Summer Reading Assignment 2016
Grade 9
Each student must purchase and read Lord of the Flies by William Golding. This required
reading title is available online or at local bookstores. If you have any questions, please
contact the English Department Chair, Camilla Stastny, via email:
[email protected].
English I College-Preparatory
Carefully read Lord of the Flies by William
Golding considering the Framework for Reading
given below.
English I Honors
Carefully read Lord of the Flies by William Golding
considering the Framework for Reading given below.
Students will be assessed on this book in multiplechoice format on the second day of class, Wednesday,
Students will be assessed on this book in multiple- August 10, 2016. We will discuss the book in class for
choice format on the second day of class,
the first two weeks of school. Students should come to
Wednesday, August 10, 2016. We will discuss the class prepared to participate in discussion of the book.
book in class for the first two weeks of school.
At the end of the two weeks’ discussion, students will
Students should come to class prepared to
take a test on the novel focusing on the material
participate in discussion of the book. At the end of presented and discussed in class.
the two weeks’ discussion, students will take a test
on the novel focusing on the material presented
Students should make annotations in their books as they
and discussed in class.
are reading. Students are required to have at least 3
annotations per chapter. Annotations are short notes
written by the reader as s/he is reading a book. The
annotations may contain connections to other parts of
the novel or other novels/stories read, the definition of a
previously unknown word, identification of literary
devices such as simile, metaphor, etc., questions that the
reader may have while reading, identification or
interpretation of themes, symbols, etc., or general
thoughts about what the reader is reading. Please use a
variety of annotations as you are reading.
For example, as the reader begins the novel, s/he may be
impressed by the imagery of the opening scene of the
novel, particularly the idea of the “scar” that man has
made (with the wreckage of the airplane) on the
previously unmarred island. Already, Golding’s belief
in the inherent evil of man is made manifest by his use
of language. Do NOT use post-it notes for annotations.
Please write all annotations in the book.
Annotations will be counted as a part of the multiple
choice test grade.
(Continue to next page for Framework for Reading)
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Framework for Reading – For All Students
Lord of the Flies
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Overview:
o As a child and adolescent, William Golding, like others in the innocent years before the War, had a
fundamentally simple conception of the world. In a generic mode of thinking, during the years before
the massive cruelty, devastation, and destruction wrought by World War II, the prevailing concept of
man and society was that of Romanticism: man was essentially good and society was inherently
evil. Golding's belief in this concept can be seen in his childhood reading choices, which included
adventure stories like Tarzan of the Apes, Coral Island, and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The
Sea. These stories featured good and pure men in their struggle against the evils of society.
o Golding's opinions toward mankind and society changed with the course of the war. He fought during
World War II as a member of the Royal Navy. His experience included clashes with enemy naval
vessels as well as participation in the Walcheren and D-Day operations. He witnessed firsthand the
terrible destructive power of man operating during war, essentially outside the restrictive limits of
society. With war as his tutor, he began to view man, instead, as a creature with a very dark and evil
side to his nature. Lord of the Flies, as well as Golding's other works, essentially explores the dark side
of what Golding felt was the true nature of man: evil.
Background:
o Golding claims to have written Lord of the Flies as a response to the novel Coral Island: A Tale of the
Pacific Ocean, by R.M. Ballantyne. According to Major 20th Century Writers: These two books share
the same basic plot line and even some of the same character names (two of the lead characters are
named Ralph and Jack in both books). The similarity, however, ends there. Ballantyne’s story, about a
trio of boys stranded on an otherwise uninhabited island, shows how, by pluck and resourcefulness,
the young castaways survive with their morals strengthened and their wits sharpened. Lord of the
Flies, on the other hand, is “an allegory on human society today, the novel’s primary implication being
that what we have come to call civilization is, at best, not more than skin-deep,” as James Stern
explains in a New York Times Book Review article.
Setting (at opening of novel):
o Lord of the Flies is set at a vague point in the future during an atomic war. A planeload of British
schoolchildren is shot down and marooned on a deserted island. There are no adults present.
Conflict:
o man vs. man
o man vs. self
o man vs. nature
Themes:
o civilization vs. savagery
o loss of innocence
o innate evil in all humans
Symbols:
o the conch shell
o the fire
o the island
o the pig’s head
o Piggy’s spectacles
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