CHAPTER ANALYSIS QUESTIONS Directions: First, select your 3 questions from each chapter. Then, respond to the questions using evidence in paragraph form. Chapter: Part 1 Chapter 1 Question: 1. What is the effect of the juxtaposition at the beginning of this section? (Hint: Victory Mansions, poster of Big Brother, & colors.) ANALYSIS RESPONSE Model Response: At the beginning of part one chapter one of Orwell s 1984, readers are exposed to contrasting images as Orwell shifts back and forth between descriptions of Winston and Big Brother. In his descriptions he utilizes juxtaposition in order to emphasize the power and eminence of Big Brother over the feeble citizens of Oceania. Big Brother s black-mustachio d face gaz[ing] down from every commanding corner is ominously watching the, smallish and meager citizens represented by Winston Smith. Readers are presented with this stark contrast between the ruling government and its oppressed victims and the juxtaposition helps in illuminating citizens as feeble and the government as all-powerful. Question: (question) Question: (question) Analysis Response (Response) Analysis Response (Response)
Lord of the Flies Chapter Analysis Questions Directions: Select 3 per chapter on which to respond in paragraph form. Chapter 1: 1. What is significant about the boys being nameless for the first few pages of the novel? 2. Explain how Ralph is a fair boy. What may this term foreshadow about him? 3. Why does Ralph ignore Piggy? What does this suggest about human nature? 4. What is the purpose of the polysyndeton in the quote below? Here the beach was interrupted abruptly by the square motif of the landscape; a great platform of pink granite thrust up uncompromisingly through forest and terrace and sand and lagoon to make a raised jetty four feet high (12). 5. Reread the description of the choir leader Jack. Discuss Golding s use of color and imagery, and what it may foreshadow. Cite specific words used to describe Jack. 6. Explain why Ralph is chosen over Piggy and Jack to be leader. 7. Once Ralph has been selected as the leader, he recognizes that he must keep Jack happy. In a larger sense, what does this suggest/mean/indicate about civilized societies and cruel/brutal ones? 8. What is the first act of destruction that the boys participate in while exploring? What is the boys reaction. 9. A boat is an ancient symbol of civilization. A boat is also a symbol of adventure. Look closely at the description of the island immediately following Ralph s comment, This belongs to us (~29). Draw a picture of the island based on the description found in that paragraph. Then, write about how the symbol of the boat may fit in the novel. 10. List details and descriptions of Simon. Consider: speech/thoughts/effects on others/actions/looks. Chapter 2: 1. In the first paragraph of chapter two, Golding writes, The choir, noticeably less of a group, had discarded their cloaks. What does this statement convey? 2. Find paragraph 7 that begins, We re on an island on page 32. In this paragraph you ll find anaphora and asyndeton. What is conveyed in this paragraph and how do asyndeton and anaphora contribute to the paragraph s power? 3. Golding writes on page 40, Ralph and Jack looked at each other while society paused about them. The shameful knowledge grew in them and they did not know how to begin confession. What is the shameful knowledge? What do they recognize? What does this indicate about Ralph and Jack? How do each respond? 4. Piggy: In what ways is Piggy the voice of reason? In what way does he see the big picture? What do Piggy s glasses symbolize? Explain using evidence from the text to support your ideas. 5. Jack: In what way does Jack demonstrate he needs control? What is it about laws that Jack likes? Explain using evidence/examples from the text. 6. What does the beast symbolize, and how do Jack and Ralph respond to/explain it/use it? 7. A rivalry begins between Piggy and Jack. What do each of them symbolize and therefore, what is this rivalry really between? 8. Who has disappeared at the end of this chapter? Whose fault is it?
Chapter 3: 1. How does Golding indicate the passage of time? Use evidence to support. 2. How does Golding create a feeling of verisimilitude in the description of Jack s hunting adventure? What is it that holds him back? verisimilitude = realism, the appearance of being true or real, believability, authenticity 3. What effect does Simon s comment, As if it wasn t a good island (52) have on Ralph? On the reader? What is Jack s response? Use evidence to support. 4. What societal archetypes do Ralph, Jack, Piggy, and Simon seem to represent? Use evidence to support. archetype = a very typical example of a certain person that seems to represent something universal in human nature o examples: the innocent, the weak, the caregiver, the lover, the creator, the sage, the child, the trickster, civilization, order, chaos, lawlessness, spirituality, peace, protagonist, leader, antagonist rebel, hero, monster, villain, helpers, Christ figure/jesus. 5. One of the foundations of a civilization is a unified language. How is that aspect of society developed in the microcosm on the island? Use evidence to support. 6. In chapter three, the personal conflict between Ralph and Jack mirrors the thematic conflict of the novel. What is the thematic conflict? 7. In what ways is Simon different from Ralph? In what ways is Simon different from Jack? Reference the text in your response. 8. From what point of view is Lord of the Flies told? Use evidence to support. first-person = narrator involved in the story I, me, we second-person = author uses you and your third-person = an outsider looking in third-person omniscient = thoughts of every character are expressed to reader third-person limited = thoughts of only one character are expressed Chapter 4: 1. Describe the rhythm of life on the island. 2. What incident shows that Roger is still affected and still held by the learned rules of society? 3. In what way/s does Henry demonstrate an innate/inherent desire for power? Explain. 4. Why does Jack paint his face? How does the paint transform him? 5. What realization is suggested by Golding s using the synecdoche the mask to talk about Jack? synecdoche a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa examples: bread=food or money gray beard=old man suit=businessman boots (in the context of war)=soldiers wheels=car give me a hand=help 6. What symbolic meaning does the fire have? Explain. 7. Explain the significance of the statement, By the time the pile [of firewood] was built, they were on different sides of a high barrier. 8. Where do we see savagery and civilization clashing for the first time (outwardly that is)? Also, why does Jack hit Piggy? 9. In what way is Jack s hunting the same as the boys treatment of Piggy?
Chapter 5: Chapter 6: Chapter 7: 1. Explain what idea/concept/theme Golding develops in the first paragraph of Chapter Five. 2. At the beginning, Ralph calls a meeting. Identify the major conflict of the novel regarding the theme of civilization. 3. What is demonstrated by the fact that Jack wants to speak, Ralph won t let him, and Jack sits down? 4. Contrast this meeting with other meetings. What is its purpose? 5. About what do Jack and Piggy agree (page 83)? Explain what each of them represents and what then their agreement on this topic means. 6. Piggy says there isn t a beast, but there is one thing to fear. What is it? Explain. What might this foreshadow? (Look around page 84.) 7. On page 88, Jack repeats Percival s statement that, the beast comes out of the sea. Explain the meaning behind Percival s statement. 8. Interpret the statement: Simon became inarticulate in his effort to express mankind s essential illness (89). 9. In the midst of the final conversation in Chapter Five, someone says, Keep the fire going. Interpret the remark. 1. Look closely at paragraph 2. What is going on all night while the boys sleep? 2. What purpose does the second paragraph of Chapter 6 serve? 3. After relighting the fire, what frightens Samneric? How do they respond? 4. Explain how Jack almost fights his way into a leadership role on the island. What is it that draws everyone back to Ralph as leader? 5. How does the sea look from Ralph s vantage point? Look closely at the paragraph beginning, He was surrounded on all sides by chasms and the next paragraph beginning, Ralph shuddered. The lagoon had protected them from the Pacific both on page 105. 6. What does the use of the adverb, mutinously (108), foreshadow? 1. What is significant about Ralph s concern with his appearance as the chapter begins? 2. How does the view of the horizon differ on this side of the island? 3. What does the anaphora, but here, faced by the brute obtuseness of the ocean, the miles of division, one was clamped down, one was helpless, one was condemned, one was contribute to the overall tone of the chapter? 4. What contrast is presented by Ralph s daydream? 5. What is significant about Ralph s response to his encounter with the boar? 6. Why is it especially horrific and savage when Robert says, You want a real pig because you ve got to kill him, and Jack replies, Use a littlun? 7. Why do you suppose the author lets the reader know at the outset that it is a pilot and his parachute, not a beast that the boys find? Would there not have been greater suspense if the reader knew no more than the boys?
Chapter 8: Chapter 9: 1. What in this chapter reminds the reader that this story is really just about young boys? 2. Interpret the title of the chapter, Gift for the Darkness, in two ways. 3. Interpret the statement, The half-shut eyes were dim with the infinite cynicism of adult life. 4. The pig s head, being surrounded by flies, has become the Lord of the Flies. Lord of the Flies is an English translation of the name Beelzebub, a common name for either Satan or one of his chief demons. What is the connection between the beast and this skewered pig s head? 5. What truth has Simon realized that no one else seems to comprehend? 6. The act of placing the sow s head near the forest glade filled with butterflies and flowers highlight s what theme? 7. How does the Lord of the Flies foreshadow Simon s death? 8. When Jack and the savages surprise Ralph, Piggy, and the others, Ralph runs to the fire, and Piggy runs to the conch. Interpret the symbolism. 1. Consider the first two paragraphs of the chapter and use evidence to explain the tone and what may be foreshadowed. Consider the significance of the weather. 2. What does Simon s vision teach him? 3. Consider the significance of Simon s journey to the top of the mountain. About what does he have knowledge? In what way might this be a biblical parallel to Christ? 4. A parody is an imitation of something; a deliberate exaggeration for effect What does parody mean in the statement, The tangle of lines showed him the mechanics of this parody; he examined the white nasal bones, the teeth, the colors of corruption. (around page 146 Paragraph begins, Simon felt his knees smack the rock 5. Explain in your own words what happens to the parachutist s body. Explain what happens to Simon s body. 6. Compare the way/s in which the chapter begins and ends. Chapter 10: 1. Contrast the seats of authority and explain how these seats support the idea of good vs. evil. 2. Contrast the ways in which the two camps deal with the Simon s murder. 3. What double function does the fire on the beach now have? 4. What in this chapter signifies the end of hope? 5. This is not the first time for Piggy s aunt is mentioned. What is significant about mentioning his aunt? 6. In the raid, why are Piggy s glasses taken, but not the shell? Explain. Chapter 11: 1. Contrast Jack s and Ralph s attitudes toward their appearance. 2. What is significant of Piggy s holding the conch when the boys go back to claim the glasses? 3. Ralph insists his tribe wash so they can be like they used to be, but is reminded by the others that they bathe every day. What theme is supported? 4. The twins see Ralph as though they were seeing him for the first time. What does the statement imply? 5. The death of Piggy and the destruction of the conch signify what? 6. How is Piggy portrayed at the moment of his death?
Chapter 12: 1. Explain the following observation: But really thought Ralph, this was not Bill. This was a savage whose image refused to blend with that ancient picture of a boy in shorts and shirt. What does Ralph mean? 2. Complete the thought Feast today, and then tomorrow What does it suggest? 3. What is the significance of the simile comparing the skull of the Lord of the Flies with the conch shell? 4. What is the significance of the stick sharpened at both ends that Roger has planned for Ralph? 5. What is ironic about the fire the tribe creates to flush Ralph? 6. How does the metaphor He became fear; hopeless fear on flying feet intensify the emotional impact of Ralph s flight? 7. In Chapter Twelve, what plot event serves as essentially a deus ex machina? (deus ex machina: when an impossible problem is miraculously solved by new unexpected person/event an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation especially as a contrived plot device in a play or novel.) 8. What is significant about the fact that Percival cannot even remember his name? 9. What is ironic about the rescue of the boys?