Chapter 11 was a huge chapter as far as my reading focus goes. There were some big power shifts and the conch breaking made me very sad. So, in chapter eleven, Ralph's "reign", if you would, comes to an end when he is the only one left on his side. Piggy is dead. He had been loyal to Ralph and always sided with him even if it took a while and now that whole relationship is out of the picture. Ralph is now literally up against the whole island who now basically wants to kill him since it is ruled by Jack. Ralph knows how it will be when Jack, "Hurled [hurls] his spear at Ralph. The point tore the skin and flesh over Ralph's ribs." (181). This is when he figures out that the power struggle between himself and Jack has become a battle to the death. This struggle had been going on throughout the story, but is focused right here.
Another obvious thing that happened in chapter eleven related to power was that the conch is destroyed. This has been the number one item in this story and it had everything to do with Ralph's power as chief. The conch gave him his power as the leader and now that it has, "exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist." (181) I would say that Ralph's time as chief is up. This was a huge symbolic item and now that it is gone Jack has total control of the island with the savages. Power was fully given to Jack in this chapter and everyone, including Sam and Eric, are now part of his group. Jack has taken over. Everyone must die.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Monday, December 3, 2012
Monday, November 26, 2012
POWER: The Conch Rules the Day
Oh boy, I think that these boys should give me the conch by the way that They've been talking, especially in chapter 5. They are crazy! Power has definitely been a huge part of this book so far and I think that it will continue and possibly escalade as we dive deeper into the story. Through the first four chapters I have spotted many times where the conch has ruled all. This shell gives the people who have it rights, and therefore it has lots of power. The conch has been quoted as having "reverence" amongst the group and even between Ralph and Jack. If the conch wasn't there there would really be no way to keep everyone in line and this would be an even worse train wreck than it already is. The conch has been a recurring theme of power through the first couple chapters, but in chapter 5 the conch's pink color has faded and I think that this could be a sign of a possible power shift or even something grimmer.
Two other things involved in power have obviously been Ralph, as chief, and Jack. Ralph has the given power by being the chief, but it appears that he is a little bit overcome by it, and is trying to be as fair as possible. The power that he has has really showed up in two, maybe three places. One was at the beginning of the story when he finds the conch and brings everyone out of hiding and calls the first meeting. He is elected chief and he is given a new kind of power. Another spot is after Jack goes hunting and lets the fire go out and he gives an order and then expects it to be followed. He also shows his power by taking charge of the meeting that they just had. I didn't really get to Jack, but he shows his power through his hunting and toughness. He also rebels against Ralph having all the power in some ways and really wants to rule the whole group. He feels like he should have this power because he leads the choir and is very cocky.
Two other things involved in power have obviously been Ralph, as chief, and Jack. Ralph has the given power by being the chief, but it appears that he is a little bit overcome by it, and is trying to be as fair as possible. The power that he has has really showed up in two, maybe three places. One was at the beginning of the story when he finds the conch and brings everyone out of hiding and calls the first meeting. He is elected chief and he is given a new kind of power. Another spot is after Jack goes hunting and lets the fire go out and he gives an order and then expects it to be followed. He also shows his power by taking charge of the meeting that they just had. I didn't really get to Jack, but he shows his power through his hunting and toughness. He also rebels against Ralph having all the power in some ways and really wants to rule the whole group. He feels like he should have this power because he leads the choir and is very cocky.
Midterm
I am suddenly beginning to get very stressed over the midterm exam in this class(and all the others). I find myself not having time to really digest the book as we haven't talked about it in class except for one day. This concerns me greatly and then a paper about a different topic basically on our own is also concerning. So back to the midterm, I think I have grasped most of the things that we have done, and feel that I will be prepared for these. Like I said before, I still think that the book and the literary analyses could definitely be a big question mark for me since we are doing them at the same time.
I think I have a pretty good grasp on the things that we did in first quarter even though I don't really know how there could be questions on literacy narratives. Short stories seem like a place where a lot of the points will come from along with our knowledge of Lord of the Flies. I think that literary analyses could be difficult in a test format and am very worried about the prospect of an English exam. They always scare me. I hope that we have a good review and possibly an in depth look at what we do and don't need to know for the test. I just don't really know with this one.
I think I have a pretty good grasp on the things that we did in first quarter even though I don't really know how there could be questions on literacy narratives. Short stories seem like a place where a lot of the points will come from along with our knowledge of Lord of the Flies. I think that literary analyses could be difficult in a test format and am very worried about the prospect of an English exam. They always scare me. I hope that we have a good review and possibly an in depth look at what we do and don't need to know for the test. I just don't really know with this one.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Island Activity + reading times
The Kill Order 11/10 1hr 33mins LOTF ch.1 1hr 10 mins
by: James Dashner 99 pgs. 11/11 30 pgs.
I wasn't there on monday so I guess I can't really reflect on the activity that we did. I got to class right at the end and I got the gist though, so I guess I'll talk about that. Our class was pretty organized in our discussion. I can see how that could've become a yelling match between people, but I thought it looked like they had it under control. Lily-Catherine and some others thought that we should eat the first graders that were on the island with us. This is definitely an interesting technique and it might actually have to come to that if you're starving on an island I guess.
These ideas are basically what I got from my five minutes in class so here's my thoughts on it. I probably would've taken charge since I normally do that and I would have sent the people that I had to do different jobs to help get some basic needs like food, water, and shelter. Once we established these resources I would have attempted to find rescue. This would involve signal fires to try and attract a plane or boat and maybe trying to salvage a radio or other communication from the crashed plane.
by: James Dashner 99 pgs. 11/11 30 pgs.
I wasn't there on monday so I guess I can't really reflect on the activity that we did. I got to class right at the end and I got the gist though, so I guess I'll talk about that. Our class was pretty organized in our discussion. I can see how that could've become a yelling match between people, but I thought it looked like they had it under control. Lily-Catherine and some others thought that we should eat the first graders that were on the island with us. This is definitely an interesting technique and it might actually have to come to that if you're starving on an island I guess.
These ideas are basically what I got from my five minutes in class so here's my thoughts on it. I probably would've taken charge since I normally do that and I would have sent the people that I had to do different jobs to help get some basic needs like food, water, and shelter. Once we established these resources I would have attempted to find rescue. This would involve signal fires to try and attract a plane or boat and maybe trying to salvage a radio or other communication from the crashed plane.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Reading Response
"The Catbird Seat" 10/30 15 mins 5 pgs. "Sucker" 11/1-11/2 25 mins 15 pgs.
Lorien Legacies By: Pittacus Lore 11/4 1 hr. 56 mins 113 pgs.
I finished the Lorien Legacies today, and it had a great ending. The garde members all united and even though they didn't defeat their arch enemy, Setrákus Ra, they finally joined together and I'm sure that they will get him in the next book in the series. I thought that this was a great installment in the series and it answered a lot of the questions that I had asked myself after reading the first two stories. I know that Lore will come with an equally, and probably more exciting series finale and I am really looking forward to it.
Something that I found very interesting in this book is that it was constantly switching narrators, which is something that I've noticed in other books that I have read lately. This really gives the story an interesting point of view in that it is constantly switching. This became even more intense in the battle scenes and when all of the garde finally came together. There would be like a paragraph form this guy and then another one from another one. This gives the story the feeling of a first person story, but it also gives you all the knowledge that you would get from a third person omniscient narrator. This is a very interesting dynamic that helps to give you multiple story lines at once and tell the story in a different way.
Lorien Legacies By: Pittacus Lore 11/4 1 hr. 56 mins 113 pgs.
I finished the Lorien Legacies today, and it had a great ending. The garde members all united and even though they didn't defeat their arch enemy, Setrákus Ra, they finally joined together and I'm sure that they will get him in the next book in the series. I thought that this was a great installment in the series and it answered a lot of the questions that I had asked myself after reading the first two stories. I know that Lore will come with an equally, and probably more exciting series finale and I am really looking forward to it.
Something that I found very interesting in this book is that it was constantly switching narrators, which is something that I've noticed in other books that I have read lately. This really gives the story an interesting point of view in that it is constantly switching. This became even more intense in the battle scenes and when all of the garde finally came together. There would be like a paragraph form this guy and then another one from another one. This gives the story the feeling of a first person story, but it also gives you all the knowledge that you would get from a third person omniscient narrator. This is a very interesting dynamic that helps to give you multiple story lines at once and tell the story in a different way.
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