Journal #5

In Cry, the Beloved Country, Alan Paton characterizes the females and males very differently. The men are the ones who make decisions and hold positions of at least some importance and can run their own businesses. The women, on the other hand are the gentle ones in the background serving tea and it seems the only jobs they can really hold are prostitute and liquor maker. This to me seems very important because it shows the order in their society and the sexism involved.

Journal #4

I think an important part of the characterization is when the narrator says, "But though Stephen Kumalo has been there a full hour before he need, he does not listen to these things"(42). This shows that he takes things very serious especially with his time since he arrived so early.
When they describe Johannesburg they say it, "is a great city, with so many streets they say that a man can spend his days going up and down another, and never the same one twice"(42). This explains what a big difference there is between the place stephen is traveling and the place he is leaving.
The language used sets a distinct tone for me. The author uses words like, cripple, cold, gloomy, mystery, fascination, and glimpse. It makes the book seem rather dark and mysterious so far.
and the narrative seems to follow Stephen Kumalo very closely. It is always describing what he is doing or feeling at the moment.

Journal #3

Theme is an important part of every story. For The Lord of the Flies  I belive the theme has something to do with corruption. Corruption is internal among human beings and not an external force. When Jack tries to turn everyone to his tribe everyone still had their free will to choose. Ralph still had plenty of food and ample will to lead them. Even when Jack orders people to start killing others no one decides to leave they just go along with it. No one was forced to do anything they were all corrupted from within themselves. When Simon is talking to the Beast it tells him how stupid they were to think they could physically hunt and kill the beast, that it was inside of them. The Beast was the devil inside of them all, some were able to control themselves and suppress it. Others were not as was obvious in the example of Jack.

Journal #2

If William Golding had introduced girls onto the island as well as boys instead of just boys I think the book would have turned out differently. In the beginning they would have started as one tribe but I think that instead of the boys splitting they would have split off from the girls. Then I belive the boys would have split up as they did originally except that Ralp's side would side with the girls again. Because of this the girls would end up the dominant tribe on the island completely changing the ending.

Journal #1

"He was clambering heavily among the creepers and broken trunks when a bird, a vision of red and yellow, flashed upwards with a witch-like cry, and this cry was echoed by another. 'Hi!' it said. 'Wait a minute!'" (Golding 1).
When William Golding describes the bird as an upwards flash of red and yellow I believe this is an act of foreshadowing. Red and yellow flashing upwards give the image of a fire and fire plays a very important role in the book. They make it for the smoke in case of a boat and when the hunters let it go out it is the beginning of the conflict between Ralph and Jack. At the end of the book the conflict leads into Jack setting the island on fire to kill Ralph which attracts a boat and ultimately gets them rescued. This makes me think that the image of fire is very important in Lord of the Flies.

The author decides to describe the actions of Ralph without giving him a name and the appearance of Piggy without a name either. I think this is an important decision he made because for me it puts more emphasis and importance on what the characters do and who they really are other then just a predetermined name. Jacks's actions also show what his personality is like later on. He's more brash and does things quicker then Piggy who's thoughtfullness and logical thinking is shown by his slow careful actions of coming out of the forrest..