In this chapter, Ralph and Jack discuss the feelings of the boys on the island. Comment on how the boys' society compares to your own high school environment or other behavior you have observed, experienced or learned about. (adapted from lessonsfromliterature.org)
In the novel, most of the boys do not want to help Ralph build the shelter. Ralph tells Jack he wants the shelter built to help the little ones feel better. They toss and turn and cry at night. He feels that the shelter will make them feel safer. Jack kind of says that he understands how they feel about something coming for them.
ReplyDeleteIn their society, besides Ralph and a few boys, the younger boys and the older boys kind of act the same way about not wanting to complete work. In the high school, there are a mix of different ages in some classes that have many grade levels in it. While there are some older ones that act more mature, mainly the ones in upper level classes, sometimes all the people in the class act equally young.
Really, the difference between, say, a freshman and a senior -- in terms of pure years -- is relatively slight. But the difference in terms of maturity is immense. It's the same way on the island. The "little uns" aren't that much younger than the older boys, but those few years mean a lot in terms of what they are expected to accomplish.
DeleteJack and Ralph butt heads with demands brought on by the failure of the others tasks. Ralph and the bulk of the boys are to be building shelter, with less effort being produced from the younger and older kids. While at the same time, the choir is to be hunting and keeping a watch on the fire and sea, with minimal effect. Within chapter three, the people with the most vigor and drive to work the hardest are the boys who can relate to their respective leader the most.
ReplyDeleteJack's choir follows him in the unproductive, yet fun, hunt and controlling the fire. On the other hand, Ralph has the rest of the boys under his command, loosely. They are to be building shelter for the the group, yet it is a flop and the younger and older boys do little work. Jack's choir has had little results in their hunting, but still follow his commands. This would be like the captain of the foot ball team (in this case, Jack) being able to rally his peers on the team much more easily than the class president (Ralph).
As for the dependability based on age, this would be like a person in the same graduating class being able to connect well with someone in that same class, whereas someone several years above or below that class would find it harder to come to agreement with the selected leaders.
Does this hierarchy of age hold true throughout our lives? Or do we reach a point where we can give and take orders from people who are chronologically older or younger than we are?
DeleteOf course, age doesn't equate with maturity in some cases.
Ralph Jack and Simon are the only kids that have brought to the attention an action needs to be taken in order for the group to survive. All three of them get fed up when they realize they are the only ones doing the work while everyone else is having fun. Even when Ralph calls meetings to encourage others to work their motivation doesn’t last long after the meeting is over. Simon gets aggravated at Ralph and Jack for bickering and goes and hides. The scenario the boys are in is similar to modern day high school because you have students who try hard and then ones who put in minimal effort, if any effort at all. The situation the boys are in reminded me off a group project. Usually in group projects one person ends up doing all the work while others just take credit for it or don’t put in any extra time to work on it.
ReplyDeleteI can also relate Simons leaving to swim practice. Simon left because he was getting mad and stressed out. At swim practice when people can’t make the send off times they stop trying and just sit on the wall.
Keep an eye on Simon, as he becomes an important character as the novel progresses. Not only is he less social than the others, but he is also the group "mystic," and many of his actions can be read symbolically.
DeleteThis chapter is where you'll find stereotypical kids when faced with a task: real exciting at first, but as work continues a lack of interest is shown and they revert to laziness. All except for the ones who know better than to waste their time, work is temporary and can easily be done by people other then themselves (which is all too common in everyday school group projects). To the kids and many people here it's a matter of need vs. want, with want usually prioritized over need. Ralph is annoyed by this, since he himself doesn't want to do the work but feels he and the others need to. Jack's job is fun, even more if he's alone, so he doesn't seem to care that the choir boys aren't chipping in.
ReplyDeleteSo are the kids in this chapter really stereotypical, if they're acting in ways that you've witnessed firsthand (i.e., laziness)?
DeleteGood point regarding Jack and his solitary profession. He is definitely overcompensating for his earlier failure to kill a pig and has now become obsessed with proving himself.
The society of the boy on the island compared to our high school boys society to me is very similar. Although there is an age difference, both societies show that boys will say they will do something and be excited about some type of plan but when it's actually time to start working, they show little interest and find ways to work around what they're supposed to be doing.
ReplyDeleteThis may not be the case for all guys but I can definitely see a similar comparison in the two societies.
When you compare the island boys to high school, are you comparing it only to high school boys, or do both genders have difficulty in completing what they start? I've seen many girls --although, admittedly, not as many as boys -- who drop the ball when it comes to completion.
ReplyDelete