Comments

First comment- Joseph Folta
Second comment- Jesse Park
Third comment- Andrew Nam
Fourth comment- David Kim
Fifth comment- Sunhoo Kim
Sixth comment- Ariel Cho

#6 The major theme of this novel

The theme of this novel was human beings have evil in the inside. This theme shows to teenager living in 2008, that we need rules to control ourselves. In addition, at least once, kids might have thought it would be a better place if there were no adults. However, this novel precisely shows that kids need an adult who have more knowledge and ability to control them. It seems kids are human and adult is God. If we did not have God guiding us, we would tear each other and make a sinful chaotic world. To me, this showed we cannot live without God. I disagree that human beings have evil inside them. They used to have evil inside of them, but when Jesus died on the cross, their evil inside them were cleansed. But then why do we still sin? I thank my pastor for today’s sermon. He said we still sin because of Satan’s temptation. Though the devil was defeated by the cross, Satan would not acknowledge that he was defeated. So the devil is trying to find people who doubt the cross and tempt them into sinning. That is why we still have sin in our lives. In conclusion, I interpreted this novel as saying to teenager that we would have been this way if Jesus did not come and we should obey God.

#5 The setting in the novel

The setting of the island was beautiful and disturbing and memorable. When boys were swimming and playing with the sand made the island beautiful. When the novel talked about the clear, transparent water and shiny conch, there was nowhere danger in the island. However, it was disturbing when there was rain and when the novel gets to go deeper in the island. The forest in the island wounded boys because it was full of dangers and made them more savages. Also, when Simon’s and Piggy’s corpse were carried by the sea, it was upsetting. It was memorable because the sand showed clear proof of Simon’s blood. It took a long time for me to forget that scene. So cruel!

#4 One passage from the novel that is significant for me

“Then the clouds opened and let down the rain like a waterfall. The water bounded from the mountain-top, tore leaves and branches from the trees, poured like a cold shower over the struggling heap on the sand. Presently the heap broke up and figures staggered away. Only the beast lay still, a few yards from the sea. Even in the rain they could see how small a beast it was; and already its blood was staining the sand.”
This passage was when Jack’s tribe killed Simon because they thought he was a beast. Though they thought he was a beast, Ralph, Piggy, and Sam and Eric knew it was Simon. This part was shocking but also allowed me to realize that these kids are not kids any more. They were savages. It made me feel they just crossed the line that they should not have crossed. This passage describes how after the death atmosphere looked. Especially the part that said “They could see how small a beast it was; and already its bloody was staining the sand.” It was such gory scene to imagine. Simon was kind to the boys and was the only one who realized the truth about the beast on the mountain. He was the one who could have solved the conflicts between Ralph and Jack. It seemed like they have lost the key to the treasure box of civilization.

#3 The Mood of this novel

The mood of this novel was miserable. It was miserable for me to see kids turning into savages. Especially when Ralph told them they were savages and they would not listen to him, made me hopeless. It was brutal for the author to see how the civil boys turn into savages slowly and thoroughly. This novel saddened me for showing me the brutality in human. I believe if anyone was in the island, at some point they would be crueler than they were before. The novel brought out the darkness that was buried deep inside to outside. I thought this showed what would happen if there was no God that cleansed our sins. Since we were all sinners and had eternal death, it is true that we have evil inside of us. However, because Jesus died on the cross, we are clean but are tempted by the devil. That is why we act evil.

#2 The Climax of this novel

The part that was climax was when Jack made his tribe and chases Ralph. I was worried when Jack rebelled against Ralph and made his own tribe in the first place. I felt he was going to make Ralph in trouble and he did. Jack’s tribe was going to search the whole island for him. When there was nobody on Ralph side, my heart was pounding hard. Especially when Ralph was hiding I was too nervous to read on. I wished Ralph could blend in with them instead of being the target. If the officer did not come, Ralph would have been in the same situation as Simon and Piggy.

#1 The Main Characters of the novel

There are Ralph, Jack, and Piggy, Roger, Sam and Eric, Simon and other kids who are trapped in an Island. Each of them has different characteristics which made each other distinguish clearly.
Ralph, who the chief of these children group, had a smart thinking and hold fasten the rational of mind instead of the animal inside of him. He cared others and contemplated for all kids in the island. I admire Ralph for his leadership. There were many times when difficult problems occured, but Ralph tried his best not only for himself but also for kids. If I were Ralph I would try to join the tribe and just blend in even though that would make me extremely uncomfortable.
In contrast, Jack has full of ambition and violence. He also wanted authority and controlled over these kids. He was so jealous when Ralph became the chief that later he made his own tribe. I believe Jack’s greed made this whole conflict. I know that if he did not make any collide, there would be someone who would start a conflict, but since Jack did it, I’m blaming Jack. If he yield his thought and did not lose his rational mind, I believe it would not be this chaos. Furthermore, there are no people who had a great characteristic as Jack to tackle Ralph.
Piggy was I believe the most adult-like kid in the island. He helped Ralph when Ralph was scared and discouraged. However, one of the reasons he helped Ralph was for his own benefit. He was weak and was scared of Jack. Everybody except Ralph ignored him. Tell the truth, I also was annoyed with Piggy like the others sometimes. I believe the reason Ralph and Piggy was different was because of the way of acting. Ralph had charisma that controlled the kids. Piggy had a same mind with Ralph, but his cowardliness made him get ignored.
Roger was a boy whose personality turned entirely in the book . Out of this book, I did not like Roger the most felt hopeless for him. He was obedient to his leader but when his animal instinct came out, he became more brutal than Jack and he was the one who kills. I astonished of Roger. I had no solution for him.
Sam and Eric are twins. I like the twins most for their loyalty to Ralph and I was able to feel they are kids instead of animals. They were great help to Ralph and were the only kids that supported him. I felt sorry when they had to be part of tribe they were just kids that wanted be rescued.
Simon was the enigma in the book. Also, he was a coward between kids, but courageous in things that frightened other kids. He was the first one who realized their animal instincts and tries to inform it but ends sadly. Simon had potential inside him but could not express it. I thought when he came out crawling, why could not he just stand up and say “I’m Simon” before kids came attacking him?
The other kids were the general people who were easily moved by certain events. It seemed that they were representing people in general who has no specific characteristics like above characters.