Journal #5

     In Cry, The Beloved Country, the men and women are characterized in different ways.  The men seem to  be characterized by their job or occupation, such as priest or carpenter, and by how much power and authority they possess.  Education and how accustomed they are to the white man's world also work to characterize the men.  They are admired for their money and judged on how they live, whether it is in a tribe or in Johannesburg where they can speak more English.
     The women seem to be characterized more by their loyalty and personality characteristics.  They are either kind, open, good housewives who take care of their families or women such as Kumalo's sister who is sullen and "like an animal that is tormented" (61).  Different household duties and hostessing type skills characterize the women more than their education or looks.  The female characters do not appear to be main parts of the story but more background and supporting characters.
     The difference is significant because it shows the historical viewpoint of the genders, as well as the author's viewpoint.  I would expect that the difference in their characterization would effect the plot and change the meaning of the story.

Journal #4

     In Cry, The Beloved Country, my first tab was on page 33.  I tabbed the third paragraph that describes hills that don't support the people; an opposite description of the land described in paragraph one and two.  The land is completely contrasting and think this shows how the people that live on the land determine how rich the soil is, and how "holy" the ground is.  For my next tab, I marked the quote on page thirty four: "the earth was torn away like flesh [. . .] the clouds pour down upon them, the dead streams come to life, full of the red blood of the earth" (34).  Here, plenty of figurative language is used to compare the earth to a living body.  In this case it has been wounded and the rain comes down to make the earth bleed.  This could represent the pain and conflict that the people are going through on this land, and the pain and neglect that the earth is suffering as well.  Next, I found that the dialogue is never put into quotations, which works to remove the reader from the story and create a feeling of separation.  The characters words then blend into the rest of the narration and show that the narrator feels separated and distanced as well.  Finally, Kumalo is compared to a child: "[h]e puffed like a child at his smoke, and was thankful" (50).  This happens several times to show that Kumalo perhaps doesn't feel like he can survive in this society.  He feels young and alone so he pretends to be someone he is not.

Journal #3

      The theme I chose is that there must be consequences and people to enforce them in order for people to respect the rules or laws in a society.  The author develops this through the characters and setting throughout the story.  Jack and Ralph are two completely different characters that help to develop the theme.  Ralph wants to be rescued so he asks the others to help keep the fire going, build shelters, and keep their part of the beach clean.  He is not arrogant like Jack, who is extremely opinionated and must have his way.  Their leading styles are extremely different and the responses to their leadership is different as well.  Everyone liked Ralph but wouldn't listen to him because they knew there wouldn't be consequences.  However, Jack was feared but listened to because the boys were afraid of what he would do if they broke his rules.
     The boys came from a civilized society where there were constant reminders to do as your told and plenty of adults to enforce the rules, therefore children behaved with good manners.  Once they get to the island and are isolated from the usual rule enforcers, they begin to break apart and behave unacceptably.  The places in which Jack and Ralph's two different tribes are located show how important it is for there to be consequences and people to enforce them so that everyone will follow the rules.  Ralph's tribe has suitable shelters and the lagoon where everyone loves to swim as well as fruit trees.  The boys soon learn to be comfortable and do as they please.  However, Jack's tribe is constantly reminded of the consequences of going against the rules when they are surrounded by the dangerous and threatening ocean, the place where Simon and Piggy were killed, and Jack's fury.  For this reason they always follow the rules.

Journal #2

     If the author had included female characters in The Lord of the Flies, he would have needed to change some other parts of the story.  First of all, the female characters would hopefully be able to help in making more sound decisions.  There could possibly have been more organization and order, and the younger kids would have been more likely to be taken care of and not left to their own devices.  Secondly, with females on the island the boys such as Jack and Ralph might have tried to impress the girls instead of fighting for one another's attention and approval.  The boy's could have kept more of their manners in the process.  Another effect this could have on the book would be to lessen the violence and man hunts.  The females would be more prone to being sympathetic, caring, and protective and hopefully the boys would be more conscious and aware of their actions and consequences.  Therefore, the author would probably change what the conflicts in the story were about and their outcomes.  Hopefully everyone on the island wouldn't forget their connection to society and the difference between right and wrong if female characters had been included in the book.

Journal #1

     The author's choice to have Piggy "searching out safe lodgments for his feet" has several effects.  It shows that Piggy naturally thinks before he acts and is careful.  Also, the fact that William Golding decided to make this less apparent than his physical appearance foreshadows that his knowledge and capability may be ignored because he looks different than the others.  Therefore needed leadership, help, and ideas might not be gained because of the close-mindedness and immaturity of the boys.  The effect of this was to cause fights and rebellion and an overall deterioration of group-mindedness and achievements.

     The choice of weather also had a big impact on the book.  The fact that in the first page the author includes the quote "a multitude of raindrops fell pattering" (1) affects many aspects of the story.  This shows there is a high amount of precipitation on the island which causes it to rain during key points in the book.  It rains the night Simon was killed which is foreshadowed by the quote from page one.  Rain can be dreary and uncomfortable, especially when the boys are living in the wilderness.  This creates an atmosphere of unease and restlessness for the boys to leave the island, especially when bad situations such as Simon's death are associated with it.  The rain has an impact on the mood in the book.