WE’LL FINISH THE NOVEL THIS WEEK. WHO IS MORALLY responsible for the events on the island? What is at work on the island—an inherent evil within nature and wilderness? Or is it something within a boy in particular, in in the boys in general? Think outside of the plot: What is Golding’s view on this question? We will conduct some group quote analysis, using google sheets to coordinate our results. We will also begin looking at a series of poems about wilderness (just as we examined New York poems while reading Catcher in the Rye.).

Monday

Starting the week with Carl Sandburg’s poem, “Wilderness.” Why does Sandburg say that “[he is] the keeper of the zoo”? Are human beings “a noble animal”?
HW: Read chapter 10 tonight for class discussion.

Tuesday

Chapter 9 & 10 discussion. Why is Simon killed? Are Piggy and Ralph complicit in his death? Legally? Morally? In the eyes of their peers? In the eyes of God?
HW: Read chapter eleven, “Shadows and Tall Trees.”

Wednesday

Discussion of the poem, “Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost. Here’s a short biography.
HW: Reading chapter twelve.

Thursday

Discussion on chapters 11 & 12: Does evil exist in the hearts of the boys? Are the boys born evil? Taught to be evil? Forced to act in evil ways?
HW: Read the poem, “The Evil Seekers.” Post three quotes about evil, from the novel onto a google sheet located here.

Friday

We will watch the rescue of Chuck Noland in “Castaway.” We will then turn to an Anne Sexton poem on nature, “The Evil Seekers.” What is the nature of evil? If this poem and Lord of the Flies were having a conversation together about evil, what would they say?
HW: Finish the worksheet on chapters eight and nine.