader and I was chosen.  I'm happy to be their leader, I know I can make the right choices to lead them just like my father does.  Jack seemed to be disappointed he lost the vote so I gave him power over his choir to be in charge of the hunting for the group.  I decided that it would be best if Jack, Simon, and I all went to explore part of the island to make sure it really is an island.  The jungle was incredible to explore but I really hope we are safe here.  With wild animals and other creatures, I don't know what to expect from the island, which we finally confirmed that it was.

Personal Connection:  The events in this novel in chapter one, the Sound of the Shell, can relate to my own personal life because I can relate to needing to step up into a leadership role unexpectedly.  In my sophomore year of high school soccer I was given the captain's armband to lead the junior varsity team.  It caught me off guard and I immediately had to make sure I was a good role model for those around me just like Ralph now is being looked to for help by the other boys on the island in the classic novel.

Quote:"'Shut up,' said Ralph absently. He lifted the conch. 'Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things.'"  This quote is important because it sets the tone of leadership of all the boys on the island in Lord of the Flies.  Ralph was voted the chief because he held the conch and called a meeting based on Piggy's suggestions.  Not everyone is satisfied with Ralph as the chief though.  Jack Merridew wanted to be the leader of the boys and was shocked when he was not elected to be in charge.  This foreshadows that there may be some conflict between Ralph and Jack over the struggle for power, leadership, and respect.