Women and Men Characterization in Cry, the Beloved Country

in cry the beloved country, menare characterized as important, and kind of grouped. the author makes it seem like the most importance a woman can have (in the story) is prostitution or selling liqour. Like his sister Gertrude, who did nothing but brought shame to their family. The lady who serves the men tea atthe shop is also a good example, because it shows how the author characterized the women as seen and not heard. everyone in the story knows that it's bad that they separate whites from blacks in Johannesburg, but no one seems tomake a point that nobody treats the women as though they are important, which is also a form of segregation. up to chapter 8 in the book, the women aren't important characters at all. the most important one is Gertrude, who is only important because of the shame she brought on the family. thd only thing the other women do is cater to the men, or do typical jobs such as watching the childreen or serving the men.

Cry, the Beloved Country (tabs)

the first tab i did on chapter one was for setting. I chose this because chapter one is mainly description of what africa looks like. i chose the paragraph that starts with "the grass is rich and matted, you cannot see the soil" because i thought that paragraph was rich in literary elements (33). The second tab i did was also for setting in chapter one. i tabbed the passage that starts with "the great red hills stand desolate, and the earth has torn away like flesh" (34). I liked the authors similie about the earth. for chapter 2, i tabbed the arguement between umfundisi and his wife as characterization. i did this because umfundisi is first angry, then calms down which shows he is very patient and calm. Same with his wife. I also tabbed the last little paragraph in chapter 2 as narration. i did this because even though the paragraph doesn't have much to do with the chapter, the narrator feels it's important. For chapter 3, i tabbed the description of Johannesburg as setting. I liked the authors description that weaved into the main characters thoughts. i also tabbed the end of chapter 3 of plot and structure. i tabbed this because the passage "Already the knees are weak in a man whos moment since had shown his little vanity" foreshadowed trouble for him coming into the city (44). i tabbed the last paragraph of chapter 4 as narrative. i chose tthis because the author describes the train as a toy train, or how he sees it. my last tab was on page 47 as characterization. when the narrator is describing the main characters fear of going to he city, it shows the character is sensitive and didn't gro up in a very rich or possibly educated place.

Lord of The Flies theme and How the Author Conveys It

9/20/10

The theme i feel is conveyed most in the Lord of The Flies is the theme 'Mankind cannot survive on one kind of intelligence'. This theme is mainly focused on the ideas of Ralph, Piggy, and Jack, and how they all have different ideas on survival. Piggy is more street smart where as ralph is book smart. Jack only focuses on the aspect of finding food to survive.

One way Golding conveys this theme is when Jack first breaks off to start his own tribe. At first, he thinks, for survivals sake, it would be best to spend all the time hunting pigs on the island. without the help of Ralph and Piggy's ideas he soon realizes he needs them, and thats when he decides to steal Piggy's glasses. It shows the conflict in not working in a group effort when in a situation like that. If Jack would've stayed with Piggy and Ralph Simon and Piggy wouldn't have been killed in a panic.

Another way Golding conveys this is when Piggy dies along with the conch. When Piggy dies, Ralph begins to realize just how much Piggy's advice was helping, and how putting their ideas together would've been alot easier than arguing. i dont exactly think the characters could've done anything to prevent the ideas from spiraling out of control, because they did try to put them all in effect. When Ralph is running from the man hunt he has to rely on his own ideas ithout Piggy. An example is when he is deciding whether or not to hide in the tree. Having two intelligences in that situation would've made it easier for Ralph to stay alive, especially if they weren't rescued.

Lord of The Flies With Girls

9/13/10

If Golding had chosen to include girls in the story as well as boys, the whole plot of the story would've been different. He would've had to make decisions based on the emotional effects of having a girl on the island and would have to find ways to make it realistic and comfortable for the reader. The characters also would've survived longer, because having girls around would mean less violence, and i think Golding really wanted to incorperate violence into the story to show the threats of isolation.

Golding would've also had to decide what kind of effects the girls wouldve had on the boys, such as arguments of survival or friendships. If there wee girls on the island, i dont think Jack would've had such the urge to kill since boys have a natural protective instinct over women. Golding would've had a completelydifferent plot, and the book wouldn't attract the group of readers he was hoping for.

Paragraphs on decisions of Lord of The Flies

One of the decision Golding makes while writing the first page is describing Piggy in a way that tells the reader Piggy is very careful and hinks before he acts. He does this by describing the way Piggy dusts himself off after climbing through the jungle. I think he does this because he wats to show the reader tha Piggy is a careful person and thinks before he acts. This could also be an example of foreshadowing that Piggy will be useful later on the island.


One of the other decisions Golding makes is descibing the color and powerful cry of the red and yellow bird. The bird comes a surprise for Ralph, so in a way it might tell the reader that some unexpected events will happen later in the story. The colors of the bird could also be a sybol for fire, and foreshadow that something is going to happen later on with fire. After reading the book, the reader may think back and realize that the cry of the bird could represent Simon's cries as he dies.