WELCOME TO HONORS ENGLISH 9
Future High School Honors English Student:
As your Honors English 9 teachers, we are proud of the school’s fine tradition of excellence, and we expect that
you will want to be a part of that tradition.
Next year, you will encounter a number of adventurous learning experiences, especially Honors English 9. In
freshmen Honors English, you will have the opportunity to improve your vocabulary, writing and grammar
skills, and also explore the expansive world of literature through the study of the short story, drama, novel, and
classical mythology.
To prepare for our year together, your first requirement is to begin your summer reading. (All English Honors
students are asked to read at least one piece of literature over the summer.) We are requiring that you read
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, a book that can be read and discussed on many levels. You may use the
copy provided by your eighth-grade English teacher, or you may purchase your own copy. One of the advantages
to having your own copy is that you may highlight and/or make notes in the margins.
During the first days of class, we will spend time discussing, reviewing, and analyzing this novel. We have
included a study guide to help you through the novel, and perhaps, to point out some things you might not
notice. You must answer the questions, take notes, and have them the first day of class. Plan on a quiz that
first day, too. You also need to create one of the projects. This will also be due the first day of class.
NOTE: Many of you will have the class first trimester while some of you will not have the class until
second trimester. Assignments are due your first day of Honors English. If you have any questions or
concerns over the summer, please feel free to e-mail us at [email protected] or [email protected].
Sincerely,
Mr. Warren Kent III
Honors English 9
Ms. Jolynn Walek
Honors English 9
Lord of the Flies questions
1121 SEMINOLE ROAD • NORTON SHORES, MICHIGAN • 49441
SCHOOL: 231-780-4711, EXT. 8436/EXT. 8348
Chapter 1: “The Sound of the Shell”
1.
How did the boys end up on the island together? (Who are they, where are they from, what were they doing?)
2.
What is the most important thing these boys do when they all get together? Why is this so important?
C H A P T E R 2: “F I R E O N T H E M O U N TA I N ”
3.
At their first meeting, what three things does Ralph tell the boys that they learned on their “exploration”? What ground rule do
the boys come up with at this meeting?
4.
What do you think the conch represents/symbolizes?
5.
What concern did the small boy with the mulberry birthmark bring to Ralph’s attention? How did the group respond to this little
boy? How does Jack put the boys at ease?
6.
What final thing does Ralph, as their leader, tell the boys they must do?
7.
Once the boys made a big pile of wood, what did they realize? How did they overcome this problem?
8.
What two new “rules” does Ralph make on top of the mountain?
Lord of the Flies questions
9.
What happened to the small boy with the mulberry birthmark? How do the boys react to this tragedy?
C H A P T E R 3: “H U T S O N T H E B E AC H ”
10. At the beginning of this chapter, what is Jack doing? What are Ralph and Simon doing? Where are all the other boys? What is
Ralph’s frustration?
11. How productive are the meetings that the boys have? How do you know?
12. At the end of this chapter, Ralph and Jack are looking for Simon. When they see him, how is he treating the littluns? What is he
doing?
C H A P T E R 4: “PA I N T E D FAC E S A N D L O N G H A I R ”
13. Why do Roger and Maurice kick over the sand castles of the younger children? Why does Roger, throwing stones at the littluns,
aim just to miss?
14. What blood-thirsty chant has become part of their hunting ritual?
15. What definite stand does Ralph make?
C H A P T E R 5: “B E A S T F RO M WAT E R ”
16. Piggy disagrees with Jack on the point of fear. He says that there is nothing to fear on the island “Unless…”?
Lord of the Flies questions
17. The meeting breaks down in confusion. Then, Jack defies the rules and starts talking without having the conch. When Ralph
shouts to Jack, “You’re breaking the rules,” Jack responds, “Who cares?” What is Ralph’s response? What does Ralph mean by his
response, and why is it significant?
18. Why does Piggy want Ralph to stay on as chief ?
CHAPTER 6: “BEAST FROM AIR”
19. WHAT IS THE BEAST FROM THE AIR?
20. WHAT HAS RALPH FIXED HIS MIND ON THAT THE OTHERS SEEM TO THINK OF VERY LITTLE? WHY
DO THEY NOT SEEM TO SHARE HIS CONCERN?
21. WHY IS EXPLORING THE CASTLE-LIKE ROCK FORMATION SUCH A SCARY PROPOSITION, AND WHO
DOES IT?
22. RALPH INSISTS THAT THEY CHECK THE MOUNTAIN-TOP FOR THE BEAST AND RELIGHT THE FIRE.
WHAT IS IT THAT THE OTHERS WANT TO DO?
CHAPTER 7: “SHADOWS AND TALL TREES”
23. What is Ralph’s opinion of his appearance as the chapter begins? What does Ralph long for?
24. What distracts the boys from their search for the Beast?
25. What do Ralph, Jack, and Roger find when they get to the top of the mountain?
Lord of the Flies questions
Chapter 8: “Gift for the Darkness”
26. How does Jack respond when Ralph calls his hunters “boys armed with sticks”? Why do you think he
responded like this?
27. What does Jack do when the boys don’t respond to his demand to be chief ?
28. Why does Simon suggest they go back to the mountain?
29. What does Piggy suggest that they do since they can’t return to the mountain to build a fire?
30. What happens to most of the biguns while Ralph and Piggy are busy? Why do you think this happens?
31. What is Jack’s plan to get more of the bigger boys from Ralph’s camp?
32. What does Jack ask Roger to do with a stick?
33. What gift does Jack offer to help pacify the Beast?
34. With whom is Simon having an imaginary conversation at the end of this chapter?
Lord of the Flies questions
Chapter 9: “A View to a Death”
35. When Simon awakens and goes up to the mountain, what does he discover?
36. Why does Jack organize the feast?
37. What does Simon try to tell the boys? What do the boys do to Simon? What is ironic about this?
38. What happens to the parachutist?
39. What, besides the meat, is it that attracts the others, and Ralph also, to Jack’s life?
Chapter 10: “The Shell and the Glasses”
40. Analyze how Ralph and Piggy deal with Simon’s death.
41. How does Jack’s reaction to Simon’s death differ from the reaction of his followers?
42. How is the word savage used differently in this chapter than before?
43. What meaning do you attach to the episode involving the beating of Wilfred?
44. Describe what happened during the fight.
Lord of the Flies questions
C H A P T E R 11: “C A S T L E R O C K ”
45. Why do Ralph, Piggy, and Samneric venture to Castle Rock? What do they take with them as a symbol
of their authority?
46. What happens to Piggy and the conch?
47. What happens to Samneric during the confrontation?
48. Why does Ralph refuse to paint his face?
C H A P T E R 12: “C RY O F T H E H U N T E R S ”
49. Although he doesn’t like the idea of savages, why does Ralph have such a strong desire to spend the
night with them at Castle Rock? Why doesn’t he?
50. What preparations have Jack and Roger made, and what plan do they have for Ralph, according to Samneric?
51. Why does Ralph have a hard time believing that the savages plan to do him serious physical harm?
52. What is used in the first attempt to flush out Ralph from the thicket?
53.
What has drawn the naval captain to the island?
54. To the officer, what does it appear that the boys were doing? Why was he disappointed in them?
Lord of the Flies questions
Please complete the following assignment after you have finished the entire novel. Please type and double-space this assignment.
1.
Plot Summary – decide upon the FIVE key events for the entire book. List each and then give a 2-3-sentence explanation of the
event, including why it is significant enough to place in the top five.
2.
Quotes – choose 10 quotes/passages from the book. For each, explain what is going on and the relevance to the book. Your
explanation and relevance should be 3-4 sentences EACH.
3.
Characters – choose FIVE of the most significant characters for the book. For each, explain their significance to the story, if and
how they changed over the course of the story, and how they impacted the outcome of the story (8-10 sentences EACH).
4.
Theme – choose a main theme of the novel. Decide which theme has the greatest relevance to the entire story. Explain this
theme and give TWO examples supporting this theme (10-15 sentences).
5.
Reaction – after reading the novel, write a paragraph (10-15 sentences) explaining your reaction to the novel – not just what you
gained and learned, but how has your reading of this novel changed you? Moreover, has your perception of anything changed or
altered over the course of the story? Justify your response.
P ROJECT #1 – L ORD OF THE F LIES S CRAPBOOK
Create a scrapbook that includes various documents/artifacts. A scrapbook is a hand-made book that includes a variety of writing, images, and
artifacts. The idea is to make the scrapbook as authentic, or realistic, as possible.
REQUIREMENTS
1.
2.
3.
4.
Cover/Title Page (5 points) – Include your name, the title of your project, and some kind of decorative design. This may be a
drawing, an image, or a collage of images, drawings, text, etc.
Table of Contents (5 points) – Make creative.
2 Letters (12.5 points each for total of 25 points) – Length: 1-page each.
a. Letter No. 1 – You are one of the children on the island. You will write a letter home. It should be written immediately after
the first meeting on the island, where you first met all of the other boys. You should tell them everything that has happened so
far. You must tell your parents about Ralph, Jack, Piggy and Simon. The letter was eventually found in a bottle floating in the
ocean.
b. Letter No. 2 – The second letter can take on any format; however, you must write from the point of view of one of the boys
from the novel. The contents of this second letter must reference events from the second half of the novel. Possible Ideas: A
letter from Ralph to Jack asking for him to come to his senses OR a letter from a child in Jack’s camp about the regret he hides
after Piggy’s death. This letter was never sent because the boys were rescued. It was found on the island.
Newspaper Front Page (30 points) – See a professional paper to see what these things might look like. Your front page will be on a
regular-sized sheet of paper. Must include the following:
a. Name of the newspaper with date, address, volume no., issue no.
b. An article about the rescue. Must be more than 200 words. This article should start with the rescue or the boys’ return home.
It should then go back and recap what happened in chronological order beginning with the crash onto the island. The article
should be written in a format called Fact-Quote, meaning you give a fact, then a quote from someone talking about the fact.
You must use at least one quote from each of the following: Ralph, Jack, any other boy that was rescued, and the naval captain
who rescued them.
c. Headline for the article. This should announce that the boys were rescued – NOT that they were stranded on an island.
d. Photo to accompany the article.
e. Caption explaining the picture. Must be minimum two sentences.
5.
6.
7.
An Obituary for either Simon or Piggy (10 points) – See a professional newspaper to see how an obituary is written. Obviously, you
will have to create much of this information. You need to also include at picture. The following information should be included:
a. Full name of character
b. Death date and place
c. Birth date and place
d. Parents
e. Any siblings?
f. Survivors
g. Preceded in death by…
h. Service info
i. Other
A Map of the Island (15 points) – Your map must feature important locations on the island and locations of specific events. The map
must be your own creation and not printed from any other source. It must be in color. You can include anything that you want, but it
must include the following:
a. The “scar” left by the plane
b. The first meeting place
c. The mountain with signal fire
d. Clearing where the Lord of the Flies is
e. Castle Rock & place of Piggy’s death
f. Ralph’s place of hiding in the thicket
g. Lagoon
h. Place where dead parachutist found
i. Place where Simon is killed
j. Place of rescue
A drawing and description of a symbol (10 points) – Must be hand-drawn and in color. Description must be a minimum of 100
words. Write from the point of view of a kid from the island, telling one of his friends (1) what the actual object is used for on the
island and (2) what it means symbolically.
Project #2 – Lord of the Flies soundtrack
You will be creating a soundtrack for five chapters of the novel. As with any soundtrack, you should choose music to represent the mood
and the feel of the text. You will also create a CD cover and creative liner notes to be enjoyed while listening to the CD.
REQUIREMENTS
1.
2.
3.
4.
Choose your songs. Decide which songs represent five chapters of the novel. You can consider the lyrics of the song or simply
the style and mood of the song. Be sure to choose music that is appropriate for the class.
Create liner notes. Design liner notes that list the songs you have chosen with the information for the song and an explanation
for why you chose each song. Your explanations should clearly demonstrate an understanding of the text and explain your
rationale for choosing each song. You should have citations (page number only) referencing a specific moment in the text that you are
trying to capture the feel of. Your liner notes should also include the lyrics for each song.
a. The song and its lyrics should be on one sheet of paper. Be careful when you are copying and pasting lyrics from the
Internet; make sure the punctuation & spelling is accurate.
b. The liner notes, explaining why you chose the song with information regarding the novel, should be on a separate sheet
of paper. It should be no less than three paragraphs with an introduction, a body paragraph that ties lyrics to novel, and
a body paragraph that ties lines from chapter to song. You need to use lines from the song and lines from the novel to
support your point. Select certain lines from the song and tell how they reflect upon the novel; likewise, choose lines
from the novel and tell how they relate to the song. When you use lines from the novel, make sure you use in-text
citations (page numbers). Information from the novel should be written in present tense. Also, it is NOT necessary to
write, “I believe,” “I think,” etc. I already know this because it is YOUR assignment.
c. Both parts of this should be typed.
Design a CD cover. Design an original CD cover for your soundtrack. You can create images by hand or you can use a
computer.
Burn an actual CD of your soundtrack. Compile your song choices onto a CD to turn in along with your liner notes.
Project #2 – Lord of the Flies soundtrack
EXAMPLE LYRICS:
Song four: “Shadows and Tall Trees” U2, Boy (1980)
Back to the cold restless streets
at night
I talk to myself about tomorrow
night
Walls of white protest
A gravestone in name
Who is it now
It's always the same
Who is it now
Who calls me inside
Are the leaves on the trees
Just a living disguise
I walk the sweet rain tragicomedy
I'll walk home again
To the street melody
But I know, oh no
But I know, oh no
But I know
Shadows and tall trees
Shadows and tall trees
Shadows and tall trees
Shadows and tall trees
Life through a window
Discoloured pain
Mrs. Brown's washing is always
the same
I walk street rain tragicomedy
I'll walk home again
To the street melody
But I know, oh no
But I know, oh no
But I know
...out there...
Do you feel in me
Anything redeeming
Any worthwhile feeling
Is life like a tightrope
Hanging from the ceiling
But I know, oh no
But I know, oh no
But I know
Shadows and Tall Trees
Shadows and Tall Trees
Shadows and Tall Trees
Shadows and Tall Trees
Shadow...shadow...shadow
Shadow...shadow...shadow
Shadows and Tall Trees
Shadows and Tall Trees
Don't be my shadow...shadow...shadow
It's only my shadow...shadow...shadow
Shadows and Tall Trees
Shadows
and
Tall
Tree
Project #2 – Lord of the Flies soundtrack
EXAMPLE LINER NOTES (YOUR RATIONALE FOR PICKING THAT SONG):
(Introduction) The U2 song “Shadows and Tall Trees” represents chapter seven of Lord of the Flies because the song
was inspired by the novel and shares the same title as the chapter.
(Tying lyrics from song to the novel) Even though the song itself takes place in a city and obviously the book takes
place on an island, the island is a microcosm for the larger world, and the boys of the island have become a small
community (city) unto themselves. The line in the song, “life through a window” sounds as if it could be referring to the
idea of a microcosm relationship – like you are watching life happen through a window, and you can’t interact with it. In
this chapter, there is a sense of impending doom. The boys are continuing their regression into savage characters.
Similarly, there is the suggestion in this song that the speaker is questioning his own humanity. The sense of this song is
that there is something wrong.
(Tying lines from novel to the song) In chapter seven, there are literal shadows and tall trees, “the pig-track was a dark
tunnel, for the sun was sliding quickly toward the edge of the world and in the forest shadows were never far to seek”
(164). But there are also symbolic trees as shadows, similar to this song. If the main characters in this story are the trees,
then Jack and Ralph are the tallest at this point in the book. However, there is a constant shifting of power, and through
this chapter, Jack has begun to cast his own shadow over Ralph. In this somewhat morbid U2 song, there is the sense
that the speaker does not consider his life worthy enough of casting a shadow nor does he want to encourage anyone to
stand in it. In this way, the speaker of the song may be like the Ralph we see in chapter seven: uncertain of his role and
filled with self-doubt.