Free Choice Reading

For Free choice reading, I chose The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I chose this book because it seemed interesting, and in 7th grade, I was considering reading it, but never did. I also chose to read this book because the movie was coming out and I wanted to see it, and I told myself I was going to read the book first.

Weekly Reading Response

Name: Sierra Stratton Date: 1-30-10

Book: The Lovely Bones

Author: Alice Sebold Pages 1-78

Total Pages This Week: 78

Question 1: What does this book make you wonder about? Why?

Response 1:

This book makes me wonder about heaven. It makes me wonder about heaven because in The Lovely Bones, it talks about a girl going to heaven, and she is saying what it's like. She said that everyones heaven is different, but you sometimes share certain parts of your heaven with other people.

What I really wonder is if thats true, even if it sounds weird, I do wonder if everyone has their own heavens, or even what heaven is like. This book also makes me wonder about how people can live with themselves after murdering a child. The man in this book that killed the girl (Susie) was pleased with himself after murdering her.

Question 2: What other character beside the main character is really important to the story? How and why?

Response 2:

One character in this book that is important (besides the main character) is Mr. Harvey. Mr. Harvey is very important because he was the murderer in the book, and he holds a lot of information.

He is also very smart, in a horrible way. He had murdered many people, Susie could tell. He planned out exactly when to kill her, right before it rained, so it would wash away most of the evidence. Also to get rid of the evidence, he put her in a bag, then put the bag in the safe, then put the safe in a sinkhole.

LOTF Chapter 12: Cry of the Hunters

Dear diary,

The first place I decided to hide was a meadow, it was nice and peaceful, but i felt some evil. I then noticed the pig's head. When I went up to castle rock to find them, they told me I should leave because it wasn't safe for me there. They told me that Jack and Roger were going to hunt for me. Their signal would be a ululation, and that's how I would know when they were coming. They also told me that he "Sharpened a stick at both ends". At first I was confused about what he meant, but then I remembered the pig's head on the stick, that spear was sharpened at both ends. One end was in the ground, and the other was the head. They gave me meat from their feast, then told me to go hide.

Sam and Eric were forced to join Jack's tribe. They didn't want to, but Jack made them. Roger was planning to make a cordon across the whole island until they found me. I then decided to hide in the thicket beneath castle rock.. I chose to hide there because they would never look to find me that close. The only people I told that I was hiding there was Sam and Eric. But, when Jack and Roger found out i was hiding there, they tried everything to diddle me out of the bush. They knew that when they pushed the boulder on Piggy, it bounced once on the thicket i was in. So, they started pushing big rocks off the cliff, to see if they would hit me. When they didn't hit me, they burned the bush. I ran out onto the beach, and i found something.

I looked up and saw a white drill and epaulettes, and I knew we were finally safe. We had been rescued. Jack appeared on the beach holding his knife and spear, and Percival tried to speak and tell the officer his name, but all he said was "I'm, I'm,". When the officer asked if there were any adults on the island and who was in charge, I told him I was. He was really disappointed in all of us, because he expected us to act better, and he was really upset that two people were murdered.

- Ralph

Chapter 11: Castle Rock

1. In the beginning of the chapter, Piggy tells Ralph to call a meeting with the conch. Ralph laughed truculently and refused to.

2. Piggy decides to go over to castle rock and ask politely for his glasses back. He is not going to force, but he knows that it would be the right thing to do for Jack to give him his glasses back, so he just lets him know that.

3. Ralph want to go over to castle rock looking proper. he wants to bathe, and comb his hair, and look like his group has order. Sam and Eric want to force it.

4. When the boys arrive at castle rock, Roger challenges them at the entry.

5. When Jack appears, he is carrying a headless sow; he just got back from hunting.

6. Ralph starts calling Jack a thief, and that starts a fight. All the boys then got delirious.

7. After the fight, Sam and Eric got forced to join Jacks tribe.

8. During Piggy's speech, Roger was throwing rocks and stones at him. There was some cessation, but then Piggy began to talk again.

9. The person I think is most responsible for Piggy's death is Roger. I think that because nobody ever told him to push the rock off the cliff, he just did it himself. And he was also throwing rocks and stones at Ralph, Sam, Eric, and Piggy. He also crushed the talisman, the conch shell, while killing Piggy with the rock.

Chapter 10: The Shell and the Glasses

Dear journal,

I'm looking over Ralph and Piggy, they are talking about my death. Piggy thinks it was an accident. Ralph thinks it was murder. They weren't included in it, they were just watching, they were afraid. It was mostly Jack and the hunters, because they thought I was the beast. Piggy also thinks it is my fault. He says I'm batty, me running out of the forrest like I did. They are all like savages, they should have been calm, instead of wild. They didn't even stop to see who it was who was running out of the forrest. They just had such an urge to kill, they went ahead and attacked me.

I was also listening to Jack, and he made some new rules. He also tied Wilfred up. And his group and hunters think the beast was in disguise as me. Thats why they attacked me. They also raided Ralph and Piggy's camp. They had paint on their faces, and spears, and they stole Piggy's glasses. There was a big fight, lots of kicking and hitting and yelling. It was all so violent.

They needed his glasses to make fire, and Ralph knows that they should have just asked, and they would have given them the glasses. Ralph now thinks Jack is a thief. Ralph wants order, so he just wants to go over to castle rock and ask politely to get Piggy's glasses back. But Sam and Eric want to force them to give them back.

-Simon, from above.

Chapter 4: Painted Faces and Long Hair

1. What things are you having trouble adjusting to on the island that are different from your life at home in England?

Some things that we are having trouble with on the island are:

Being nice to each other

All helping out on the island

We really need help on these, because if we wont be rescued soon, we all need to get along. And if not everyone helps, then nothing will get done.

2. How do you feel about the littluns?

I understand that the little kids want to play, eat, and have fun, but I also think that they should focus on the more important things, first. We should all be helping to hunt, and build shelter.

3. What do they do with their time?

Instead of helping, the little kids just hang around, and play, eat, and bathe.

4. Why do you all paint your faces?

We paint our faces and bodies, so that the pigs cannot smell us or see us when we are hunting them.

5. What does this foreshadow?

I think that people on the island will start painting their faces just to look wild, and not just for the real meaning of it.

6. How do you feel when your face is painted?

When my face is painted, I feel powerful, and kind of wild.

7. Why doesn’t the passing ship see you on the island?

The ship doesn’t see us, because our fire went out, so there was no smoke signals.

8. Why was the fire allowed to go out?

The fire went out because jack and the hunters left it alone. They needed to get the people that were usually in charge of the fire, so they would have enough people to make the ring. The ring was used to surround the pig, then get closer and closer ‘till they can stab it. We all got meat that night, but Jack was being so rude and cruel to Piggy. He did not give him any meat, and he was yelling at him.

The overall mood on the island is kind of wild, and out of control. People are being mean to other people, and there has been some fighting.

Chapter 3: Huts on the Beach

Lord of the Flies

Chapter 3: Huts on the Beach

Working hard

Perspective: Piggy

Dear Diary,

I am a bit concerned about the jobs of the boys. Well, I am the person who looks over the littleuns. Which is very important, because we don’t want any kids running off, and maybe having the same thing done to them that was done to the boy with the mark. Simon and Ralph, make the shelter, the huts. I think that job is important too, because then we all have a safe place to sleep, and the little boys won’t be so scared. Jack, is the hunter. When I was sitting, watching the little boys play, I heard Jack yelling about his days vicissitudes to poor Ralph. And Jack hasn’t even caught any meat yet!

I do not think that all the jobs are being carried out, because while Ralph and Simon are building the huts and working hard, all the kids are playing, bathing, and eating. I think that everyone should be helping right now. Simon, he is young, but he still works. He is small, with black hair around his face. He also is known for fainting. He’s one of Jack’s choir boys.

If we don’t get rescued soon, then we may die on the island. Jack is supposed to be providing the meat, but he can’t catch any! And all the boys need to start working on the shelters, and maybe gather more fruits. Everyone on the island should be working in some way.

I wish to get rescued soon

Almost all the boys are mean to me

I just want to go back to auntie

And be at home

--Piggy