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Setting

Are there any settings in this novel which you have found to be beautiful? or disturbing? or memorable? describe these settings and comment on why tey are meaningful to you.

The shore in this novel was once a beautiful and pleasant place; however, it became disturbing and miserable place. "Littluns" and "bigguns" often swam and played in the shore. It was the place where every kids enjoyed, and it was peaceful. Lots of conflicts also existed. On the shore, Ralph and Jack's animosity toward each other was intensified. Also, Jack's soldiers attacked Ralph's group and took piggy's glasses. In addition, Simon and Piggy died a miserable death. The sea shore is a very ironic place which consisted of both the beauty and misery. I think the shore is one of the most important setting because almost all the significant events all took place on the shore.

Climax

what is the climax of this novel? what happens? how do the events of this novel make you feel?

I think the climax of this novel is when the kids are found by an naval officer. After Simon's death, Piggy's death followed. All the kids started to get wild and cruel. Then, Jack ordered the kids or his soldiers to chase Ralph and catch him. Jack's soldiers burned the whole forest to search Ralph. The tension extremely increased. However, when the kids met the naval officer on the beach, all the tensions were suddenly released and a huge twist occured. The powerful savagery suddenly fell, and then the novel ended quickly with brief resolution. The events of this novel make me depressed and sad because of the fact that we have so little control over ourselves.

Characters

Who are the main characters in the novel? Do you like them? Why or Why not? What is special about them? What do they reveal about the universal human experience.

Ralph, Jack, Simon and Piggy are the four main characters. Ralph is a twelve-year-old English boy. By blowing the conch shell, he gathered all the kids on the beach, and then he was elected for the leader. He represents the civilization in this novel. When his groups started to fall apart, he tried to unite the group again; however, it was no use. Ralph had extremely strong commitment to civilization. He never gave up the hope to be rescued by adults. Jack is the main antagonist. Jack was one of the "bigguns" who became the leader for hunters. Jack represents the savagery and violence. He became wild and cruel. He even created another group and became the leader by himself. With his absolute power, he controlled the kids as he wanted. He even killed or wounded several kids. Simon is a shy, sensitive boy. While almost everyone started to leave Ralph's group to join Jack's group, he stayed firmly with Ralph. He took care of the "littluns" with great kindness. Ralph represents moral and goodness. Ralph died a miserable death. Piggy is a fat, intellectual boy. Others often teased him for his name. Like Simon, Piggy stayed firmly with Ralph until his poor death. Piggy represents the science in civilization.
I personally liked Simon. I think he was the only one who had a perfect moral life. Simon even treated the "littluns" with full care. It was sad and very depressing when Simon died a miserable death.

Mood

What is the mood of this novel? Do you find this novel saddens you in any way? why?

I think the mood changed from hopeful to depressing and hopeless. First, when the kids arrived at the island, they cooperated and worked actively to organize their group. They set their leader through voting and planed ways to survive on the island until they are rescued. Since then, everything seemed to go peacefully. However, the peace didn't last long until Jack got out of the group and the group started to fall apart. Under the savagery, kids got wild and fell into chaos. Some children were even killed cruelly. Hopeless and depressing mood was intensified until the very end of the novel when the adults arrived. It's sad how we can fall into chaos and savagery in such a short period without adults' control over us.

Important Simbols

*Entry of my own*

I think there are several significant simbols that we have to think about in order to understand this novel fully. First one is the conch shell. It was first discovered and used by Ralph and Piggy to gather all the kids to the beach. In every meetings, only the person with the conch could talk. I think the conch shell simbolizes the power of civilization. When piggy was killed, conch shell was also destroyed completely. It tells us that it was the moment when the civilization ended. The Lord of the Flies is the sow's bloody head that Jack put on a stake. I think it symbolizes the power of evil. In the novel you can see Simon, who represents moral and goodness, fighting against Lord of the Flies. Piggy's glasses symbolizes the power of science in our society. It was used to make fires. Jack's group (savagery) even came and beat the kids badly to steal the glasses for making fire.

Theme

what is the major theme of this novel? why is this theme important to a teenager living in 2007?

Kids on the island voted for their leader; then, they started making rules and assigning jobs. Under the rule and Ralph's leadership, the group seemed to be maintained well. However, under the Jack's new increasing power the group teared apart. William Golding, the author of Lord of the Flies, tried to message us the main theme of this novel through Ralph and Jack. I think Ralph represents the civilization and Jack represents the savagery. So, I think that the main theme of this novel is about civilization vs savagery. Under civilization, where there is rule, everyone's harmony and cooperation is important in order to maintain the peace. However, under savagery, where there is no rule, leaders have absolute power; the harmony between each person isn't necessary because each people act to fulfil their own desire and benefit, so there isn't always peace.

This novel shows the significance of civilization; when it falls apart, there would be chaos everywhere. Teenagers often want to be free from rules and act as they want. We, teenagers, have to realize that we would fall into chaos without rules and that we should all be thankful for living under world where there is civilization.

Me as a Greek God!!

If I could become a god, I want to become a god of time. It is human's desire to control time. That is why many scientists research on worm hole, time machine, etc. There were lots of movies that dealt with controling time. Eversince I saw the movie Minority Report, I thought it would be extremely fantastic to control time. It was amazing how policemen could see the future and stop the crime. When I have the power to control time, I would go back and forth the time and solve problems. By making sure that no crimes happen and everyone has straight, happy lives, I will make the world perfect. Then, I think I would be the most admired god of all the gods. I don't think I would have to look scary or monsterous to be feared and admired by mortals. So, I just want to have a physical appearence of a man. I would be riding a flying horse-driven carriage with a huge clock attached at the front.

Greek Monster

Althought it is not sure who are Medusa's parents, it is most commonly known that Medusa is borned between Porchy, god of seas, and Ceto, hideous aquatic monste. Medusa is a demi-human monster; once a beautiful maid but turned into a monster after being physically harassed by posideon Zeus' brother in Athena's temple. For violating Athena's sacred temple, Athena turned Medusa's beautiful hair into snakes, and she gave Medusa a power to turn any mortals into rocks when they look at Medusa. Medusa had three Gordon sisters Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale. Perseus had to kill Medusa to save his mother from King Polydectes. Athena and Hermes helped Perseus by lending him magic winged sandals, a cap, a pouch and a mirror-like shield. By using mirror-like shield and reflecting the image of Medusa, Perseus turned Medusa into rock. With Medusa's head, he saved his his mother.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medusa

Greek God

Eros is the Greek, child-looking god of love and desire. In Roman, Eros is also called as Cupid. There are diverse legends to whom Eros' real parents are, but the most widely accepted one is that Eros is born between and Aphoride, female god of beauty and love, and Ares, male god of war and battle. Eros carries around bows and arrows, which he uses to shoot the heart of god and mortals. When one is shot with a golden, dove feathered arrow, he/she falls in desire of love with the one who he/she sees first. If he/she is shot with a leaden, owl feathered arrow, he/she begins to feel great hatred. Sometimes, Eros' mischief wound others' heart. A story of Eros and Phyche is well-known. Eros' mother, Aphrodite was jealous of Phyche's beauty; so Aphorodite told Eros to make Phyche to fall in love with the uglist creature on the earth. When Eros saw Phyche, he immidiately fell in love with her. Also, Eros' body grew when he felt love. Even though Phyche didn't know Eros' face, she also loved him. Once, Phyche was overwhelm by curiosity, so she lit up her room to see Eros. When Phyche realized Eros is a god, Eros, hurt, flew away from Phyche and never came back. It is interesting how Eros, the god of love, can be hurt from love. One similarity between Herculese and Eros is that they made lots of problems when they were young. There are lots of differences; and, one of them is that Herculese is known for defeating lots of monsters to become a true hero, but Eros is known for enjoy doing many mischievous things using his power.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eros_(mythology)

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<1984> Entry of My Choice

First of all, I want to state that this novel, 1984, is a great book. Through this novel, I think George Orwell would have convinced lots of Western nations (As I said before, his purpose of writing this novel was to go against the rise of communism). It was amazing how George Orwell's imaginary scenes appeared in 1984 actually came true when some of the Western nations converted to communism. Since 1984 was based on George Orwell's imaginary scenes, some descriptions in the novel was hard to understand. For example, it was hard for me to understand how the thought police can see each citizens through telescreen. 1984 is a bit depressing book with full of novel ideas, and it leaves a strong impression. George Orwell wrote many fantastical novels, but they contains great messages. Through each important characters in his novels, George Orwell reveals strong themes that criticizes politics and culture. It is why George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair) is one of my favorite author.

<1984> Theme

To find the theme of this book, 1984, you have to know the background of the period it was written. George Orwell wrote this book in 1949, during the Cold War. Western countries were unsure about how to react to the rise of communism. George Orwell designed this novel to warn the Western countries of the communism. I think the main theme in this novel is "Totalitarian government with absolute power can be destructive and dangerous." George Orwell chose the year 1984 and showed Western countries how the future would look under communism. He described the dystopian world under communism where everything and everyone are controled by the government. No human rights can be found, and everyone are nothing but the government's puppets. We have to be thankful for our situations and always make astute, wise decisions.

<1984> Characters

Winston, Julia, and O'Brien are the three main characters in this novel, 1984. Winston is a thirty-nine-year-old minor member of the ruling Party of a dystopian world. Although he works for the government, he hides his secrete abhorrence against the oppressive, totalitarian government. Winston even had the dream of overthrowing the government. O'Brien is the mysterious member of the Inner Party. He tortures and brainwashes people who are against the government. Winston also got brainwashed near the end of the story by his misunderstanding, thinking that O'Brien is the member Brotherhood. Julia is in-between Winston and O'Brien. Although Julia doesn't like the oppressive government, she doesn't take any strong actions against it. If I were living in this dystopian world, I would be like Winston. I don't think I would be able to live under the oppressive government without taking any actions. Although I might be brainwashed and tortured, I think I would fight for freedom and overthrow the government. Winston, Julia, and O'Brien are the important characters; as George Owell did in most of his books, each of the characters in 1984 resembles different people in our society.

<1984> Mood

What is the mood of this novel? Do you find this novel saddens you in any way? Why?

I would describe the mood of the novel as depressing and hopeless. I think George Orwell revealed the mood of this story successfully through Winston. Winston, the main character of the novel, lived under the oppression of the government. Winston had to go through extremely hopeless and depressing society, secretly but stubbornly fighting against it. Through the strong mood, I could connect myself well with the novel.

Ending part of the story was especially depressing and hopeless. At the end, even Winston changed and stood for the government. From the beginning, I hoped Winston would success in rebellion against the government. However, the ending wasn't as I hoped. As I lost my hope and realized how everything is useless against the overwhelming power, I was very depressed.

<1984> The Current Situations

Are there any current situations in the world that relate to the novel? What are they, and how do they relate?

I believe there are many nations in our real world that are like the world of 1984. In 1984, the government gained too much power that it controls everything such as people, history, rules, etc. North Korea has the similar government. North Korea government brainwashes its citizens from the elementry school. With their own text books full of falsity, the government orders its teachers to teach the students. People are brainwashed so much from their childhood that they think they are living a wonderful life in the best country. And they praise Kim Jung-Ill. People who oppose to the government's orders are put to death, sometimes secretly. When the government catches citizens' any secret movements, it kills them all indiscriminately.
When I went to China, I visited a North Korean restaurant where real Korean ladies work. My family's tour guide told us that the North Korean ladies are selected by the government (has to be very talented in every ways) and were sent to China to work. Our guide told us that the North Korean ladies had very strong pride in their country and Kim Jung Ill from the brainwashing. I thought the North Korean ladies were very poor. They were very young (some were even 1 or 2 years older than me) but they had very little freedoms to do what they wanted. With their amazing talents, all they could do was to work in a restaurant.
I don't think there is a way to get the situation in North Korea better unless their government is brought down, which is impossible for now. If people try to revolt, there would be great number of fatalities. I hope South Korea can have closer relationship with North Korea so that South Korea can help resolve the current situations of North Korea.

top picture: fishing can be done only under the supervision(ship on watch in the back)

second picture: a village in North Korea

third pictue: North Korean childerns carrying firewood

<1984> The Climax

What is the climax of this novel? Do you find this novel saddens you in any way? why?

Yes, my first blogging! I haven't quiet finished the book there are few pages left. I'll finish it:] Anyways, I thought the climax in this book was when Winston claims to stop the tourture and do it to Julia. The brainwash and physical pain were too harsh that Winston gave up his love, goals, thoughts, and truths. Winston now loved Big Brother. I thought it was the greatest shift in Winstons life.
While I was reading this novel, I was kept on thinking, "If I were living in the world in 1984, would I be able to bear the oppression and limited fredoms?" I can't. The society in the world of 1984 was so different from the world I am living. Under the government, they were the rule and history. Everyone were the Party's toys. I realized the impact on how how the power can be dangerous if it is used wrong.