Lord of the Flies - Written Tasks 1&2

 

 

The Purpose:

This task will assess:

·         Your ability to grab the attention of the reader through detailed descriptive writing rather than through dialogue and action;

·         Your ability to use the way you describe the world to tell us something about the character you have created;

·         Your ability to use a wide range of vocabulary, sentence structures, paragraph structures and other literary features in order to create an effect;

·         Your ability to analyse and explain your own work.

 

 

Your Task:

The task is set right at the beginning of the novel. It is the morning after the plane crash and your character is currently lying unconscious on the beach / in the jungle / in the wreckage of the plane. The task starts as the character comes back to consciousness and describes their first impressions of the island. The task is broken down into two parts.

 

For Task 1 you must:

·         Write a 500 word description of your character waking up and seeing the island for the first time;

·         Focus on describing the world around you. No real action is allowed to happen, however you may spend time describing the process of coming back to consciousness and also you may have flashbacks to the plane crash or other periods of your past;

·         Try to create an impression about your character through the way they describe the world: are they excited to be free, scared of being away from home, terrified of the jungle, hungry, thirsty, etc …

·         Write in 3rd person

·         Only one minute’s worth of time is allowed to elapse between the start and end of the piece;

·         The piece must end with the sound of the conch being heard for the first time, although you do not know what it is yet.

 

For Task 2 you must:

·         Write a 500 word analysis of task 1a) where you explain the effect you tried to create on the reader and the different literary devices you used to do this;

·         Quote yourself as you would do if you were writing a poetry analysis essay;

·         Use sentences like ‘I tried to create the impression of … by …’ or ‘By using alliteration here I wanted to …’