LOTF Notebook
Instructions
When the novel opens, nuclear war has broken out in Europe and a school from the English Home Counties has been evacuated by air to an unknown destination. The plane has touched down in Gibraltar (British territory in the south of Spain) and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia); then, still flying south-eastwards, it has been attacked, its crew killed, but its “passenger tube” released so that it can crash land on the jungle below.
When the novel opens, nuclear war has broken out in Europe and a school from the English Home Counties has been evacuated by air to an unknown destination. The plane has touched down in Gibraltar (British territory in the south of Spain) and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia); then, still flying south-eastwards, it has been attacked, its crew killed, but its “passenger tube” released so that it can crash land on the jungle below.
The island
is never named, but the description of its coral reefs, beaches and fruit trees
that bear all the year round suggests that it might be an island south of
Sumatra or Java, Indonesia.
The Home
Counties are those of England closest to London. During WWII many children were
evacuated from England, particularly from London where heavy bombing was
occurring, to safer areas like Canada, Australia, the US. Many of these
children spent much of the war away from home.
You are
required to independently read this novel. For each
chapter, you will be required to write a Notebook Entry. You must include
the following four elements for each:
1. The key
characters are: Simon, Piggy, Jack and Ralph. In a sentence or two, record an important fact about each character or a
change in the boy’s character. Back up your information with a quote and
page reference.
2. Record one important event that happened in
the chapter and explain its significance.
3. The
following symbols are very
important: Fire/smoke, Piggy’s glasses, the conch, the Beast, and the Lord of
the Flies. If any of these symbols appear or are alluded to in the chapter,
explain its importance with the use of quotes.
4. Pick two themes below. Find a quote that develops
it in the chapter. Describe its importance in the chapter.
Themes:
§ Civilization
vs. Savagery
§ Loss of
Innocence
§ Abuse of
Power
§ Struggle for
Power
§ Evil vs.
Good in humans
§ Think before
you act
§ Fear can
destroy insight and cause hysteria
§ Wisdom and Knowledge
