Aim: How does Golding create suspense through the use of short syntax?
Do Now: Define “savagery”
Have the boys on the island become savage?
During our class discussion, my classmate, Emily, said that savagery can be defined as lack of civilization and rules. I said that savagery meant the lack of morals. My classmate, Shi Lin, stated that the boys on the island are getting closer and closer to becoming uncivilized and savage. The boys on the island are becoming more of a mob and attacking whatever they feel like, even their own people as shown through Robert’s experiences.
Excerpt
A short excerpt from The Lord of the Flies (pg 164 on the pdf), was read to us and we had to discuss the syntax that Golding used in order to create suspense. My classmate Emily pointed out that Golding uses quick and small sentences in order to convey the idea that everything is happening very fast in that moment where Robert is being attacked by all the boys and nearly killed. The usage of the small sentences was to show that the event was very fast-paced and that so much was happening in very little time. The boys are roleplaying the killing of the pig in the first few sentences, then it quickly moves onto creating a circle and every boy joins in to try and kill Robert who was roleplaying the pig. It is pointed out that Robert was being assaulted at that moment and it was all for a feeling of power. Even Ralph joined in when attacking Robert due to the fact that although Ralph has the “most power” out of all the boys, he didn’t feel like he had power or control. Attacking someone that is weak and helpless makes them feel more powerful and have more control over people in general.
Writing Activity
For points, teams had to write a short paragraph with the use of short syntax to create suspense, specifically how Golding himself wrote it. Team 7, presented by Darren, was the first to write a paragraph conveying suspense. They wrote about someone feeling attacked and they utilized the technique of quick short sentences to convey a bunch of things happening all in a short amount of time.
Island Project
With the rest of the time remaining in class, the groups discussed their plans for the Island project. The Island project is a creative writing project as well as an art project where we must write a detailed 300-500 word paper utilizing imagery to describe what our individual part of the island would look like. The group portion of the project would be to create the island together under one theme or image and split up the parts of the island that each of us would describe in our papers. Our group discussed the details of building and creating our island as well as the times that we would have to work on together in school and out of school.
Reflection
During class today, we gained a better understanding of how Golding utilized short syntax in order to convey a suspenseful story. In class today, we read the excerpt, understood the method, and utilized it ourselves in a quick one paragraph writing paper. We also touched up on our understanding of irony as Team 5 earned points on finding how the shape of the island being a boat is ironic to the entire book. The boys on the island are trapped and need a boat to get out, and ironically, the island they are stranded on is boat-shaped. Overall, today we learned the proper usage of short syntax and the huge role it plays in making a story more suspenseful and exciting.
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