Cry Journal 2

Mostly in the story he is characterizing men because the main character is a man but you do get a few tastes of women in this culture. There's a little bit of difference like how the woman are cooking and stuff but actually there's a lot less than I thought there would be. It might change later on in the book though. But right now, surprisingly it seems like men and women are pretty equal. You might expect in a foreign place like fifty years ago that women would be treated differently but it seems like they really aren't. Like in the beginning of the book, when he's opening the letter with his wife, she seems very strong and she even opens it. And also kumalo listens to her and seems to really respect her opinon.

Cry Journal

One thing I tabbed was the very beginning, I put it under plot structure. And I tabbed it because the author chooses to introduce the story with a bunch of description about the setting and it's usually important to note how the author begins the novel. I think he probably chose the setting because it's really important in this book because its all about culture and its in Africa so he kind of paints the picture of where you're at and what's going on.

Another thing I tabbed was under the category of narrative I noted that he chose to tell this in third person. I can't tell yet whether its limited or omniscient but it's third person. And that's important because he probably did that maybe to distance the reader a little bit because its a different culture so he wanted a more broad perspective.

I also tabbed on pages 36-37 when they are talking about the letter, I tabbed it because of the mood. Since you don't know what's in the letter there's anticipation and anxiety but you can tell that it isnt like happy anticipation it's this sort of sad almost dreading anxiety and tension which is important to note.

I tabbed pages 48-49 where he gets robbed I thought that passage was important because he's telling a lot about the character so that probably falls under the category of characterization. You see how naive and innocent the man is. And also how he is so trusting and faithful. that's important because first it tells you about the main character and also about the culture and town he comes from. 

One theme that I picked out from Lord of the Flies was that it's difficult to be a leader. One way that Golding develops this theme is through his characters. Mainly, we see it through Ralph since he is chosen to be cheif. At first, it works and there is some sense of order on the island. But pretty soon Jack starts to get jealous and he tries to use his own force to throw Ralph out and become a leader himself. It shows that many people are selfish and if they don't like the way you lead, and you don't have the authority over them, they will just decide not to listen to you.

A second way that Golding develops the theme of the challenge of leadership is through the setting. On a deserted island, its a little bit cliche because there's lots of stories where people end up on a deserted island, stranded. There's almost always some type of leader elected or something. I think humans crave leadership and some sort of order of importance or authority. However, it takes a special kind of person to be able to hold authority over people. One of the main reasons Ralph couldn't was because there were no consequences. No one likes consequences but without them, people wouldn't follow the rules. For awhile they might, just like Jack did, but then eventually they realize that they have just as much power as anyone and they often turn to voilence. This is exactly what happened to Jack.

Lord of the Flies; Journal 2

Lord of the Flies would be a lot more complicated if it included female characters. The author would have to decide what types of personalities the girls would have and also the relationships between the male and female characters in the novel. He would have to decide whether or not the girls would resort to as much violence as the boys, and I'm guessing the girls would not want to be involved in the violence. Female characters might stay civilized for longer than the boys did and it may have been a lot less dangerous. However on the other hand, girls can tend to be cliquey and the tribe may have fallen apart faster if it had been females. They could have been meaner to each other and a little less easy going than the boys. Female characters also would have added another dimension if any of them had relationships with the boys on the island. I think that female characters could have provided a more motherly, nurturing figure that helped the boys to stay more in control. At any rate, adding female characters would have completely changed the story and I think it is better with only boys.

Homework Paragraphs 9/12/10

One of the decisions that the author made was to introduce the first two characters without names. He introduces Ralph as just "the boy with fair hair". I think one the reasons that the author chose to do this is because it creates interest. The reader is more intrigued and wants to continue the story because they aren't quite sure what is going on or who these boys are. The boys were on a plane that crashed on the island but he starts the story where they've already crashed, so he begins kind of in the middle of things. I think he wants to set an adventurous tone and sort of mysterious. By not naming either of the boys I think the effect that not naming the boys has on this writing is that it gives it more mystery and helps with the whole sort of foreboding feel that you get. But most likely his main reason for not naming them was just to make it more interesting and exciting.

Another decision that the author made on the first page of the novel was his description of Piggy. The author bluntly states that Piggy is "very fat". He also where's glasses, he's short and is described as kind of dorky looking. I think that the author chose to have Piggy's physical appearance be like this specifically. In the novel, Piggy seems to represent the knowledgeable, cautious, safe and logical side of people. He's very level-headed and always thinks before he acts. I think that a lot of times we don't really like to be logical and cautious and that's often a less attractive option. It's always a lot more cool and fun to take risks and to do things we want to do without thinking them through. The other boys on the island make fun of Piggy and don't really like him very much and tease him for being fat. The author probably choose to make Piggy unattractive to represent how we often times disregard or dislike the logical side of things. And how we act like it's uncool to be safe and cautious. Also, a good effect that making Piggy fat has on the book is that it makes it very easy to relate to cause we can all picture that one sort of chubby, nerdy kid. So it makes it seem more realistic.