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Post by Mr. Malloy on Apr 9, 2020 20:35:16 GMT
Today's discussion we're looking at the significance of names, both in Lord of the Flies, and in our everyday lives.
Names can indicate quite a bit about a character. In the case of Lord of the Flies, the character’s names indicate much about their personalities and their nature.
Take a look at the following characters and the meaning of their names; what could they possibly foreshadow?
*Ralph -- derived from the Anglo-Saxon language, meaning “to counsel” *Jack -- Hebrew in origin, meaning “one who supplants,” i.e. supersede or replace *Piggy -- nickname… any other significance behind pigs? *Simon -- Hebrew, meaning “listener” *Roger -- Germanic in origin, meaning “spear”
For today’s prompt, please respond to two parts (2 paragraphs total):
A.) What is the significance of YOUR name? Why did your parents choose YOUR name? Any idea what your name means? Do you like your name? Why or why not? If you were born the opposite sex, what would your name have been?
B.) The boys on the island all symbolize humankind, stranded on the island space that is earth. Take one (1) of the characters from the novel and describe the type of individual or group of people in society that this character symbolizes. What is the statement that Golding is making about human nature through this character? Explain.
HW: Read Chapter 10!!!
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Post by Megan Jaco on Apr 10, 2020 13:42:01 GMT
a. My parents wanted me to have my own first name so I was not named Megan after any one, they just liked it. My middle name, Ingrid, is Dutch and was one of my parent's best friends while they lived in the Netherlands. Both my parents and my Aunt claim to have named me entirely. Megan - derived from the Anglo-Saxon language, meaning “strong, capable”, Ingrid - in Old Morse means "beautiful", and then Jaco means drug. My name means strong beautiful drug. I like my name, it's unique enough that there aren't many of them in the school, but not so unique that subs can't pronounce it. If I was born a boy, my parents told be they would have named me Dominic.
b. Piggy represents the brains and common sense in the group. Golding shows us that we hardly ever listen to our common sense when our lives are in danger, even if that is crucial to survival. Piggy is almost always ignored and told to shut up so that the older boys can speak, and probably go off doing something that almost kills one of them. Jack is the character who represents recklessness and brutality so when he has left the group, Piggy is finally allowed to say that they could build a fire right there on the beach as a signal instead of giving up hope on the one on the mountain. This shocks everyone so hard because no one had thought of that while the wild and ruthless side of them was exposed.
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Post by Wyatt Waldyke on Apr 10, 2020 14:08:36 GMT
A.) My name is Wyatt it was originally from the famous western cowboy 'Wyatt Earp' though my name was not supposed to be as such, up until my birthday my name was going to be jack, however my father decided that Wyatt fitted better. Also Wyatt means guide, wood, and wide. I used to dislike my name for some unknown name however I have grown to like it more and now I don't think about it much, considering it means wood I would consider myself to like the name more because I do much work with wood and I like to work with my hands so that could have something to do with guiding. B.) For this question I will use piggy, in the book piggy is not a highly desired figure most people don't like him and he is made fun of a lot. Today in society people are stiff necked they do not like to here someone say that they are wrong this is shown in Golding's words he shows how the boys want to do hunting and not set up a shelter, this is because the boys chose to see how hunting will benefit them in the present but when the storm hits they wish they had shelters, with this example we see that people will do what they see beneficial to themselves in the present they do not plan forward and look to see that something may be more beneficial. Though piggy is definable as the smartest in the group it doesn't matter because all the other boys don't listen therefore piggy's impact is only as a figure to be made fun of and for the boys to harass. By this piggy's figure is deemed almost irrelevant as the smart person of the group. The name Piggy somewhat reflects this the connotation with a pig is stupid, messy, loud, and fat. Pigs in actuality are very smart creatures no matter how they are viewed by society, the same is true with piggy the boy, he is considered messy and fat when in reality he is very helpful to all the others if they would just listen.
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Post by Luke Brunner on Apr 10, 2020 14:40:45 GMT
A) My name is Luke, which does not have any significance relating to a big figure or family name of anything. I have not really talked to my parents, but one time they told me they were either going to name me Joe or Joey or Luke. They ended up with Luke. According to a google search, Luke means light giving, which has no relevance to our family that I know of, so I think they just liked the name. I like my name except I am not great at pronouncing it clearly, so people often think my name is Duke. If I was a girl, I don't remember if they told me what they would name me. B) Piggy is a clear figure in today's world as we see in all the time. Piggy is the smartest one in the group, but people do not like him and he is not very good at defending himself so he gets bullied a lot. We hear this all the time when people are bullying the "nerdy" kid, just because they don't like them, and they are easy to bully, and someone tells the bullies, "your gonna end up working for them one day." This is related to piggy because Piggy is seen as useless and irrelevant to the group by the boys, but the name Piggy clearly relates to pigs, which in fact are decently smart creatures though they do not appear so. The statement the author is making is that despite the way people look, it does not mean that they are not smart or don't have anything meaningful to add.
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Post by Shaye Ridley on Apr 10, 2020 14:50:02 GMT
In Gaelic, my name means admirable and in Irish my name means courteous. My parents chose my name because my mom knew someone from work named Shae and she really liked the name, so both my parents thought it was pretty and unique and went with my last name. When I was in elementary school I didn't like that my name was so different than everyone else's, but now I love my name and how rare it is. If I was born a guy, my name would be Sean (my brother's name is Sean).
Jack is a very strong character and like his name suggests, he does supersede Ralph's rule. In society, I think Jack could represent a dictator or the evil in a person. During his time on the island, he gives in to the savagery and starts dehumanizing himself. So, Jack could represent the evil and savagery of human nature. Jack's desire to rule could also represent the dictators in society because later in the book the boys get scared of him and choose to follow him because they are afraid, like dictators today.
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Post by Rhylee Jensen on Apr 10, 2020 14:51:54 GMT
A.) My parents were in a bookstore looking at books and they saw the name Rhylee, they both loved the name, and they knew that, boy or girl, Rhylee would've been my name. My parents also told me, they added an "H" to my name to add more elegance and feminism to the name. Rhylee comes from two different origins. In Old English, Rhylee is from the word rith, meaning "a small stream, a rivulet", and from the Irish meaning "courageous". I love my name. As far as I am aware, no other Rhylee, spells my name like mine. I feel like it is very unique. If I were born a boy, my parents would have named me Rhylee, just spelled different.
B.) In the novel, Ralph and Piggy were the first to find each other. Piggy was the one to use his head, and think before his actions. He is still like this. Golding represents Piggy as having shrewdness, meaning good judgement, therefore Golding shows the readers that we don't always have the right judgement when in survival situations. In the novel, Piggy is always told to hush up, and is never listened to, but most of the time, he has the right judgement on the obstacle that lies ahead. For example, it was Piggy's idea to build the fire on the beach, and it was a very good idea.
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Post by Zoe Newman on Apr 10, 2020 14:56:05 GMT
1.) My name is derived from the Greek language, and means life. That is why it has the accent with the two dots over the e. The name itself means life, and my middle name Mei means beautiful. So my name means beautiful life. I kind of like my name, I just find that it is pretty common around the world. 2.) The Little'uns represents the innocents. They are the youngest and the most impressionable in society. However they are also capable of being swept up into the blood bath. They were born without any inherent evil, but society has molded the way that they do things. The way that they look at situations, their nature has changed from innocent and helpless to blood thirsty and dangerous. Representing the innocent in society. They are the bystanders until they aren't they are impressionable and changed easily.
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Post by Peyton Jenkins on Apr 10, 2020 15:19:47 GMT
I don't think that my parents chose my name for any particular reason other than them liking the name. The Old English meaning of 'Peyton' is Pœga's town or fighting mans estate, but I don't see those meanings relating to me. I like my name.
Piggy is the underdog in society and his voice isn't usually heard. He is not a dominant part of the pack and so, despite his bright ideas, he doesn't always make an impact. His name symbolizes a couple different things. Piggy not only represents his weight, and disrespect towards him, but pigs are notoriously intelligent. Golding is saying that the intelligent don't typically gain dominance in a pack, but rather the more physically strong. Piggy is very helpful and desirable, and yet underappreciated.
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Post by Leigh Schmidt on Apr 10, 2020 15:21:24 GMT
My first name, Leigh, doesn’t really have a significance. My parents just liked it and didn’t want to give me a family name. In Old English, it means meadow or clearing. My middle name, Katherine, is my mother’s name, and it was her aunt’s name. My last name, Schmidt, is basically the most common German name ever. I like my name because it’s sort of unusual and it has a cool spelling. It’s also funny when people who don’t know me try to pronounce my name or spell it. “Leigh” is a more common name in England, where it is usually a boy’s name. My parents couldn’t decide on any names for me if I were a boy. They each had a name that they wanted, but they both really disliked each other’s choices. My mom wanted to name me Eddie and my dad wanted Lionel.
Piggy, even though it is a mean nickname given to this character by Ralph, has some meaning beyond what Ralph intended with it. Pigs are known to be very smart animals even though they don’t look like they would be. Piggy is the same - he’s very smart and he thinks through every situation, but he isn’t very athletic or physically able to do very much. His character symbolizes people who know what they’re doing but aren’t listened to. Usually these people’s suggestions would require most other people to put some effort into something that they wouldn’t otherwise do. A current example of this is the role of scientists in the climate crisis. Scientists have been saying for decades that we need to stop fossil fuel use and use renewable energy and fuel, but people just ignore it because the climate crisis doesn’t affect them in their daily lives and it would take some amount of effort for them to make the necessary changes. Through Piggy, Golding is trying to show that most people don’t listen to the people who are making the right decisions - and it usually backfires. For example, Piggy and Ralph say at the beginning that the most important thing is the fire and that they have to keep it going no matter what. The rest of the boys let it go out, and then a ship comes by and doesn’t notice the island. If the boys had listened to Piggy and Ralph, they could have been rescued before anyone was killed.
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Post by Molly St. George on Apr 10, 2020 15:30:30 GMT
a) My full name is Madigan Olivia St. George, but my nickname is Molly. Madigan is my mother's maiden name and is connected to the Scottish Clan Gunn. Gunn roughly translates to "the descendant of the son of the hound." Olivia is also Gaelic but is more often said to be derived from the Latin word oliva which means "olive." My parents chose Molly as my nickname for a few reasons. We already had a Maddie in the family and they simply liked the name. Their reasoning is that M is my first initial and O is my second and so the natural conclusion is Molly (I wouldn't have thought of that, but I do like my name). Molly has origins in both Hebrew and Gaelic. The Irish derivation means "of the sea" or "star of the sea." The Hebrew name means wished for child, rebellion, or bitter. My last name, St. George is predominantly English. It is the name of a saint or, alternately, a knight who is said to have slain a dragon to save a princess. I like my name. I find that it suits me. It's unique and holds meaning, especially my first name. If I had been born a male, my parents would have named me Eoin (It's the Gaelic spelling of Owen. There's no chance of escaping the Irish/Scottish names for me). b) Ralph, whose name, fittingly, means "to counsel" represents a democratic society or a group in which one has the freedom to speak and members vote. Ralph's connection to democracy is seen early on when he is voted chief by the other boys. Throughout the story, he remains an advocate for equality both in work and play, for working for the greater good, and for making decisions, in some way or another, by a counsel. Through Ralph, Golding is making a statement about the contrast between humans who, by nature, tend toward equality and justice and those who do not.
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Post by Maya Laws on Apr 10, 2020 15:35:36 GMT
For my first name, my parents just liked it. My mom wanted to name me Isabel or Kaitlyn and my dad wanted to name me Asia. When I was born they finally agreed on Maya. In Nepalese my name means love and is Persian it means generous. If I was a boy they would have maned me Adam. My middle name Sarah was named after my great grandmother whose middle name was Sarah as well.
In LOTF, Piggy represents the character who is very smart and kind, but he is often left out. Piggy is one of the first characters we meet and he has a lot of great ideas, but from the start he is often bullied because of his weight. Golding is showing that humans have a lot of good qualities but many people are not nice to each other
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Post by Phillip Truong on Apr 10, 2020 15:55:18 GMT
1) From what know about my name, Phillip means ¨lover of horses¨ and was the name of one of the 12 Disciples. The second reason is why my parents gave me this name. Personally, I neither like nor dislike my name, cuz it's just a simple word that is used as the base for defining my existence. 2) Ralph represents the government and all of its flaws. As the story progresses, we see Ralph´s legitimacy weaken and decay to the point where his insight on matters no longer matters to the other boys. Due to this, it seems like Golding is saying that it´s human nature to disobey political establishments without any sort of legitimacy with Ralph´s character.
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Post by Audra Snyder on Apr 10, 2020 16:03:48 GMT
A. When my parents worked for the state department, they met a young lady who was super kind and thoughtful named Audra. My parents agreed that if they had a baby girl, they would name her Audra like their state department friend. My parents never really thought of a boys name for me, and I was born a girl, so I was given the name Audra. Audra, derived from French and Old English, means nobility and strength. My middle name Nicole, also named after a family friend from the state department, means "people of victory" in Greek. My last name is Dutch and it means "tailor". I love my name because it is unique, you do not often meet an Audra, and I love the meanings that my entire name carries!
B. I think the character Jack represents the power-hungry people in society and even in places of power like government seats. On the island, Jack likes to be in control of the situation. Jack took the loss to Ralph in the "elections" very hard, and later went on to create his own tribe where the members had no choice but to listen to him. This parallel can be drawn in society as well. Power hungry people typically do not like it when someone else has their power or control, and will do whatever they can to take it back. When Jack lost the election, he took back control by creating his own tribe where he is the leader, and there is no more elections where people can overthrow him. The statement Golding is making about human nature through the character of Jack is the selfish and power hungry nature any normal person could fall into. Jack in the story is only a young boy at twelve, and he is already expressing adult tendencies to want control over a situation to make it benefit themselves. Jack only creates his own tribe so he can ensure things will operate the way he wants them to, with no one else to disagree with him. Golding shows through Jack that anybody could be like this, and that the selfish power is something that people in general want to have.
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Post by Campbell Preston on Apr 10, 2020 16:07:40 GMT
1) I was named after the newscaster Campbell Brown, and when my parents were watching her, they thought it was a cool name for a girl. Because of my more masculine first name, they wanted more feminine middle name, landing on Elise. Originally my parents were deciding between Campbell and Clara but they chose Campbell when I was born. In French, my name means beautiful field, but it Scottish, my name means crooked mouth. I like my name, but on attendance sheets and such I am often mistaken for a male, or people think that my last name is Campbell and my first name is Preston. If I were a boy, my name would've been Oliver, which I also like. 2) In this novel, Piggy's name holds a very large significance. The boys originally called him Piggy because of his size, but throughout the novel it evolves to mean more including fearful and weak. In reality, Piggy is one of the smartest and most logical boys on the island, but because he doesn't have the same drive, power, and force that Jack and Ralph do, he is ridiculed, and his ideas vastly ignored. In society, he represents minority groups, people who are different than the leaders by lacking power and force, so they are oppressed and ignored. Through this character, Golding is displaying society's affinity for quieting those with good ideas, because they are perceived as weak or unimportant.
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Post by Dreu Charles on Apr 10, 2020 16:08:14 GMT
A. My name really has no significance what so ever. My parents always liked the name Drew but me being female, my parents wanted to distinguish my name from the male version, recognizable by the w. So, they spelled it with a u instead to differ my name from the common, typically male, spelling. Given the odd spelling of my name google searching doe shot help to assist in deriving any sort of meaning from my name but I don’t really care. If I were born of the opposite sex my parents would have named me Drew with a w, so not much of a change. B. Piggy’s name is obviously a symbol of his dislike by the group as well as a dis to his weight. But, Golding makes another parallel by distinguishing Piggy as the nick name which is that pigs have a reputation of being deceivingly smart. We’ve seen pigs take on authority figures by using their intelligence in other books, such as animal farm, but in this book Piggy’s smarts did not earn his a leadership role in the group. From this fact one can come to the conclusion that amongst the group of boys, the leaders are the ones who appear physically to tougher rather then smarter which may get them into trouble.
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