Be kinder than necessary, because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
No matter how grumpy, annoying or un-kept someone may be, there is always a story behind it. We should give people the benefit of the doubt, because we have no idea how heartbreaking their stories are. Perhaps their loved one have just been given a diagnosis of cancer, or maybe their best friend has just broken up with them, or maybe they don't have enough money to afford groceries this month. Allah wants us to see good in every person we meet, be that a homeless guy on the corner of the highway, the man in the truck who came to your house for delivery, the angry woman screaming at Costco checkout line. We must treat everyone with mercy and respect if we wish to receive mercy and compassion from Allah.
For this assignment, write a 200 word back story about one of the following characters in order to explain why they behave the way they do on the island. Make the back story realistic and emapthatic. Submit the back story in the comments' section below.
This assignment is due on Wednesday, March 13, 2016 at 11:59 pm.
1. Ralph
2. Jack
3. Simon
4. Roger
Lord of the Flies Character Backstory: Jack Merridew
ReplyDeleteWhy do human minds have a dark side? What triggers our young minds’ horrid side? What triggers the blood thirsty violence, uncivilized vision, and savage demagoguery of Jack Merridew? An example of Jack’s dark side of human nature is in chapter four, “You didn’t ought to have let that fire out. You said you’d keep the smoke going – This from Piggy, and the wails of agreement from some of the hunters, drove Jack to violence.”(Golding, 93-94) Jack was reminded of a time at school. It was Jack’s big day at school. He was about to present his speech in front of the whole school today. Jack had practiced day and night till it was finally time. He was competing against two older boys, Max and Luca. When the presentations were over and it was finally time to announce who won the competition, everyone was very curious. Max had won 3rd place and Luca had won 2nd, but when 1st place was announced, Jack was very surprised. He had won 1st place. Everyone was very happy except for Max and Luca. They waited just for the right time to get back to him. When the school day was over, Luca and Max grabbed Jack from the collar and pushed him to the wall, hurting his head very badly. “You don’t deserve anything, you kind hearted skeleton!” said Max. “Yeah, you don’t have a brain of your own, your just plain dumb.” said Luca. With one very painful hard-core punch in his stomach, Jack was left lying on the floor. “The bolting look came into his blue eyes. He took a step, and able at last to hit someone, stuck his fist into Piggy’s stomach. Piggy sat down with a grunt. Jack stood over him, his voice vicious with humiliation. You would, would you? Fatty!” (Golding, 94)This is how Jack became who he is now, a blood thirsty, violent, and uncivilized visionary.
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ReplyDeleteSIMON
ReplyDelete"Then, amid the roar of bees in the afternoon light, Simon found for them (the littluns) the fruit they could not reach, pulled off the choicest from up in the foliage, passed them back down to the endless outstretched hands. When he had satisfied them he paused and looked round...... Simon turned away from them and went where the perceptible path led him...... Simon paused. He looked over his shoulder as Jack had done at the close ways behind him and glanced swiftly round to confirm that he was utterly alone." (Pages 57-58). He took a deep breath and sucked in the beautiful scents and sounds of the island. In perfect harmony. Harmony. Something Simon had been deprived of until two years ago. Being the oldest of four siblings, Simon never really had any time to himself, especially because of the constant bickering of his parents who never really paid attention to any of their children except Abigail, who was only one. Consoling his crying siblings, feeding them, playing with them - this is how most of Simon's childhood was spent doing. Not that he didn't love his siblings. he could easily have left them whenever he desired but his heart could never bear the thought of how sad his siblings might be without him. Though, he still longed to have just a moment with himself and feel at peace. And one blessed day, he daresay, his wish came true when his sister Ruby got lost in the forest during a family picnic. Simon was searching in the forest when he heard a bird call he had never heard before. Curious, he followed the sound. Upon finally catching up with the bird, he gasped. it was like an enchanting dream. Laid out beyond him was a clear, beautiful stream, with white water lilies and large white swans. The trees swayed with the dancing breeze. Everything was at harmony - no one conflicted the other. Here, for the first time in his life, Simon found complete peace. Simon jumped back into reality when he heard his mother calling, telling him that Ruby had been found. And from that day on wards, whenever he was sad, or his parents were arguing again, he would take his siblings and go off to a garden, park or lakeside and stay there until his father would come to fetch them.
Why was Simon such a nature-loving guy? Why was he so drawn to the place he found that he visited it again?
ReplyDelete"I wanted-to go to a place- a place i know."
"He was taking a short." (Page 92)
But the truth was, Simon wasn't. He had paid another visit to the serene paradise-like place he had found earlier (Page 58-59). The place where more sunshine fell and the true beauty of nature was hidden behind a screen of leaves. Whenever Simon visited that place he was reminded of his time with Sierra -his deceased twin sister- before the war had killed her off.
Simon, and his twin, had a secret place similar to this. That place was just as exotic, if not more. It had a wall of dark green vines, shielding the area from views. Different animals stumbled around, Mangoes and other fruits hung like decorations from trees. The two children believed it was heaven's garden and called their secret place "Amahara".
Simon and his sister went through many hardships starting from trouble at school to abusive parents. Amahara was their little hideout, untouched by the worlds impurities. A place where the grown-ups couldn't damage them, and bullies didn't have a chance of entering. It was the only place where Simon could see his little sister smiling instead of the usual frown that was perched upon her face. Amahara was more of a home to them than their own house.
That's why when Simon found this place on the island, he felt less lonely than the other boys. He thought of it as a way of Sierra telling him that there was hope and that he'd be safe.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis is shafika.
ReplyDelete"so bright they had deceived Ralph into thinking him delightfully gay and wicked." While Piggy has the glasses — one symbol of vision and truth — Simon has bright eyes, a symbol of another kind of vision and truth. Kind, peaceful, and mature. Although The first time we see Simon, he's fainting, and things go downhill from there, from passing out to throwing up to hallucinating to getting bloody noses, Simon is a walking mess. But he's anything but weak showing from his thoughtful personality later on.. How is this adaptation so possible for Simon? Well Simon came to this Island a mess and also came from chaos, and now from taking his discorded past and his surroundings, finally found the peace he needs to feed his peaceful soul, escaping to the isolated part of the jungle where Simon finally at peace from his entire life before.
Roger
ReplyDeletePicking on the littluns might have granted satisfaction to Roger, but it was no news for him to do something like this. Roger felt big and better when he makes the littluns feel small and useless. It wasn’t his fault, Roger believed so strongly. Maybe if three older brothers weren’t always making him feel so low, he wouldn’t have been so bad. It all began when his parents attempted to make each of their children,’ the perfect child’. The pressure from his parents and his brother often picking on him, made him lose control of himself. His brothers, would often throw things at him. They would make him feel useless and small. This is why, Roger decided to let all his inner struggles out on the littluns. Roger never felt belonged, he saw the way everyone wanted to go home. He knew that he wasn’t missed at all. In fact, his family probably never even noticed his absence.The island was the perfect place to show who really was better than everyone else. He wanted people to fear him like the way, he feared going home. He wanted to make other’s lives a miserable one just like his. In the book, it is mentioned, “Roger gathered a handful of stones and began to throw them.” (Chapter 4, page 78). This is similar to what his brothers would do to him. Roger was never allowed to do anything he wanted. This is why, Roger, in the book, had destroyed the sandcastles made by the littluns. The way Roger’s dreams were crushed, he wanted to do the same to the littluns. “Roger led the way straight through the castle, kicking them over, burying the flowers, scattering the chosen stones.” (Chapter 4, Page 76) Roger destroyed the sandcastles and added his touch to the destruction. This is exactly what had happened to him, his parents destroyed his dreams and controlled what he would do. - Hafsa
"'Sit down all of you. They raided us for fire. They're having fun. But the--'
ReplyDeleteRalph was puzzled by the shutter that flickered in his brain. There was something he wanted to say; then the shutter had come down." (Lord of the Flies, pg.156) Ralph sat amongst the others, searching his mind for what he was going to say. But what is there to say? he thought to himself, when the answer is clear? They're hunting, they're having fun, they have a fire...oh yes, fire! that's it!
His state of mind once again restored, Ralph turned to the boys again, prepared to speak.
'The fire! Yes, the fire! We need to get the fire...'
He trailed off, forgetting what the fire was for, thinking how easy it would be to simply join Jack and live a life of hunting and feasting.
Why do i do this? he thought suddenly, Why do I cling to decency, civility, rules and laws? The others have drifted off..why not me? Because, he told himself, I promised...I promised...
He remembered a time, a time that seemed as far back as if it was from another life. He had been laying in his bed, waiting for his mother to tuck him in. He had had a particularly bad day; that afternoon he had gone to the zoo and seen a tiger, hungry and malicious, hunting its prey. It had disturbed him so much that the only way he would feel better was the feel of his mother's kiss on his cheek. His mother walked in his room then, gently sitting at the end of his bed and leaning over to smooth his hair. 'Mother,' he had said quietly, 'Why are animals as vicious as they are?'
His mother had smiled, then said softly, 'Animals are wonderful creatures, Ralph, they're not vicious...but animals don't have the ability to reason. That's the difference between us and them. Humans have a mind that makes them conscious of respect, civility, compassion, decency...without this, Ralph, we are as good as animals. As a matter of fact, there are some men in this world right now that have lost these qualities and have started a horrible, savage war...' His mother had paused, then, and a queer look had fallen over her face.
'Promise me,' she had said suddenly, 'Promise me you will never let go of these things?'
Ralph, sleepy and happy now with his mother beside him, had yawned contentedly and snuggled close to her.
'I promise.'
Ralph was jolted back to the present by Piggy, who was shaking his shoulder.
'Ralph, Ralph, come on!'
Ralph looked up at Piggy and smiled.
'The fire,' he said, 'we need it for rescue.'
-DAANIYAH
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ReplyDeleteRalph made a step forward and Jack smacked Piggy's head. Piggy's glasses flew off and tinkled on the rocks. Piggy cried out in terror:
ReplyDelete“My specs! One side's broken.” (Chapter 4, pg 89)
Who is this vicious choir boy, and what caused him to act like this cold-blooded animal? Does he bully because he is jealous of someone, or does he want to seem cool? Well, the real reason is recalled by Jack as he and some of the biguns head off to search for the beast…
Jacks step-father arrives home late, and yet again wasted. He stumbled towards Jack and slammed his bottle of alcohol on the table.
“You…, you are the reason she’s dead,” he said sternly.
“You are the reason your mother is dead!” he repeated with anger fuming from his ears.
With the smell of alcohol lingering in the air, Jack got up and raced to his bedroom and hid in his closet. He could hear the creaking sound of his door followed by the rhythm of his step- fathers rusty boots as they thumped against the hard floor.
“Come on out Jack, there is nothing to be afraid of. I won’t whip you this time, I promise,” said his step-father.
Jack was brought back to reality by Ralph, who was trying to get his attention,
“Jack where is the spear?”
“Jack!”
We might see people to be mean, harsh, rude or selfish from the outside, but from deep down inside they might have been through the hardest time. Jack is an an evil, selfish, and a savage. Jack desires power above all other things. He is furious when he loses the election to Ralph and continually pushes the boundaries of his subordinate role in the group. A part in the novel lord of the flies that shows Jack as a disrespectful mean person is when the fire goes out of control, and Piggy is the first to notice. He says,
ReplyDelete"There ain't nothing we can do. We ought to be more careful. I'm scared....." (pg 45)
Jack yells back at him.
"You're always scared. Yah ---- Fatty!" (pg 45)
All we seem to see is the evil and “bad” Jack, but it’s the past of jack’s that reflects on him and makes him the way he is. As a young boy Jack had a very abusive father. When his grandfather passed away, he was 2 years old. His father did not care about Jack he would never be home to talk to him and raise him up. Jack would always be taken care of by the servants. When Jack’s father would return home he would beat him up because of his failure as a business man. His father was a brutally mean man and this made Jack be an evil person. Jack thought that the way to live in this world is to be mean and selfish. They way Jack found happiness was making others feel horrible. Therefore, this was why he made a mean comment towards Piggy and why he is a uncivilized and brutal person.- Laiba
ReplyDeleteNo one can control how they look. How your body looks isn't like deciding what you wear or what shade of makeup to put on for a day, it's something you were naturally born with, that you should be proud of no matter what other's say because god made your body the way he wanted it to be. Jack is really rude to piggy he doesn’t respect piggy because of the way he looks he’s fat and his name is piggy so everyone makes fun of him. In chapter two when the boys plan to light a fire. Jack takes piggy’s glasses off his face because piggy thinks the fire is a bad idea. Jack wants everything to be the way he wants it he doesn’t care if anyone disagrees with it. Jack went through a lot when he was young so he wants others to feel the same way because he doesn’t care if it’s going to hurt someone. Jack always insults Piggy "Yeah fatty" Even when Piggy is being the serious adult voice.
-Malika
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ReplyDeleteJACK
ReplyDeleteAs I walked through the forest forgetting about the fire, the urges were coming back to me, the urge to kill. As I clenched my fists and counted back from five, I reflected upon why I could never kill another human. I will never be a murderer like my father. I cannot, will not, follow in his footsteps. So I did what I always did when I had the desire to kill, I hunted. I felt at ease and my nerves had cooled down after
"I cut the pig’s throat” (Chp 4 Pg 69).
I was bringing the now dead pig back up the mountain.
"The gutted carcass of a pig swung from the stake, swinging heavily as the twins toiled over the uneven ground. The pig’s head hung down with gaping neck and seemed to search for something on the ground." (Chp 4 Pg 68).
On the way up the mountain the twins and I had chanted this the entire way there.
"Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood.” (Chp 4 Pg 69).
I really do like all of the youngsters including all the littluns. However, I feel as if I am growing weaker by day not physically but rather mentally, and one day I will break and on that day I will have to kill myself because if I don't, I might wind up killing someone I care about.
-MALAIKAAA
JACK
ReplyDelete"There was lashing of blood,' said Jack, laughing and shuddering, 'you should have seen it!" "Well go hunting every day-'
“-Why do you got to say that Jack!" Ralph shouted in an irritated and angered tone.
"You think it’s a sport huntin’ pigs! Were gonna run out of ’em sooner or later if you keep brutally killing ‘em!” Ralph shrieked, as he kicked the stone in front of him, allowing his anger to escape.
“We can do whatever we wanna do, you can’t stop us! Besides we are the hunters.” Jack lashed back bitterly, and ran before Ralph could think of words to say.
When Jack reached the dead forest, he forcefully stabbed his hunting spear at the nearest tree he met and began to circle it. Falling deep into his thoughts, as guilt slowly rose within his consciousness. Ralph reminded him of his mother and father. He recalled the times he would disobey his parents to the point his father would shout at him, and his mother would brutally punish him. Jack then remembered the times he would sneak out the window and cause chaos between neighbors, and if he spotted animals, he would hit rocks at them with his sling shot. Jack found it quite comical. He then recalled the day before his father left for the war, and overheard him talking to his mother about sending Jack to a boarding saint choir school. Jacks mother could not stand the thought of living with her wreck less, dishonorable son. She had enough of Jack, and he had enough of them all. No one understood him better than his twin sister, Marie, who had passed away the year before. Jack was treated harshly by everyone after her death. Jacks theory of everyone’s aversion towards him, was because it was his fault Marie had passed away. Before, when Marie was alive, Jack was a good brother and a behaved young boy. A tear started to trickle down Jacks eye, from being reminded of that dark time. He quickly wiped it, from the fear that the boys would see him. Jack remembered that day so clearly, when he, his mother and Marie went to the market, Marie’s eyes had caught the blueberries, she begged her mother to buy it for her, but she didn’t. They went home and Marie started to cry, as any nine year old would. Jack then went out and brought back a sack full of berries from the bush on the outskirts of the forest. He just wanted to see that glowing joyful smile on her face. The week after Marie was on her death bed fighting for her life, feeling remorse for consuming those berries in the first place.
-ROYA
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete"I wanted-to go to a place- a place i know."
ReplyDelete"He was taking a short." (Page 92)
Simon shut his eyes in silence..
the darkness was his escape from the harsh reality and the negativity going on in his life,The constant arguments in the background, in every step he takes around the house.
Simon was an only child, living with his father and stepmom.
The small moments with his lost mother, where what kept him positive. Her every word, her every action, was angelic to him.
"Be kind and caring for it will only bring good",his moms words would ring in his head. They would spend every moment they had, at the park.
The park was silent, no noise, no pollution, it was fresh and positive....
It was the only way for him to be himself, No matter what happened during the day, the silent park would drain his worries away slowly.
The dark jungle was the easiest way for him to forget the situation he and the kids were, it was the only way for him to keep his sanity..
He slowly opened his eyes, and smiled after remembering his moms sweet words and took a deep breath in.
Amina
Simon spoke aloud to the clearing.
ReplyDelete"What else is there to do?"
Nothing replied. Simon turned away from the open space and crawled through the creepers till he was in the dusk of the forest. He walked through the creepers till he was in the dusk of the forest. He walked drearily between the trunks,his face empty of expression, and the blood was dry round his mouth and chin. Only sometimes as he lifted the ropes of creeper aside and chose his directions from the trend of the land, he mouthed words that did not reach the air. (PG:146)
Even with great care the best he could do was a stagger.
"Bathing," said Ralph, "that's the only thing to do."
Piggy was inspecting the looming sky through his glass.
"I don'y even like them clouds. Remember how it rained just after we landed?"
"Going to rain again"
It was where talking about how Piggy was inspecting the clouds saying he doesn't like them, leaving her most of all showing how they had happiness and some madness through this and happiness but this specifically was trying to explain how Simon had a no expression on his face becuase he had blood on mouth and chin
Jack Merridew
ReplyDeleteWe always tend to judge others on the outside, but not realizing what happens inside, at home and what they have been going through in their lives. Compelling, rude, evil choir boy becomes a savage murderer and bully. Not so of a golden boy. It’s his earlier years that are affecting him to be the person he is today. Back at home, his parents treated him very harshly and weren’t the great role models of parents. They always rejected him and loved his little sister, and never gave him the attention he wanted. In the beginning of the novel Jack doesn’t get selected as chief, it affects him even more, because he is so used to being the choir boy leader and it really knocks his pride. Jack’s love of power and violence are warmly connected, as both allow him to feel powerful and noble. In chapter 4 when Piggy, complains about the hunters’ silliness, Jack slaps him hard, punches him and breaks his glasses. Jack taunts Piggy by mimicking his whining voice. Then Ralph and Jack have a heated conversation. At last, Jack admits his responsibility in the failure of the signal fire but never apologizes to Piggy. He is especially rude in the way he talks to Piggy as he is a weak character; he says this to make the others laugh, ‘You’re talking too much ... Shut up, Fatty!’ This shows how he only picks on the weak ones to make himself feel better and seen as braver than all the others. Also, he is proud of having slit the pig’s throat for the first time. He shakes at the thought of the blood, and yet it excites him, as he gets to take out his anger on it. ‘I cut the pig’s throat,’ said Jack proudly, and he organizes a dance and ceremonial chant to celebrate its death. Disregarding all the rules, because this is who his parents raised him to be.
Jack Merridew ( main antagonist)
ReplyDeleteJack spoke "Give me a drink."Henry brought him a shell and he drank, watching Piggy and Ralph over the jagged rim. Power lay in the brown swell of his forearms: authority sat on his shoulder and chattered in his ear like an ape. (9.52-54). Jack has been raised in a very violent environment starting from his parents. He watched them argue and fight ever since he was very young and since he was the only child in the house he had no siblings to interact with. His parents used to work all day long and when they would come home they would fight for the slightest reasons. During the 1900's women were not given as many rights as men were and so Jack's dad used his manly power to order Jack's mom. She wanted freedom of speech, she wanted to work outside and have the same share as Jack's father had but Jack's father was against such freedom given to women. Therefore, they used to argue and fight until his father was martyred in the war. He from then lived with his mother but his mother too did not give the love that Jack deserved as a child. He grew older with no love or compassion given towards him. He achieved the same violent characteristic as his father once had. We see in the jungle that he is eager all the time to gain power and rule others but no one knows what he faced before.
-Mariam M.F