Lord of the Flies - Written Tasks 3&4

The Purpose:

This task will assess:

· Your ability to grab the attention of the reader through creating tension in the build up to action;

· Your ability to use the way you describe this build up 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:

Unlike the first written task this task can be set at any point in the novel just before an important event takes place. The event can be one that happens in the book, e.g. the killing of Simon, the lighting of the fire, the killing of a pig, or it can be a completely new event that you have invented that fits with the rest of the events that happened on the island. The task is broken down into two parts.

For Task 3 you must:

· Write a 500 word description of your character in the moments, minutes or perhaps hours before an important event takes place

· Focus on delaying the real action and building up tension as the audience anticipate / worry about / are uncertain about or afraid of what is about to happen. No real action is allowed to happen, however you may spend time describing the way your character’s body feels as it is tensed waiting for action, you may again have flashbacks or interior monologues where the character argues with themselves over the best course of action to take;

· Try to create an impression about your character through the way they describe the build up to the event: are they intoxicated by the power of being able to kill a pig for the first time, feeling intense pressure to take part in the wild dance’s around the fire, bitter and angry and at a person they are just about to have revenge upon, etc …

· Write in 1^st person

· The piece must end as the action starts, for example the moment you throw your spear at the pig then the stor must end. The point of this task is to focus on the build up to the spear throwing.

For Task 4 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 …’