"The buzz from the hunters was clearly one of admiration at this handsome behavior. Clearly they were of the opinion that Jack had done the decent thing, had put himself in the right by his generous apology and Ralph, obscurely, in the wrong. They waited for an appropriate decent answer.
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."
Ralph is a pivotal character in the story. He adds a more mature aspect to the very young group of boys on the island and acts as a mediator between between the boys, deciding what is best for the group. In this passage, Ralph is the only boy thinking clearly; the only boy who has his priorities straight. He understands that all the boys' actions need to be geared towards getting themselves rescued, not getting caught up in hunting or fighting with each other. In the beginning, Ralph stresses the importance of keeping the fire lit in order to signal a rescue boat, but the other boys let it go out in favor of hunting.
The boys' actions demonstrate how children are unable to understand the broad picture of things; they forget their duties and are distracted by enticing activities in the moment. Ralph realizes the big picture: the boys need to focus on a way to get off of the island, which demonstrates his maturity compared to the other boys. He is angry at Jack for neglecting his duties even though Jack kills a wild pig. The other boys only focus on what rewards they are receiving in the present, not the long run. They see the pig Jack killed and are happy and excited because Jack is happy and excited, but do not consider the fact that Jack should not have left the fire unattended. The way the other boys act, showing favoritism towards Jack, justly fuels Ralph anger; being the only logically thinking person in a group is frustrating.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
"Lord of Lost" #2
"Far beneath them, the trees of the forest sighed, then roared... Neither of the boys screamed but the grip of their arms tightened and their mouths grew peaked. For perhaps ten seconds they crouched like that while the flailing fire sent smoke and sparks and waves of inconstant light over the mountain.
Then as though they had but one terrified mind between them they scrambled away over the rocks and fled."
The story told in Lord of the Flies can be captivating to all age groups if told in slightly different ways. The writers of "Lost" took the basic plot of the book and made it more appealing to older age groups by making the characters adults. Adult characters are able to have more complicated interactions with one another, while children are more easily confused and misinterpret things. In this passage from the book, two children named Sam and Eric see the parachute of a dead man billowing in the wind, but instead of recognizing it for what it is, the boys jump to the conclusion that the parachute is a frightening monster. Adding an unknown and terrifying "beast" to the story increases the captivation felt by the reader or viewer. On "Lost," there is a "smoke monster" who literally makes the forest "roar" just as the monster in the book. The difference is that the monster on "Lost" is real, and not something less scary that the characters blow out of proportion. The adults are better at recognizing things for what they are and questioning things that seem impossible, such as the strange "smoke monster." But although the adults on "Lost" possess more common sense than the boys in the book, both sets of characters do not understand the islands they are on. The characters feel that big things are going on that they don't know about, which frightens them.
"Lost" shows the lives of adults because the demographic of the TV show can connect more to the characters, who are forced to deal with mature interpersonal relationships and can come to logical conclusions when faced with conflicts, unlike most of the children in the book. But despite their maturity, the adults on "Lost" are similar to the children in their fear of and confusion about the unknown forces that the island presents them with, creating two stories that are linked by the same major conflicts the characters must face.
Then as though they had but one terrified mind between them they scrambled away over the rocks and fled."
The story told in Lord of the Flies can be captivating to all age groups if told in slightly different ways. The writers of "Lost" took the basic plot of the book and made it more appealing to older age groups by making the characters adults. Adult characters are able to have more complicated interactions with one another, while children are more easily confused and misinterpret things. In this passage from the book, two children named Sam and Eric see the parachute of a dead man billowing in the wind, but instead of recognizing it for what it is, the boys jump to the conclusion that the parachute is a frightening monster. Adding an unknown and terrifying "beast" to the story increases the captivation felt by the reader or viewer. On "Lost," there is a "smoke monster" who literally makes the forest "roar" just as the monster in the book. The difference is that the monster on "Lost" is real, and not something less scary that the characters blow out of proportion. The adults are better at recognizing things for what they are and questioning things that seem impossible, such as the strange "smoke monster." But although the adults on "Lost" possess more common sense than the boys in the book, both sets of characters do not understand the islands they are on. The characters feel that big things are going on that they don't know about, which frightens them.
"Lost" shows the lives of adults because the demographic of the TV show can connect more to the characters, who are forced to deal with mature interpersonal relationships and can come to logical conclusions when faced with conflicts, unlike most of the children in the book. But despite their maturity, the adults on "Lost" are similar to the children in their fear of and confusion about the unknown forces that the island presents them with, creating two stories that are linked by the same major conflicts the characters must face.
"Lord of Lost" #1
"'I climbed a rock,' said Ralph slowly, 'and I think this is an island.'
'They're all dead,' said Piggy, 'an this is an island. Nobody don't know we're here. Your dad don't know, nobody don't know --'
...'We may stay here till we die.'
With that word the heat seemed to increase till is became a threatening weight and the lagoon attacked them with a blinding effulgence."
This passage from Lord of the Flies by William Golding depicts a scene similar to the first conflicts faced with the characters on the television show "Lost". On "Lost," an airplane crashes somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, stranding the few surviving passengers on a mysterious island. After escaping the violent and dangerous wreckage of their plane, the passengers convene together, much like the children do at the call of the conch, and discuss the possibility of getting rescued. The characters on "Lost" come to the same conclusion that Piggy does in the book: no one knows where they are and the chances of being found are slim. Like the young boys, the adults on "Lost" are frightened by that prospect. The "heat" described in the passage is a metaphor for the boys' anxiety aroused at the thought of not being rescued. On "Lost," the characters are constantly sweating in the blistering and humid heat of the island. The intrusive and unyielding nature of the heat symbolizes the anxiety they feel, which is the same as the boys' from the book; they all fear not being rescued, and that fear weighs on them and suffocates them like insufferable heat. The heat is "threatening" because the characters want to be rescued, but must come to terms with the fact that they may not be.
'They're all dead,' said Piggy, 'an this is an island. Nobody don't know we're here. Your dad don't know, nobody don't know --'
...'We may stay here till we die.'
With that word the heat seemed to increase till is became a threatening weight and the lagoon attacked them with a blinding effulgence."
This passage from Lord of the Flies by William Golding depicts a scene similar to the first conflicts faced with the characters on the television show "Lost". On "Lost," an airplane crashes somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, stranding the few surviving passengers on a mysterious island. After escaping the violent and dangerous wreckage of their plane, the passengers convene together, much like the children do at the call of the conch, and discuss the possibility of getting rescued. The characters on "Lost" come to the same conclusion that Piggy does in the book: no one knows where they are and the chances of being found are slim. Like the young boys, the adults on "Lost" are frightened by that prospect. The "heat" described in the passage is a metaphor for the boys' anxiety aroused at the thought of not being rescued. On "Lost," the characters are constantly sweating in the blistering and humid heat of the island. The intrusive and unyielding nature of the heat symbolizes the anxiety they feel, which is the same as the boys' from the book; they all fear not being rescued, and that fear weighs on them and suffocates them like insufferable heat. The heat is "threatening" because the characters want to be rescued, but must come to terms with the fact that they may not be.
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