Lord of the Flies Anticipation Guide

1
Student Study Guide
Name: ________________
Mr. Valentin
English 10 Regents
Fall 2014
2
Glossary
Pre-reading information
Anticipation guide
Vocabulary
Allegorical interpretations
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
NYT article: The Age of Reason
NYT article: A Cadet Hopes
Post Card Project
3-5
6-7
8-9
10
11
15
20
22
27
32
35
37
40
43
45
49
51
57
63
3
Lord of the Flies
Reading Guide
About the Author:
William Golding is a Nobel Prize winning author. Golding
studied at Braesnose College, Oxford studying natural sciences;
subsequently, he switched majors to English two years later.
Unlike other authors, William Golding led a mostly private life
with little information here and there. He was married, he was in
the Royal Navy and he had a successful writing career. He won
two major awards: the Nobel Prize of literature and the prestigious
Booker Prize. He wrote 13 books of fiction, 3 non-fiction texts and
had published a book of poems and a play. His first book, Lord of
the Flies, is his most famous and most popular text.
About the text:
Lord of the Flies is categorized as a dystopian text. While many
dystopian texts recall a destroyed society with a totalitarian
government (think The Hunger Games or Divergent), Lord of the
Flies is an entirely different type of dystopia. When, for some
reason, a plane carrying all boys crashes on an island, they attempt
to start a civilization. What starts off as a fun time away from
parents quickly divulges into chaos. What awaits these young boys
is not an adventure as much as it is survival from the wilderness
and each other as two warring factions fight for control of the
island.
Setting and Atmosphere:
Time: unknown. During some type of potential Nuclear War. Post
World War II
Place: unknown. An uninhabited tropical island somewhere in the
Pacific Ocean.
I always kind of got an inland Puerto Rico vibe to it. It has crystal
blue beaches and stunning vistas, but it also has a mountainous
area and an impenetrable jungle.
Note to the Reader:
This text is, at times, quite challenging. Often times events unfold
but are unexplained, and it is up to the reader to glean
understanding. The reader should also be aware that these are
children and boys and act as such. To judge them as full
functioning and articulate adults is ridiculous. The reader needs to
evaluate them as children to understand their motives which often
seem unwieldy and irrational.
The book also deals with symbols with each character representing
a different part of society. When reading, you should make note as
to what characters could represent.
4
Point of view:
In this text, we have an omniscient narrator. The role of the
omniscient narrator is to chronicle the events of a story in an
impartial way. He or she has full access to the events and dialogue
occurring in the narrative, rendering his or her account the most
complete and accurate. This all-knowing, all-seeing narrator type
jumps from scene to scene, following characters throughout a story
and assessing the progress of the narrative (Source: Georgetown).
Characters:
Ralph:
Jack:
Piggy:
Themes and Motifs:
Motifs are recurring symbols, ideas, or extensions of the themes.
The major motifs in the novel include:
 Heroism
 Human Strength and Weakness
 Good vs. Evil
 Friendship
 Loneliness
 Hope
 Dreams
 Family
 Education
 Innocence
Literary Terms:
Literary terms are words used in class discussion, classification
and criticism of the novel.
Setting, exposition, climax, characterization, conflict, plot, theme,
irony, foreshadowing, flashback, symbolism, point of view,
onomatopoeia, metaphor, simile, allusion, protagonist, antagonist
and the sublime.
The first leader and protagonist.
The antagonist and leader of the hunters.
A scientific and rational individual who is often
picked on because of his weight, asthma, and
glasses. Remains close to Ralph throughout the
novel.
Simon
A shy individual who is one of the first characters to
start acting a bit peculiar.
Roger:
The first character to show a more aggressive
attitude. Friends with Jack throughout the novel..
Sam and Eric: (Samneric) Twins who remain close with Ralph
Littleluns:
A group of children much younger than the
aforementioned individuals. They are often
oblivious to the action going on around them.
5
Essential Question:
What makes a hero?
Goals:
Students will understand:
 Golding’s message and lesson to the reader.
 The trajectory of Lord of the Flies.
 How to do a close reading of a text and how that differentiates
between everyday reading.
 Annotation is a necessity for complete synthesis of a text.
 That annotation and close reading will help with
comprehension and answering multiple choice questions.
 How to decipher vocabulary and how to use context clues to
explore difficult words.
 The structure of a story.
 The characters, plot and themes of Lord of the Flies.
6
Lord of the Flies Anticipation Guide
Read the following statements. Circle the number on the scale that fits your opinion the
best. Write at least two sentences explaining your thoughts about each statement. There
are no right or wrong answers!
1
always true
2
sometimes true
3
depends
4
sometimes false
5
always false
1. The younger we are, the more selfish we are.
1
2
3
4
5
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
2. Adult supervision is necessary in every context.
1
2
3
4
5
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
3. Man is born good.
1
2
3
4
5
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
7
4. A person’s physical appearance determines whether he or she is liked or disliked.
1
2
3
4
5
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
5. Most people are followers, not leaders.
1
2
3
4
5
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
6. People often misjudge things they don’t understand.
1
2
3
4
5
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
7. Intellect cannot survive a savage environment.
1
2
3
4
5
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Personal question: Being stranded on an island would be paradise.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
8
Vocabulary
Chapter 1
Part of speech Page
Definition:
efflorescence Noun
12
Blooming of flowers, state of flowering
enmity
Noun
14
Deep seated hatred; State of being an enemy
decorous
Adj
15
Exhibiting appropriate behavior or conduct
timidly
Adv
21
Shy or bashful
chorister
Noun
22
A singer or leader of a choir
bastion
Noun
29
A stronghold or fortification; similar to a stronghold
hiatus
Noun
31
A gap or interruption in continuity; a break or pause
Noun
38
Zestful or spirited enthusiasm
recrimination Noun
43
The act of accusing in return; opposing another charge
tumult
Noun
43
Commotion of a great crowd; disorder
tirade
Noun
45
A long angry or violent speech; a diatribe
oppressive
Adj
49
Using power unjustly; burdensome
inscrutable
Adj
49
Difficult to understand, mysterious
vicissitudes
Noun
49
A change or variation; unexpected changes in life
antagonism
Noun
51
Active hostility
opaque
Adj/ Noun
53
Not able to be seen through; not transparent
declivities
Noun
54
Downward slopes, as of a hill
tacit
Adj
55
Not spoken; implied by actions or statements
blatant
Adj
58
Totally or offensively obtrusive; very obvious
taboo
Adj
62
Excluded or forbidden from use or mention
sinewy
Adj
64
Lean and muscular; stringy and tough
baffled
Verb
71
Bewildered; perplexed
malevolently Adv
71
Having an ill will or wishing harm to others; malicious
75
Feeling or showing desire to someone else or an attribute of
someone else
Chapter 2
ebullience
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
envious
Adj
Chapter 5
apex
Noun
77
Highest point of something
ludicrous
Adj
78
Laughably and obviously absurd; foolish
reverence
Noun
78
Deep respect for someone or something
9
solemnity
Noun
78
The state of being serious and dignified
ineffectual
Adj
79
Insufficient to produce an effect; useless
jeer
Verb
84
to abuse vocally; taunt or mock
inarticulate
Adj
89
Incomprehensible; unable to speak with clarity
leviathan
Noun
105
Something very large; giant sea creature in the Bible
clamor
Noun
108
A loud outcry; great expression of discontent
mutinously
Adv
108
Unruly; insubordinate or constituting a mutiny
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Page
crestfallen
Adj
117
Dispirited and depressed; dejected
impervious
Adj
121
Incapable of being penetrated or affected.
enterprise
Noun
122
An undertaking or business organization; industrious
glowered
Verb
127
Looked at or stared angrily or sullenly
rebuke
Verb
128
To criticize sharply; check or repress
demure
Adj
133
Modest and reserved in manner or behavior
fervor
Noun
133
Great intensity of emotion; intense heat
corpulent
Adj
146
Excessively fat
derision
Noun
149
Contempt or mockery
sauntered
Verb
150
To walk at a leisurely pace; stroll
Verb
167
To force or drive; exert a strong, irresistible force on
luminous
Adj
169
Emitting light; full of light
myopia
Noun
169
Nearsightedness
sniveling
Verb
170
To sniffle; complain or whine tearfully
quavered
Verb
174
Trembled, or spoke in a trembling voice
parried
Verb
179
Deflected or warded off; avoided
talisman
Noun
180
An object with magical power
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
compelled
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Page
acrid
Adj
186
Unpleasantly sharp or bitter taste or smell
cordon
Noun
191
A line of people or ships stationed to guard
elephantine
Adj
194
The size of an elephant; enormous size/strength
epaulettes
Noun
200
A fringed strap worn on military uniforms
10
Lord of the Flies
Island
Beastie
Conch
Broken Conch
Makeup
All the kids on the island
Allegorical Interpretation
11
Chapter 1:
Directions: Be sure to answer all questions in complete sentences. You must answer all parts of
the question for credit.
Words to remember:
“We may stay here till we die.”
The Least You Should Know:
Literary Terms:
Allusion
Assonance
Exposition
Foreshadowing
Metaphor
Setting
Simile
Protagonist
Antagonist
1. List at least three descriptions of the island.
2. What does the fat boy reveal about the plane?
3. The text states, “An expression of pain and inward concentration altered the pale contours of
his face.” What is happening to the boy?
12
4. How would you describe Ralph’s physique? According to the narrator, what sport might he
play? Why is this important?
5. What is the other boy’s name? Give three physical descriptions of him.
6. What does Ralph reveal about his father?
7. Who raised Piggy? Why is this the case, and how did his auntie treat him?
8. What does Piggy reveal about what he thinks happened, and what is this an allusion to?
9. What do the boys find? What is its use? What might be its purpose?
10. What might the color pink represent.
11. Who comes to the assembly marching together?
13
12. What is the leader’s name? What does he want to go by? Why is this important?
13. How does Jack treat Piggy?
14. Who should be the leader? Why? Provide a quote from the text to support this.
15. Who gets picked as leader? Why is he picked?
16. What is Ralph’s first action as chief?
17. Why is Piggy upset with Ralph?
18. What animal do the boys see? What happens with Jack and the animal?
14
Themes: In this section for two boxes write a sentence about the theme in regards to the book,
and for one of the boxes, find a quote from the text which shows one of themes from this chapter
Strength
Intelligence
Trouble
Vocabulary: Look at the chapter list on page 8. Write a complete sentence for each word.
Efflorescence
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Enmity
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Decorous
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Timidly
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Chorister
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Bastion
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Hiatus
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
15
Chapter 2:
Directions: Be sure to answer all questions in complete sentences. You must answer all parts of
the question for credit.
Words to remember:
“We may stay here till we die.”
The Least You Should Know:
Literary Terms:
Inciting Incident
Complication
1. At the beginning of the chapter, what time is it on the island:
A.10am
B. Noon
C. 3pm
D. 6pm
E. 11pm.
How might the reader know this?
2. Why is it important to establish that the boys are on an island?
3. How does Ralph demonstrate leadership abilities?
16
Read the following passage, and then answer the questions in bold:
Ralph felt the conch lifted from his lap. Then Piggy was
standing cradling the great cream shell and the shouting
died down. Jack, left on his feet, looked uncertainly at
Ralph who smiled and patted the log. Jack sat down.
Piggy took off his glasses and blinked at the assembly while
5
he wiped them on his shirt.
“You’re hindering Ralph. You’re not letting him get to
the most important thing.”
He paused effectively.
“Who knows we’re here? Eh?”
10
“They knew at the airport”
“The man with a trumpet-thing-”
“My dad.”
Piggy put on his glasses.
“Nobody knows where we are,” said Piggy. He was
15
paler than before and breathless. “Perhaps they knew
where we was going to; and perhaps not. But they don’t
know where we are ‘cos we never got there.” He gaped at
them for a moment, then swayed and sat down.
Ralph took the conch from his hands.
20
“That’s what I was going to say,” he went on, “when
you all, all. . . .” He gazed at their intent faces. “The plane
was shot down in flames. Nobody knows where we
are. We may be here a long time.”
The silence was so complete that they could hear the
25
unevenness of Piggy’s breathing. The sun slanted in and
lay golden over half the platform. The breezes that on the
lagoon had chased their tails like kittens were finding
then-way across the platform and into the forest. Ralph
pushed back the tangle of fair hair that hung on his forehead.
30
“So we may be here a long time.”
From the context of the passage, define the word hindering (line 7). Be sure to include the
part of speech.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
17
How are the kids aware that their parents don’t know where they are?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
What literary term is in line 28?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
4. Identify an allusion on page 34.
5. What does the small boy think he sees? How do the others treat the boy?
6. What might the beastie represent?
7. What idea do the boys come up with to be rescued? How do the boys act when they hear this
idea?
18
8. How do the boys start a fire?
9. On page 41 the text states, “The boys lay, panting like dogs.” What literary term is this? Why
is this comparison made?
10. Explain in 3-4 sentences Jack and Piggy’s relationship.
11. What is the inciting incident of the story?
12. At the end of the chapter, how does Piggy feel? Does he make a good point? Explain.
19
Themes: In this section for two boxes write a sentence about the theme in regards to the book,
and for one of the boxes, find a quote from the text which shows one of themes from this chapter
Leadership
Fear
Discrimination
Vocabulary: Look at the chapter list on page 8. Write a complete sentence for each word.
Ebullience
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Recrimination
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Tumult
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Tirade
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
20
Chapter 3:
Directions: Be sure to answer all questions in complete sentences. You must answer all parts of
the question for credit.
Words to remember:
“So we need shelters as a sort of …” “home”
The Least You Should Know:
1. In the opening paragraphs Jack is compared to several animals. Name two. Why might he be
compared to these animals?
2. Why aren’t the shelters being completed?
3. Why are the shelters necessary?
4. Explain Jack and Ralph’s relationship in 4-5 sentences.
5. Why might Simon go off on his own?
21
Themes: In this section for two boxes write a sentence about the theme in regards to the book,
and for one of the boxes, find a quote from the text which shows one of themes from this chapter
Leadership
Blood
Isolation
Vocabulary: Look at the chapter list on page 8. Write a complete sentence for each word.
Oppressive
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Inscrutable
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Vicissitudes
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Antagonism
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Opaque
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Declivities
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Tacit
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
22
Chapter 4:
Directions: Be sure to answer all questions in complete sentences. You must answer all parts of
the question for credit.
Words to remember:
“For hunting… like in the war.”
Read the following passage and then answer the questions in bold:
The first rhythm that they became used to was the slow
swing from dawn to quick dusk. They accepted the
pleasures of morning, the bright sun, the whelming sea
and sweet air, as a time when play was good and life so full
that hope was not necessary and therefore forgotten. To5
ward noon, as the floods of light fell more nearly to the perpendicular, the stark colors of the morning were smoothed
in pearl and opalescence; and the heat-as though the impending sun’s height gave it momentum- became a blow
that they ducked, running to the shade and lying there,
10
perhaps even sleeping.
Strange things happened at midday. The glittering sea
rose up, moved apart in planes of blatant impossibility; the
coral reef and the few stunted palms that clung to the
more elevated parts would float up into the sky, would
15
quiver, be plucked apart, run like raindrops on a wire or be
repeated as in an odd succession of mirrors. Sometimes
land loomed where there was no land and flicked out like
a bubble as the children watched. Piggy discounted all this
learnedly as a “mirage”; and since no boy could reach even
20
the reef over the stretch of water where the snapping
sharks waited, they grew accustomed to these mysteries
and ignored them, just as they ignored the miraculous,
throbbing stars. At midday the illusions merged into the
sky and there the sun gazed down like an angry eye. Then,
25
at the end of the afternoon, the mirage subsided and the
horizon became level and blue and clipped as the sun declined. That was another time of comparative coolness but
menaced by the coming of the dark. When the sun sank,
darkness dropped on the island like an extinguisher and
30
soon the shelters were full of restlessness, under the remote
stars.
Nevertheless, the northern European tradition of work,
play, and food right through the day, made it impossible for
them to adjust themselves wholly to this new rhythm. The
35
littlun Percival had early crawled into a shelter and stayed
there for two days, talking, singing, and crying, till they
thought him batty and were faintly amused. Ever since then
23
he had been peaked, red-eyed, and miserable; a littlun who
played little and cried often.
The smaller boys were known now by the generic title
of “littluns.” The decrease in size, from Ralph down, was
gradual; and though there was a dubious region inhabited
by Simon and Robert and Maurice, nevertheless no one
had any difficulty in recognizing biguns at one end and littluns at the other. The undoubted littluns, those aged
about six, led a quite distinct, and at the same time intense,
life of their own. They ate most of the day, picking fruit
where they could reach it and not particular about ripeness
and quality. They were used now to stomach-aches and a
sort of chronic diarrhoea. They suffered untold terrors in
the dark and huddled together for comfort. Apart from
food and sleep, they found time for play, aimless and trivial, in the white sand by the bright water. They cried for
their mothers much less often than might have been expected; they were very brown, and filthily dirty. They
obeyed the summons of the conch, partly because Ralph
blew it, and he was big enough to be a link with the
adult world of authority; and partly because they enjoyed the
entertainment of the assemblies. But otherwise they seldom bothered with the biguns and their passionately emotional and corporate life was their own.
40
45
50
55
60
From the context of the passage, define the word opalescence (line 8). Be sure to include the
part of speech.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
24
Identify two literary terms in the second paragraph (lines 12-32).
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
How do the others feel about Percival?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
How can you differentiate littluns and biguns?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Why might the narrator call the littluns life corporate (line 62)?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
25
The Least You Should Know:
1. What does Roger do to Percival?
2. What does Roger do to Henry? Why?
3. What does Jack apply to himself?
4. In 3-4 sentences, explain Piggy and Ralph’s relationship.
5. Explain the incident with the sighting of the boat.
6. What is Jack’s news?
7. What does Jack do to Piggy?
8. Is Jack actually sorry for letting the fire go out?
26
9. What phrase do the boys sing as they recount the story of killing the pig?
Themes: In this section for two boxes write a sentence about the theme in regards to the book,
and for one of the boxes, find a quote from the text which shows one of themes from this chapter
Violence
Fear
Disorder
Vocabulary: Look at the chapter list on page 8. Write a complete sentence for each word.
Blatant
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Taboo
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Sinewy
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Baffled
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Malevolently
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Envious
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
27
Chapter 5:
Directions: Be sure to answer all questions in complete sentences. You must answer all parts of
the question for credit.
Words to remember:
“What I mean is… maybe it’s only us”
The Least You Should Know:
Literary Terms:
Ellipses
1. Find one ellipses in the opening paragraphs and explain who has the moment and what it
demonstrates.
2. Name three things Ralph covers in his speech. What does this show about Ralph?
Read the following passage, and then answer the questions in bold:
“When you done laughing perhaps we can get on with
the meeting. And if them littluns climb back on the twister
again they’ll only fall off in a sec. So they might as well
sit on the ground and listen. No. You have doctors for
everything, even the inside of your mind. You don’t really
5
mean that we got to be frightened all the time of nothing?
Life,” said Piggy expansively, “is scientific, that’s what it is.
In a year or two when the war’s over they’ll be traveling
to Mars and back. I know there isn’t no beast-not with
claws and all that, I mean-but I know there isn’t no fear,
10
either.”
Piggy paused.
“Unless-”
Ralph moved restlessly.
“Unless what?”
15
“Unless we get frightened of people.”
A sound, half-laugh, half-jeer, rose among the seated
boys. Piggy ducked his head and went on hastily.
“So lets hear from that littlun who talked about a beast
28
and perhaps we can show him how silly he is.”
The littluns began to jabber among themselves, then
one stood forward.
“What’s your name?”
“Phil.”
For a littlun he was self-confident, holding out his
hands, cradling the conch as Ralph did, looking round at
them to collect their attention before he spoke.
“Last night I had a dream, a horrid dream, fighting with
things. I was outside the shelter by myself, fighting with
things, those twisty things in the trees.”
He paused, and the other littluns laughed in horrified
sympathy.
“Then I was frightened and I woke up. And I was outside the shelter by myself in the dark and the twisty things
had gone away.”
The vivid horror of this, so possible and so nakedly terrifying, held them all silent. The child’s voice went piping
on from behind the white conch.
“And I was frightened and started to call out for Ralph
and then I saw something moving among the trees, something big and horrid.”
He paused, half-frightened by the recollection yet
proud of the sensation he was creating.
“That was a nightmare,” said Ralph. “He was walking in
his sleep.”
The assembly murmured in subdued agreement.
The littlun shook his head stubbornly.
“I was asleep when the twisty things were fighting and
when they went away I was awake, and I saw something
big and horrid moving in the trees.”
Ralph held out his hands for the conch and the littlun
sat down.
“You were alseep. There wasn’t anyone there. How
could anyone be wandering about in the forest at night?
Was anyone? Did anyone go out?”
There was a long pause while the assembly grinned at
the thought of anyone going out in the darkness. Then
Simon stood up and Ralph looked at him in astonishment
“You! What were you mucking about in the dark for?”
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
29
What literary term is found in line 9?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
According to Piggy, what should people fear?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
From the context of the passage, define the word vivid (line 36). Be sure to include the part
of speech.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
What does Phil describe? Who does it turn out to be?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
30
3. What happens when Percival starts talking? How do the other littluns react?
4. What does Simon say about the beast?
5. During the assembly, what happens with Jack?
6. Jack says, “shut up, you fat slug!” What literary term is this?
7. What does Piggy say about Jack and Ralph’s relationship?
8. Why might this chapter be title “Beast from Water.” Who or what is the beast?
31
Themes: In this section for two boxes write a sentence about the theme in regards to the book,
and for one of the boxes, find a quote from the text which shows one of themes from this chapter
Fear
Leadership
Disorder
Vocabulary: Look at the chapter list on page 8 and 9. Write a complete sentence for each word.
Apex
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Ludicrous
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Reverence
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Solemnity
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Ineffectual
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Jeer
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Inarticulate
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
32
Chapter 6:
Directions: Be sure to answer all questions in complete sentences. You must answer all parts of
the question for credit.
Words to remember:
“But a sign came down from the world of grownups…”
The Least You Should Know:
Literary Terms:
Personification
1. What falls from the sky?
2. Who do Samneric refer to as “wacky”?
3. What do the boys see? Provide a quote from the text, then explain what they actually see.
4. What was Ralph dreaming about?
5. What literary term is the following quote? “Soon the darkness was full of claws, full of the
awful unknown and menace.”
6. The text states, “The rest of the boys were looking from Jack to Ralph, curiously.” What does
this show?
33
7. According to the boys, why are they unable to track the beast?
8. Find 4 literary terms in the following passage: Underline and identify them.
Ralph shuddered. The lagoon had protected them from
the Pacific: and for some reason only Jack had gone right
down to the water on the other side. Now he saw the
landsman’s view of the swell and it seemed like the breathing of some stupendous creature. Slowly the waters sank
5
among the rocks, revealing pink tables of granite, strange
growths of coral, polyp, and weed. Down, down, the waters went, whispering like the wind among the heads of the
forest. There was one flat rock there, spread like a table,
and the waters sucking down on the four weedy sides
10
made them seem like cliffs. Then the sleeping leviathan
breathed out, the waters rose, the weed streamed, and the
water boiled over the table rock with a roar. There was no
sense of the passage of waves; only this minute-long fall
and rise and fall.
9. How does Jack react to Castle Rock?
15
34
Themes: In this section for two boxes write a sentence about the theme in regards to the book,
and for one of the boxes, find a quote from the text which shows one of themes from this chapter
Fear
Escapism
Adventure
Vocabulary: Look at the chapter list on page 9. Write a complete sentence for each word.
Leviathan
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Clamor
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Mutinously
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
35
Chapter 7:
Directions: Be sure to answer all questions in complete sentences. You must answer all parts of
the question for credit.
Words to remember:
“The darkness seemed to float around them like a tide”
The Least You Should Know:
Literary Terms:
Sublime
Flashback
1. How does Ralph feel about his current appearance?
2. When Simon says, “No, I’m not. I just think you’ll get back all right.” Why might Simon
emphasize these words?
3. Why does Jack get angry at Ralph?
4. Explain the incident between the boys and Robert.
5. Why does Simon volunteer to go see Piggy?
36
Themes: In this section for two boxes write a sentence about the theme in regards to the book,
and for one of the boxes, find a quote from the text which shows one of themes from this chapter
Friendship
Isolation
Anger
Vocabulary: Look at the chapter list on page 9. Write a complete sentence for each word.
Crestfallen
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Impervious
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Enterprise
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
37
Chapter 8:
Directions: Be sure to answer all questions in complete sentences. You must answer all parts of
the question for credit.
Words to remember:
“Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill.”
The Least You Should Know:
Literary Terms:
Climax
Illusion
1. When Jack asks for a recount to be chief, what happens?
2. What is Piggy’s idea now that the top of the mountain is off-limits. How does the narrator feel
about this?
3. What are the boys perception of Simon? Are they correct?
4. Once the hunters kill the pig, what do they plan to do with all the meat?
5. What kind of pig do they kill? Why might this matter?
38
6. What does Simon call the pig’s head? What literary term is this? Why is this important?
7. What is Jack’s offer to Ralph’s tribe?
8. What does the Lord of the Flies say about killing him?
9. The last two sentences of the chapter read, “Simon was inside the mouth. He fell down and
lost consciousness.” What could this mean?
39
Themes: In this section for two boxes write a sentence about the theme in regards to the book,
and for one of the boxes, find a quote from the text which shows one of themes from this chapter
Good vs. Evil
Insanity
Power
Vocabulary: Look at the chapter list on page 9. Write a complete sentence for each word.
Glowered
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Rebuke
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Demure
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Fervor
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
40
Chapter 9:
Directions: Be sure to answer all questions in complete sentences. You must answer all parts of
the question for credit.
Words to remember:
“Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!”
The Least You Should Know:
1. How does the narrator talk about Simon?
2. What happens to Simon when he discovers the creature?
3. How does Simon go towards the other boys?
A. Runs
B. Jogs
C. Walks
D. Stumbles
How does the reader know this?
4. What does Piggy do that surprises Ralph?
5. What unites the two tribes?
41
6. The text states, “Evening was come, not with calm beauty but with the threat of violence.”
What literary term is this?
7. Jack says he provides food, what does Ralph provide?
8. What do the boys chant?
9. What do the boys do to Simon?
10. Reread the last paragraph of the chapter. What is the significance of the last paragraph?
42
Themes: For the boxes in this section, write down the three themes that you think are more
present in this chapter, then briefly explain why.
Vocabulary: Look at the chapter list on page 9. Write a complete sentence for each word.
Corpulent
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Derision
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Sauntered
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
43
Chapter 10:
Directions: Be sure to answer all questions in complete sentences. You must answer all parts of
the question for credit.
Words to remember:
“That was murder”
The Least You Should Know:
Literary Terms:
Denouement
1. What does Ralph say about Simon’s murder? What does Piggy say?
2. The text states, “The air was heavy with unspoken knowledge.” What literary term might this
be? Explain.
3. What will happen to Wilfred? Why?
4. What does Jack say about Simon’s death?
5. Who or what are the reds?
6. What does Ralph do at night? Why does he do this?
44
7. Find two similes on page 167. List them here:
8. What happens in the event between the two tribes?
Vocabulary: Look at the chapter list on page 9. Write a sentence for the vocabulary word.
Compelled
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
45
Chapter 11:
Directions: Be sure to answer all questions in complete sentences. You must answer all parts of
the question for credit.
Words to remember:
“See? See? That’s what you’ll get!
The Least You Should Know:
Literary term:
Onomatopoeia
1. What does Piggy want to do?
2. How are the boys going to present themselves to Jack’s group?
Read the following passage and then answer the questions in bold:
They set off along the beach in formation. Ralph went
first, limping a little, his spear carried over one shoulder.
He saw things partially, through the tremble of the heat
haze over the flashing sands, and his own long hair and
injuries. Behind him came the twins, worried now for a
5
while but full of unquenchable vitality. They said little but
trailed the butts of their wooden spears; for Piggy had
found that, by looking down and shielding his tired sight
from the sun, he could just see these moving along the
sand. He walked between the trailing butts, therefore, the
conch held carefully between his two hands. The boys
made a compact little group that moved over the beach,
four plate-like shadows dancing and mingling beneath
them. There was no sign left of the storm, and the
10
46
beach was swept clean like a blade that has been scoured.
15
The sky and the mountain were at an immense distance,
shimmering in the heat; and the reef was lifted by mirage,
floating in a land of silver pool halfway up the sky.
They passed the place where the tribe had danced. The
charred sticks still lay on the rocks where the rain had
20
quenched them but the sand by the water was smooth
again. They passed this in silence. No one doubted that
the tribe would be found at the Castle Rock and when
they came in sight of it they stopped with one accord. The
densest tangle on the island, a mass of twisted stems, black
25
and green and impenetrable, lay on their left and tall grass
swayed before them. Now Ralph went forward.
From the context of the passage, define the word vitality (line 6). Be sure to include the part
of speech.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Find two different literary terms in the passage. Be sure to define the literary terms as well.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
47
Choose one sentence that best explains the main idea of the passage. Why is this the best
sentence?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
3. Every time Ralph approaches Castle Rock, what do the guards say?
4. What does Ralph call Jack?
5. What happens to Samneric?
6. Ralph calls Jack a swine, why does he say this? Why might this be ironic?
7. What might the destroyed conch represent?
8. What happens to Piggy?
48
Themes: In this section for two boxes write a sentence about the theme in regards to the book,
and for one of the boxes, find a quote from the text which shows one of themes from this chapter
Power
Good vs. Evil
Anger
Vocabulary: Look at the chapter list on page 9. Write a complete sentence for each word.
Luminous
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Myopia
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Sniveling
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Quavered
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Parried
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Talisman
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
49
Chapter 12:
Directions: Be sure to answer all questions in complete sentences. You must answer all parts of
the question for credit.
Words to remember:
“Fun and games”
The Least You Should Know:
Literary term:
Conclusion
1. Ralph says to himself, “No. They’re not as bad as that. It was an accident.” Is he correct?
2. What does Ralph come across in the jungle? What does he do to it?
3. Who does Ralph talk to? What do they discuss?
4. What do Samneric tell Jack?
5. What color becomes present in the final chapter?
6. In the final pages, explain – in detail – what happens.
50
7. Who shows up? What is his response?
8. Who and what does Ralph cry for at the end of the novel?
Themes: In this section for two boxes write a sentence about the theme in regards to the book,
and for one of the boxes, find a quote from the text which shows one of themes from this chapter
Fear
Good vs. Evil
Friendship
Vocabulary: Look at the chapter list on page 9. Write a complete sentence for each word.
Acrid
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Cordon
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Elephantine
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Epaulettes
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
51
Pre-Reading Questions for The Age of Reason:
How and where does a child learn morals?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
What would happen if children were not punished for crimes they committed?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
How old do you think a child should be to be held accountable for his or her actions? Explain
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Should all crimes committed by children, no matter the size or severity, be handled in adult
courts? Why or Why not?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
52
August 16, 1998
The Age of Reason; A Chilling
Crime and a Question: What's
in a Child's Mind?
By SUSAN SACHS
AT the age of 7, a child is considered by the Roman Catholic Church to have reached the
''age of reason'' and is entitled to receive communion. Some evangelical churches hold that a
child of 7 can make an independent spiritual choice. In Judaism and Islam, a boy of 7 is
expected to begin his religious studies and participate, to some degree, in adult rituals like
fasting and praying. Freud believed the super ego, or the conscience, develops by age 4 or 5.
But is a child of such tender years a responsible being, capable of telling right from wrong
and accountable, not just legally but morally, for his actions?
Murder charges brought last week in Chicago against two boys, ages 7 and 8, raised the
issue as more than an abstraction. The boys, according to the police, confessed to killing an
11-year-old girl, Ryan Harris, then stealing her bicycle.
Youngsters kill -- that's been drilled into the national consciousness by a succession of
school shootings. In those cases, the juvenile killers were adolescents. The two boys who
were convicted last week of gunning down classmates and a teacher in their Jonesboro,
Ark., schoolyard last March were then just 11 and 13. The boy charged in the school
shootings in Springfield, Ore., last May is 15. Few would argue with the assumption that, at
that stage in their lives, they ought to be capable of understanding their actions and the
consequences.
With a child of only 7, however, the assumptions are neither clear nor particularly
comfortable.
''What do you do with children who may have arrived at the age of reason but whose
psychological life is such that neither rationality nor moral reason operate in their
behavior?'' asked Robert Coles, a child psychiatrist at Harvard University who has written
several books on the moral development of children.
53
No one, he said, is born bad. Yet, despite a lifetime of studying and listening to children, he
was utterly confounded by the implications of the Chicago case. ''In the absence of that kind
of psychological life -- I mean the lack of controls to deal with the impulses of their lives, the
lack of an operative consciousness -- I can only throw up my hands,'' Dr. Coles said.
How society will deal with the boys is now a question for the juvenile justice system, but
there are no precedents; they are the youngest children ever charged with murder in this
country. On Thursday, they were released to their mothers and ordered to wear electronic
monitoring devices and stay in their homes.
Religion, a source of society's notions of justice, has been wrestling with moral codes for
millennia. But cases of children committing capital crimes are rare, so they represent
something of a black hole for theologians, a puzzle that neither faith nor doctrine
anticipates.
Both Judaism and Islam, for example, set the age of majority, when children are liable for
their actions, at 13 for boys and 12 for girls. ''It's the age of full responsibility and therefore
full liability,'' said David Kraemer, a professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Younger
children are considered to have the impulse to do good and evil, he added, ''but not the
reason to control the impulse.''
One rabbinic teaching goes further. While rabbinical courts consider a 13-year-old liable for
his actions, in the court of heaven the age of majority is 20. ''It was a recognition that the
teen-age years were very tumultuous and that, although they are full-grown and can do
damage, God recognizes that they can't really be held responsible,'' Dr. Kraemer said.
Islam, too, holds that a prepubescent child is not ''fully in control of his senses and doesn't
have the power of reasoning to really make an informed judgment,'' said Jamal Badawi, a
Muslim scholar and chairman of the Islamic Information Foundation in Halifax, Nova
Scotia.
Neither religion has a concept of original sin. ''The human being is neither satanic nor
angelic by nature,'' said Dr. Badawi, referring to the Koran. ''He simply has the potential to
ascend to a level even higher than the angels or descend to a level lower than animals.''
Christian theology on the nature of the child is more complex, encompassing a belief that
everyone is tainted by original sin as well as accommodating the idea that everyone is made
in the image of God.
54
Since the days of Pope Pius X nearly a century ago, the Catholic Church has attributed to
children of 7 the capacity to understand the consequences of their actions. That is a
prerequisite for their First Communion, when they are first given a wafer in the sacrament
of the Eucharist. But strict doctrine has given way to pragmatism. ''It all depends on the
context,'' said the Rev. Richard McCormick, a theologian at the University of Notre Dame.
''One of the criteria used in regard to the Eucharist is the ability to understand, in some
very, very primordial sense, the difference between just plain bread and this bread that is
really Jesus. As we all grow older, we understand and penetrate that a bit more.''
But children who may be old enough to take communion, he added, are not necessarily
thought of as capable of understanding the nature of sin as a break with God. ''It's the
conviction of virtually all people that children of that age are incapable of serious sin,''
Father McCormick said.
Ideas about the emergence of moral consciousness developed differently in Protestant
churches. The Calvinist view was that ''the image of God in each of us is radically destroyed
or altered by what is called original sin, that there is innate depravity in human beings,'' said
John McDargh, an associate professor of theology at Boston College. Other Christian
thinkers, he said, argued that the image of God should be seen as the human capacity for
relationships and that original sin may obscure but not destroy that image.
In the United States, those divergent views produced not only the image of ''The Bad Seed,''
as popularized in William March's 1954 novel about a child who is simply born bad, but also
the early Puritan notion that adults should deploy a harsh hand to break the will of the
innately corrupted child.
Later movements, in a backlash, leaned more toward the Mark Twain view that the natural
child, like the fictional Huckleberry Finn, is untainted except by society, and prescribed a
lighter parental touch to nurture what was believed to be the child's innate capacity for
empathy and charity.
Modern theorists of child development see children much as parents like to think of their
offspring -- works in progress, with natural inclinations to empathize with others, to feel bad
if someone is hurt, to tell right from wrong. The tricky part is figuring out how and when
those values can be warped or enhanced by interactions with family, peers and society.
By an early age, any child will be tested. ''When you send a child off to school at 6, the child
becomes a social being, responsible to society,'' said Dr. Coles, the child psychiatrist. And
55
that's where the danger lies. ''Children who grow up with no sense of right and wrong are
both vulnerable and dangerous -- vulnerable to their impulses, dangerous to others,'' he
said.
Reflecting Society
Reason, then, is not really the issue with a child of 7 or 8. ''It's not like a 4-year-old who
happens to pull a trigger on a gun and doesn't understand that it kills, or doesn't understand
what killing is about altogether, or what death is about,'' said Moshe Halbertal, a professor
of Jewish thought at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. ''Here, at 7 or 8 or 9, they
understand. We don't attribute to them responsibility, but we do attribute to them
understanding.''
And by their very nature, he added, children bounce the question back to their elders.
''When we say that children are not fully legally responsible, one thing we mean by that is
that they mirror the social life around them,'' Dr. Halbertal said. ''This is what's so
shattering about crimes done by children. They are naive or, in some ways, transparent
reflections of something in society -- a certain violence, a certain cruelty. Without filtering,
they represent what the society is about.''
What are the main religions that they talk about in this article? How do these religions differ in
terms of treating youth?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
56
In the second to last paragraph, Dr. Halbertal is quoted as saying, “Here, at 7 or 8 or 9, they
understand. We don’t attribute to them responsibility, but we do attribute to them
understanding.” In your own words, what does this mean? Do you agree or disagree and why?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
The article ends with the statement that children’s actions represent the society’s views and
values. Do you agree or disagree and why?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Find an allusion in this passage and explain it.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Choose the sentence that best explains the maid idea of the passage. Then explain why this is the
best sentence.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
57
Pre-Reading Questions for A Cadet Hopes:
What are some codes of conduct that we should follow?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Where do you follow codes of conduct?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
When should you know what you want to do in life?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Are codes of conduct necessary?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
58
December 20, 2002
A Cadet Hopes to Honor a
Father Killed in Combat
By CHRIS HEDGES
WEST POINT, N.Y. — When Jeremy D. Scott was 10, his father, a United States
Army helicopter pilot, was shot down by rebels in El Salvador and killed.
The boy played out his grief on the living room floor. He set up plastic soldiers that
fired away at a pretend helicopter. Then he swooped down with his toy gunship to
wipe out enemy troops. No helicopters crashed when he played. In his games the
helicopter pilots always won. The soldiers, little green plastic men, always lay
scattered about, only to be righted again for another battle.
"Maybe I played a little rougher than other kids," Mr. Scott said. "Maybe my
emotions were held in, coming out in big lump sums. Things built up. I was explosive.
It was tough to watch fathers play with their sons. I don't know when I really got over
it. Maybe when I began daily devotions."
He lived through a decade of anger and mistrust. Now 22, Mr. Scott said he still finds
it difficult to cope with the fact that there are things about the mission the government
cannot tell his family, such as where his father was flying and why he was in combat.
"I did not accept that my dad could be taken away," he said. "At first I was angry at
the Army. I blamed the Army for taking him from me."
But the pull of devotion and the sense of duty would prove greater than his anger. For
Mr. Scott, the struggle to rekindle the spark of his father's life and career translated
into following the same path. Four years ago, it took him to West Point. This spring,
Cadet Scott plans to graduate, then go on to flight school.
"My mother is a little wary about me going into aviation after what happened to her
husband," he said. "But she has not opposed it. She just tells me it is dangerous."
He conceded that it has not been an easy journey; indeed, the twinges of pain are
evident as he nervously wrings his hands as he speaks about the loss. But he sees his
route as one that allows him to validate not only his own life but also that of his
father. And giving in to anger, turning on the military profession that led to his father's
59
death, was a negation he was not prepared to endure. In the end, Cadet Scott found
that one of the most straightforward of the commandments — one that many can
fulfill without great sacrifice — profoundly shaped his destiny.
"I do believe that through my life I am honoring my father," Cadet Scott said. "For the
most part I believe that any little boy growing up wishes to honor his father and make
him proud. I remember my father telling myself and my mother that if I was to ever
join the military to be an officer. Not only am I going to be an officer but I am
graduating from a prestigious military academy. My father would be proud of my
determination and ability to make it through West Point."
He carries in his wallet a high school picture of his father, Daniel S. Scott, a picture
that his mother gave to him when his father died. In his desk he keeps copies of the
military reports on the incident, filled with stilted jargon and cold descriptions of
wounds and bodies. His father, according to a report dated Jan. 4, 1991, and issued by
the Armed Forces Medical Examiners Office, "sustained blunt force injuries to the
neck and chest resulting in incapacitation, unconsciousness and hypovolemic shock."
"CW4 Scott," the report reads, "died of injuries from the crash."
The two other American soldiers on board were executed by rebel gunmen after being
pulled from the wreckage, the report stated.
"I don't speak about it much," Cadet Scott said. "A lot of the other cadets don't even
know that my father passed away or the circumstances. I don't want to make them feel
uncomfortable."
His father was a Christian who attended the Wyoming Bible Institute and Bob Jones
University.
"He had a big booming voice," his son said, "a preacher's voice."
By the time his father was stationed in Central America, flying helicopters in El
Salvador for American military advisers to the Salvadoran army, his contact with his
son was mostly through letters. His father diligently wrote him two or three times a
week and did the same for his mother and four sisters. The stacks of letters are now
small personal treasure-troves.
"He called me Buddy," Cadet Scott said. "He would tell me to take care of my mother
and sisters, that I was the man of the house. I was only 8 or 9 years old.
60
"The postcards he sent me were pictures of helicopters," Cadet Scott said. "I reread
them a year ago."
But the cards and letters had asides and offhand comments that disturbed the son. His
father mentioned that he could hear shooting in the streets near the air base. And in
the last letter he described how one of the helicopters had limped back "full of bullet
holes."
"He asked me to pray for him to have strength," Cadet Scott said.
He remembers flashes of the funeral service, like star bursts. The bright sunlight in the
cemetery in San Antonio, the 21-gun salute, the array of men in uniform, the casket
with the flag and air medal for valor, the way everyone was hushed and quiet, and the
effort by his grandfather and uncle, both preachers, to come to terms with the death.
"My grandfather said at the funeral that he was proud to be an American," Cadet Scott
said, "and while it sounds like a cliché, that got to us. Those words hit my family
pretty hard."
Even after what happened, Jeremy Scott liked war movies. He drew "dark pictures."
His family, despite the loss, found structure and meaning in religious and military
traditions.
These worlds offered an anchor, a sense of purpose, an unquestioned and noble call to
duty, to God and country. For him, as for much of his family, these religious and
patriotic demands were intimately intertwined.
"My grandfather and one of my uncles were marines," Cadet Scott said. "Even before
my dad died I was sure I would enter the military. I always wanted to emulate my
father."
When he was 16, able to put aside his anger at the Army, he went to the basement and
tried on his father's old flight suit. His father was a large man, 6 feet 4 inches tall and
240 pounds. The flight suit hung on his son's thin frame like a bilious drape. The
teenager put it back in the closet. In the spring, when Cadet Scott is scheduled to
graduate from West Point and head to flight school, he will take it out again, he said.
He already has his father's flight glasses in his dormitory room. He is now 6-foot-3
and 206 pounds, or in his words "not quite there yet." But he is there enough to wear
the suit. He is there enough to fly.
61
The peripatetic life of the Army, in which he and his family moved from base to base
every few years, continued even after his father died. They seemed rootless, adrift,
waiting in some sense to go home again.
"It was habit," he said. "We had to pick up and move. The Army gave all of us a sense
of order, a lifestyle. Things were set down. You do not second-guess things in the
military. It is a structured environment."
In 1993, the rebel soldiers who shot down the helicopter and executed the two other
crew members went on trial in El Salvador. No one from his family, despite
invitations, felt like attending the trial. The men, sentenced and convicted, were later
released as part of a general amnesty.
War, as it did for his father, looms over him. He said he knows that he, too, may have
to fly into combat. He, too, may take hostile fire. But Cadet Scott said he was
prepared to fulfill his duty to [his] country, and live out what he considers his destiny.
Was Cadet Scott’s journey an easy one? Explain.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Why do you think cultures create rules of conduct for their members?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
62
Is there value in having codes of conduct?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Do you think that you would have joined the military if you had experienced what Jeremy Scott
did? Why or why not?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
In the future, will it be important for you to have a job that changes people’s lives?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
How does this text connect to Lord of the Flies?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
63
Post Card Project:
Your objective is to create a post card from the island. On the left side you should incorporate a
picture that reflects the island. This should be of an item of interest you find on the island i.e.:
pig’s track, coconut, sand castle, etc or an event that took place. On the right side you should
provide a brief description of the item: where it was found, where it came from, who has seen
this specific picture?
Hey Mom,
I made this
really awesome
sand castle.
Unfortunately,
10 minutes later Roger and
Maurice came by and it ceased to
exist. My friends Percival and
Johnny helped me with it. I hope
to see you soon. My hair has been
getting long these days, it might
be time for a haircut.
Henry
This project will be evaluated on the appropriateness, style and content of your post card.
Appropriate: Is your picture appropriate and realistic for the island.
Does the picture have relevance?
________
10 Points
Style: Is your post card presented as a post card or is it done on
loose-leaf? Have I applied effort into my project?
________
10 Points
Content: Is my writing passage cohesive? Does it relate to the book,
and is the passage grammatically and syntactically correct?
________
10 Points
Total:
30 points