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.