Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a fantastic book about very civilized children who plane wreck on an island and what become s of them as the process trying to live on their own. The characterization has so many archetypes and symbols that the good and evil characters are easily picked out. The boys go from being very civilized to uncivilized as they try to create a form of government and rule the island. The children who are stronger extroverts are the ones who begin to rule the island and have the control and power on the island. They become savages and deaths start to occur. The children have a pig on a stick which flies fly around. They call it the Lord of the Flies. An event occurs where a plane flies overhead and a drops a dead parachutist out. The kids begin to worry about a monster at the top of the island and there imaginations go rampant. A fantastic book great for any middle school age. Fantastic for teaching students about symbols, themes, and archetypes.

1984

War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength, and Big Brother is Watching You. Winston Smith lives in a community in which these statements are brought forth as true. The story 1984 was writing in 1948 as what George Orwell believed would be the circumstance of the future and how the government would have become so corrupt by the year 1984 and what society would be like. In the society, cameras are constantly on people and rules are controlling what they do. The people aren’t allowed to read or many things. The government controls all information in the society as well as the thoughts of others. Winston Smith joins a covert brotherhood and pursues a forbidden love affair. He starts to become hunted by the state and even more importantly, by Big Brother. We go through his struggle and trials and watch as he is reeducated in the ways of the society.

This is a strong tale of conformity and what happens when the destruction of truths and freedoms come into society and make us who we are.

I thought this was a fantastic book, I think it would be for the end of 8^th grade or a high school book. Great choice though.