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Sunday, November 25, 2012

Focus Tracking: Psychological Setting

       While tracking an element of the book every time I read may be tedious and annoying, it helps me keep on track when I am reading, and focus on specific things so I don't get distracted.  My topic is Psychological setting.  I chose this topic because I find it interesting to observe how people react when they are put in certain situations or circumstances.
       I have found that throughout the book, it seems like the psychological setting changes when conflicts arise and diminish.  As soon as a conflict starts, tensions builds, and as a result, arguments are created.  On the contrary, when conflicts are resolved, the psychological setting changes, and suddenly everyone is more accepting of other's ideas, and people work well together.  As an example, in chapter 2, they are trying to make a fire.  The boys know that to be rescued, they need fire. And not just fire, they also need smoke. Everyone is very tense trying to get the fire right. When they realize their fire isn't good enough, they are upset because they won’t get rescued. But when they get a good fire going again, they have new hope and are very excited.  Here are some quotes from pages 41-44 that support that.  
“The flame flapped higher and the boys broke into a cheer.”..... “That was no good. There wasn’t any smoke. Only flame.”.... “At the sight of the flames and the irresistible course of the fire, the boys broke into shrill, excited cheering.”

Lord of the Flies by William Golding:
11/19- 31 pages, 50 minutes
11/21- 25 pages, 40 minutes
11/23- 36 pages, 60 minutes
Toal- 92 pages, 150 minutes

3 comments:

  1. Hey Dru! I've noticed the same things going on, where tension seems to build quickly, but then is easily resolved. I think of it as a sort of childishness on the boys part, because they don't seem to hold grudges past their little strifes the way an older person might.

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  2. This is a very hard topic to do a focus on, so I applaud your thoroughness and use of specific events. I agree that the quick rise and fall of tension has to do with conflicts- such as building a fire, etc. Maybe that is because they know they cannot afford to stay mad at eachother long? Hmm..

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  3. Dru, you may want to think about establishing the mood when they first land and are exploring the island of no grown-ups. You might be surprised at how different it is from where we are now in the reading.

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