Lord of the Flies

12 chapters later, you are finished!

William Golding has received a great deal of criticism about his book because of the brutality he portrays and the negative picture he paints of mankind.

As a response to these criticisms, he said in an interview in 1963,
"I learned during WWII just how brutal people can be to each other. Not just Germans or Japanese, but everyone. I tried to point that out.... some have said that the brutality portrayed in my novel is impossible. It´s not. Just look at any newspaper..."

Do you agree or disagree? Is his statement timely for 2009? More or less than it was in 1963?

Human Rights

As you work in your groups on your "society", you have been asked to think about basic human rights.

What rights should be given to each and every person? Or does everyone on the planet deserve the same rights? Does the murderer deserve the same as you? How about the child molester? Or the rapist? Is there ever a point when you sacrifice your right to those basic human rights?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnXQS6oetQk

LOF Creation of a Society

Welcome to the Lord of the Flies Society. As in the Lord of the Flies, your plane has crashed into the ocean. You and your friends have survived and manage to make your way to a seemingly deserted island. You have collected some items from the wreckage of the plane, but in order to survive until a rescue plane or ship arrives, you need to set up your "society". The first order of business to determine how this new society will function for its members because although you are friends, your group represents a variety of economic statuses, religious beliefs, ethical views, and opinions about right and wrong.

1. SETTING UP A DEMOCRACY:

Each person from the crash is from a country with a democratic system of goverment, so everyone is familiar with how democracy functions. You must develop an "official document" that describes your Democratic system on the island. You should think abou these questions as a starting point:
How will you maintain order, who will be in charge, how will you gather everyone together, how often and for what reason will you meet as a group? There are other questions that you may choose to address in your document.

2. HUMAN RIGHTS:

You must develop a poster that details the rules and rights of the inhabitants of your island. You must include consequences for breaking the rules. Use the websites below to gather information about human rights situations around the world.

HUMA N RIGHTS.org

Amnesty.org-Freedom of expression

Amnesty.org-Tunisia

Amnesty.org-Nicaragua

Amnesty.org-Afghanistan

Amnesty.org-Children

Amnesty.org-Discrimination

Amnesty.org-Women

Going home...

The boys have now been on the island for quite a while, and their hopes of being rescued diminish a bit more each day. Remember- their ages range from 6 to 12.... When the sun goes down, and the darkness comes, what are they thinking about? What would you be thinking about?

Thorns....

Song Title: "Every Rose has its Thorns" by Poison.
Your task--relate this song to the novel Lord of the Flies
What parallels can you draw between the two?

Piggy

Your homework before our next class will be to approach the novel from Piggy's point of view. Before you can do this, you need to understand the "role" that Piggy serves in the story.

He is the kid on the island that everyone picks on. He is reminded of this every time they say his "name". Think about these questions:
Why are kids so cruel to each other?
What about when you are on the receiving end of the cruelty?
Have you ever stood by and watched the cruelty or teasing without stopping it?
Should you do something to stop it?
Or is it even possible ????

I will survive....

When you hear the word "survive", what images or thoughts come to mind? What are the characteristics of a survivor? Does everyone have what they need inside of them to SURVIVE any situation?