Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Help, help. Our plane has crashed!

What is your initial reaction to Lord of the Flies? What do you expect will happen to the characters you've been introduced to? Ralph, Piggy, Simon, Jack? As you read, consider what each character could represent.

49 comments:

Michael's Blog said...

Michael Nelson

My initial reaction was that it seems like it will make for an interesting read but at the moment it's just okay. I think Ralph is going to try become a better leader and will if he shows some act of wisdom or knowledge to the group. I think Piggy is just going to snap and cut himself away from the group. I think Simon is going to go to his den one night and get eaten by the snake thing. Last I think Jack is going to go insane over trying to catch a pig.

kelseyw said...
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ellyf said...

My initial reaction to Lord of the Flies is that this book is so far so good. The author really makes you think and that I really like. He just doesn't give you the answers, but makes you imagine and take a guess on what's going on. I think that Ralph will get off the island because he is just so geared towards that and he really wants to get off. He seems so determined. Piggy I think will commit suicide, becuase he is just always left out and told what to do. He also might just go crazy and kill some people. I think that Simon will get lost on the island and will never be found again. I think that Jack will find his pig and kill it. He won't get off the island though, becuase he doesn't really care about doing that.

shannenr said...
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shannenr said...

initially, the story seemed discriptive, but empty. nothing had happened yet, besides the actuall crash... it started out slow but i like it more now. Ralph, is a leader who slowing starts questioning his leadership. he said he wants to let jack be cheif but he knows Jack will abuse the power. I think he will pull through and will learn to be the best he csn be. Piggy,does not appear to be very opptimistic. nobody really wants him around. i worry they will team up againts him and that he could be exiled... Simon, seems like the quite one.you always need to look out for them. since he passed out when we first met him, i take that as a sign, i hope is still healthy and ok. Jack, is the big man on campus. he hunts and is fierce. i think he is obsessive, and that could be bad. he wants to be chief, and he just might get it if he trys...

MelissaC said...

My first reaction to Lord of the Flies was not impressive. So far it has not been very intriguing, but hopefully it will get much more exciting in the chapters to come :)

To my expectation, I think Ralph will grow as a leader and start pushing the boys. He represents the leader of them all and that keeps them hopeful. I think Piggy will continue to pout about everything. He will be the one that will keep the boys cautious. I believe after awhile, Jack will finally kill a pig, and then he will become more comfortable with it, that they will get a lot of meat! This will keep the group enthusiastic and more alive. Simon is very hard to read, however. I think (like we discussed in class) he is more thoughtful and has more emotions than just being like all the other boys. I predict he will be the one to save the majority of the group from the "beastie" and get them off the island.

I sure hope this book will get more exciting!

anishp said...

My first reaction to Lord of the Flies was that it was a really unusual novel about little boys stranded on an island. I didn't really thing that the story was very intense after I had read the first few chapters. I think that Ralph is a true, hard core leader. He hasn't really demonstrated his leadership in a strong way since he is just doing his own things and not keeping the group focused. His main job should be to lead the group the right direction and make them focus more so that they can find a way out of the island. Jack, on the other hand, is a resemblance to the the leader of the hunters and Jack is responsible for supplying the boys with meat. I think he will eventually find meat to satisfy himself, and he will play a role in keeping the boys healthy and persistent. Simon, meanwhile, is more sensitive in a feminine type of way. He is isolated from most of the boys and this implys that he likes to not share his feelings with others. He could possibly resemble the unexpected hero who actually gets the boys off the island since he is emotional in the way that he could calm himself down on his own in order to find a solution. Piggy, I think, is going to die. He is going to play a crucial part in their escape and I think he will sacrifice himself in order for the boy's safety. He resembles the tragic hero (sort of).

Thomas L. said...

My initial reaction is "Whoa, this book is about boys trapped on a deserted island with no supervision, this might be kind of interesting." Any book that starts out on a deserted island usually lures the reader into keep reading just to see what happens because you're always wondering if they're ever going to be rescued. I have an odd feeling that one of these characters will die considering the circumstances and one will get injured. But I'm almost positive Ralph will survive. Jack is sort of the hunter... he feels a lot of peer pressure when it comes to actually killing the animals and I'm almost positive that eventually... he'll burst.

BlakeS said...

My initial reaction was that this is not very exciting. I mean, all they’ve done is elect a leader, build a fire, and disagree in what I’ve read, but im sure things are gonna pick up soon. Things are not looking up for piggy. he is going to keep being un-included and such and eventually crack. Jack is first going to go crazy about not being able to kill a pig, but once he gets triggered to actually kill, he is going to go overboard with slaughtering, until they have way more food than necessary, so it spoils, or the pig population on the island runs out altogether. I think simon is evil and will try to take over command, but then retreat into his lair when the other kids come after him. Ralph needs to realize that a ship will not be close enough while searching for them for some time, so he should work on other things besides always having rescue on his mind.

SophiaA said...

My initital reaction to Lord of the Flies is that the concept of the book is much like many other books and that it isn't too exciting yet. I predict that Ralph will grow to realize he is a little bit too controlling as a leader and that not everything has to be his way. From this, I think Ralph will grow to become a better leader. Although Piggy proved some good points about the boys setting their priorities straight, I think he will continue to just follow the group and not take much part of anything. He always seems to whine about everything and instead of that, he should just take action. Simon seems like the quite type and seems to be more sensitive and emotional than the other boys. I think he will come out of his shell and play a big role in helping the boys get off the island. Last, I think Jack will become too obsessed with killing the pig. He will not notice other things that are going on and, therefor, he may not contribute much to helping the boys get off the island.

Alex K said...

My initial reaction to lord of the flies was that it wouldn't be a good book, but now it has been getting steadily getting better. my thought is that Ralph's idea of "Law and order" is going to crumbel, but ralph will be presistant in trying to get it to work.I think piggy is going to get extriemly mad and end up breaking somebodys nose. I think simon is going to be in the woods one night and see the beastie. he will come back to camp and tell everyone but will not be belived. then when he next goes into the woods he is going to get eaten. Fillaly i think jack is going to get greedy and try to take all of the power for himself. and in the process of trying to stop him the littluns will hurt him. I also think jack will end up getting the group saved.

jordanp said...

My reaction to the beggining of Lord of the Flies was that it was kind of boring, hopefully it will get better and Ralph will actually deserve being leader for a reason other than for holding the conch when the voting took place.I think that since Jack and Ralph can't agree on the priority they will eventually split up. I don't really get Simon, what is his little hide out theing, what does it have to do with the plot. I wonder if another ship will go by before they get rescued. One last thing I've been wondering about is why it's called Lord of the Flies. Have they even mentioned flies in the story or is it some kind of a metaphor and I wonder why Piggy is on the cover.

jordanp said...
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jordanp said...
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Thomasm said...

Overall my reaction thus far to Lord of the Flies is neutral, neither awestruck or devastated. I think that Ralph will grow as a individual and leader and will give the boys even more hope. Piggy on the other hand i predict will die in the near future as that would allow all reason and caution to slip away and that the reminder of home and human behavior standards will fall away as well. This will cause the boys to split causing savages in their subtle human nature. I think Simon will grow and control his seizures while slowly tricking people into underestimating him. I think that Jack will slowly forget human responsibility and begin to hone in on one purpose, to kill a pig. Meanwhile he will gather all the choir to help catch a pig and will make the dreadful mistake of letting the fire go out which will cause a chance of rescue to be missed. This may result in the splitting of the boys as Jack and Ralph battle for leadership and come to hate each other even more.

Thomas Monnet

BronsonD said...

As of the end of chapter five the book is moving rather slowly. there is talk of "a beast" but they haven't shown anything about it, except I have suspiscions that if there is one it's human. Jack finally did catch a pig and him and all his hunters went absolutley insane.... I find Jack to be very pompous and self-rightous while holding in all his self shame. Palph is trying to be a good leader but feels like he's sort of failing and Jack says he doesn't do anything which really isn't true. Piggy, well he honestly annoys me but isn't all that bad and has some okay ideas. Simon is currently a bit of an enigma and isn't doing a lot.

KyleC said...

My initial response to Lord of the Flies was trying to keep up with it. It kind of jumped around without describing much at first. Now it has gotten better at describing things by giving the reader details that make reading a book easier. I think that Ralph will become someone that thinks that the world kind of revolves around them. I think he will develop that type of attitude as he’s trying to become a better leader. I think that Piggy is going to just go off on his own and get away from the group because no one treats him fair. I think that Simon is going to stay loyal to Ralph no matter what and do whatever Ralph says. Lastly I think that Jack is going to become so obsessed about killing a pig that he will end up going by himself into the woods to try to kill a pig. By doing this I believe that he will get lost and die.

kylees said...

My initial reaction to this book is not very positive. I'm not quite sure where the author is going with the story yet. I hope it will soon get more exciting.

I think that Ralph is a natural born leader and that will be his role throughout the book.

I think Piggy's reasoning will keep all the boys using their heads kind of like what Melissa said.

Simon seems like the thoughtful one of the group who will have more of a role established for him later on in the book.

I think Jack has kind of a big head. He is obsessed with killing a pig which could be because he wants the attention and glory of being the one to get the group some meat.

Anonymous said...

My initial reaction was that it was a bit boring. I couldn’t really see where it was going. it's not bad but i think it could get more interesting. I think Ralph will become a really good leader, but he’s going to have to also think about things other than getting of the island. If they don’t get rescued they’re going to need some long term survival plans. Though I think Ralph will probably get off the island, mostly because he wants to so badly. piggy is not going to be able to take it and split off from the group and try this whole surviving thing on his own. every one else won't really care because he's not contributing anything major to the group. with Simon i can't really figure him out. i think he's either going to wander off and get lost or hurt, or he's going to make a major discovery. Jack will continue to grow more obsessed over the pig and will put every thing towards killing it. The obsessivenesses of Jack, and his ego, is kind of scary because if he wants something I don't think he will stop until he gets it, no matter what happens or what he has to do. I think Jack is going to use piggy to get what he wants.

JillianG said...

I thoguht it started in with no lead up at all. I didn't like that. I would have prefered to start on the plane, read about it crashing, THEN read at where the book started. As of now the book is sort of dragging on. I want to know more about Piggy and Ralph and their relationship. I'm waiting for the chaos promised on the back of the book to start.

CourtneyA said...

My initial reaction to Lord of the Flies was it dragged on. It started out that it either gave too many details or too little. When a book starts out I prefer to have more background information. In a way a wish that William Golding had started the book out on the plane or had flashbacks to the past when the boys were at school. I wish I knew what the boys thought of each other (or someone like them, because they are all not in the same grade) at school.
I am not quite sure what will happen to Ralph. I predict that he will either stay chief to protect what little organization they have and try to make sure no one gets hurt (like Piggy) or he will step down, because he will not be able to take it anymore. It may become too much.
If he does step down, I am pretty sure that Jack will become chief and if he does, everything will crumble. Jack, in a way, is still acting like being stranded on an island is a game. He is also obsessed with killing the pig. He is a big “hunter”. It seems to me that he is not even interested getting off the island.
I think that Piggy will get hurt by someone or he will become an outcast. I don’t think that his future is bright.
I am not sure what will happen to Simon. To me, his character is the hardest one to read.

ruthp2012 said...
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ruthp2012 said...

My initial reaction wasn't devastation, but interest in finding out what was going on and what was going to happen. I think that Ralph will really become a leader even more. I feel that Jack is jealous in some ways of Ralph ever since Ralph was chosen as the leader. I think that Jack will have a confrontation with Ralph. Piggy has been picked on and bullied at school and he is holding in a lot of hatred towards all of the kids, especially Jack and Ralph. I think he will do something horrible to Ralph and Jack. Simon is kind of Ralph and Jack’s helper and I think he will give Ralph and Jack information about how the other kids are feeling.

Jacob WR said...

My initial reaction is one of curiosity- what is The Beast? Is it even real? What of the rivalry between Jack and Ralph? I don't know what will become of this.
Ralph is definitely going to try to become a better leader and increase their chances of getting home, whereas Jack will succumb to primal urges and try to lead the group on regular pig-hunting expeditions, neglecting to try to lead them home. All this conflicting with Ralph, of course. Perhaps there will be a conflict between the two.

Piggy is going to follow Ralph no matter what- Ralph is the only one Piggy can trust, at least, even though Ralph isn't particularly nice to him.
Simon is probably going to stay on his own, though i don't know what will happen to him while alone on the island. He will be part of a group, at least, but won't be very active in participation. He likes to be on his own, it seems.

alexj said...

My initial reaction to Lord of the Flies was that it seemed that it would turn out to be a funny and great book. In the beginning it was a little strange but I definitely believe that I will thoroughly enjoy this read. I think that Piggy will get fed up with Ralph treating him less than dirt and avoid him. Then Ralph will come to his senses and start treating him as a friend. Simon will remain a mystery to the others and Jack will remain a hesitant hunter and a rude kid to Piggy.

tim2012 said...

My first thoughts on Lord of the Flies is that the story line is somewhat far-fetched, not because they are trapped on an island, but because they are all boys between the ages of about 5 and 13. The odds of crash landing on an island alone are farfetched, but then all of the survivors being young boys are just too much. Other than that, I thought the story line is pretty accurate because I would try to set up some order if I was trapped on an island. I think that in the end, Piggy will for some reason turn evil and try to fight back at the kids who are picking on him, but I think that Ralph, Piggy, Simon, Jack will all survive. Ralph represents the president, or leader of this group. I think that Piggy is like a policeman who no one respects. Simon and Jack represent the working class.

michelles said...

My initial reaction to this book was kinda like "Oh wow, this is just awesome." In other words, it was kinda really boring. It's starting to get a little bit more interesting, but I'm hoping that it will draw me in more and make me want to keep reading.
I really think that Ralph will start becoming more of a leader, and becoming stronger not only physically, but mentally as well. I think the idea of being a leader will start making him feel like a big brother to all of the boys, and he'll really start caring about and protecting them all.
As for Piggy, I don't really know what to think. He will probably still be grumpy about everything as the story prgresses, but I guess we'll see. :]

katief said...

My initial reaction to Lord Of The Flies, was one of shock. It's hard for me to imagine living like that and I think it can only get worse. I predict that by the end of the book, the boys government will be more of a hirearchy than a democracy. By the end, the bigger, stronger boys like Jack and Ralph, will rule over the littler ones. This is how I predict this book and it's characters will end up.

HunterK said...

My reaction to this book is still undecisive. I am not sure if I will enjoy it or not. As far as characters I believe that Ralph will grow as an individual as well as a leader and become the most mature and adult kid of all the boys. I think Piggy will fall out of friendship with Ralph and become more independant and away from the group. Simon will be the most helpful to Ralph but then die, and Jack will be caught in a power struggle with Ralph and will obsess oveer catching a pig.

AaronF said...

The plane crash is similar to Hatchet in the since that the bots are stranded. So my initial reaction is that this book will be similar to Hatchet in the fact the boys will try to survive till rescue. The other reaction that this book gave me that there will be a conflict between Ralph and Jack in the since that Jack wants to be chief but he is not. I think Jack is going to try and take full control over the group with little care on whether or not he leaves the island. Ralph I think is the one person who is the most concerned over leaving the island so he will try to keep the group together and find ways to signal rescuers. Piggy I think will become the brains of the group and help Ralph keep the group together and be Ralph’s right hand man. Simon is sitting on the middle of the fence right now but is going to have to choose between Ralph of Jack. Jack represents freedom and wild. Ralph represents rescue and civilization. Piggy represents helping hand who will help Ralph, and Simon represents the moderator who is going to stay out of it, the innocent bystander.

crastrelli said...

At first, I felt that the book was strange, and hard to understand. However, now that I've gotten farther in, i really enjoy it, although is still is strange, but it has a good and unique plot. I am pretty far in the book, so I know what happens to most of the chracters. Some I expected, and presumed, but others, totally surprised me. overall, I think it's a pretty good book

emmaw said...

My initial reaction to Lord of the Flies has not been that great, i love to read and so far this book has not intrigued me at all. I just finished another book calledGone that has to do with teens and children 15 and under alone with out adults, and compared to that book Lord of the Flies seems extremely outdated, and rather silly and undescriptive. Maybe that book has just skewed my opinion on Lord of the Flies, but over all I am not intrigued.
I think that the characters will make their attempt at a civilized life, but never really succeed in getting the group of boys organized. Ralph is making a good attempt at leading but doesn't really understand how to get everything in order. I am unsure about Piggy and Simon and how they are gonna act in the long run on the island. Jack by far would be the one boy on the island i would fear of doing something irrational or dangerous, his mental state already seems on the edge.

emmaw said...
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Paulh said...

At the start it goes slowly but it gets more exciting as the book goes on. Ralph represents their hope to escape, because of his idea to build the signal fire. Piggy is their connection to civilization with his intellect. Simon is the kid that is always helping but nobody notices what is going on in his life. Jack is their wild and passionate side. He symbolizes our thinking of only the present and not the future. I expect the more innocent characters, like Piggy and Simon, to die or get lost on the island. While the leaders, Jack and Ralph, survive and get off the island.

Ally C said...
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Ally C said...

My initial reaction to Lord of the Flies was that the book was very slow to start and the author's descriptions were sometimes hard to follow. I think that Ralph does have a lot of influence over the boys on the island, but he doesn’t always think before he makes his choices. Maybe that will cost him? I think if Piggy were just to insist that they do the things he knows is best, others would listen to him and they would lead a more organized life on the island. Jack, in my opinion, lets too small of things affect him. If he were able to just control his temper sometimes, a lot of conflict may be avoided. I think that Simon, although he may seem quite and sweet on the outside, will come into play later in the story and have a huge influence on all of the boys on the island.

EvanS said...

Lord of the Flies is a very slow moving book but at the end of chapter 5 it starts to progress a little faster. Ralph has potential to be a very good leader but Jack seems to be trying to take over Ralph's authority. Jack finally catches a pig and he and the hunters go balistic over killing the pig. Simon never tells anybody about his secret spot surrounded by bushes and this might get him killed because if there actually is a "beast" it will most likely go after whoever is alone. I think Piggy is going to rejected by all of the rest of the boys because they all want to do what they want and Piggy keeps trying to tell them what to do. In the end, I think Piggy will become an enemy of the boys.

margoC said...

My initial reaction to LOF was that it seems like a complex book with an interesting story line and that it would hopefully make a good read. I think that Ralph is going to become a better leader. At the moment, he is being a little too controlling and he will soon realize this and start to show new attributes to the group. I think that Piggy is going to grow out of being the little whiny boy and grow into being one of the leaders that is well respected. I think that Simon will snap out of being overly shy and come up with some good ideas about getting off the island. I think that Jack is going to keep focusing on the pig and will crash down and more and more people will stop respecting him.

margoC said...
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paigel said...

When I first began Lord of the Flies I felt somewhat confused about a few things that had occured. First of all some of the language used in this book will take some getting used to because it is from an English point of view. Also, what is a beastie? Are the boys just imagining it? Throughout the story I think the characters will significantly change from who they are at the beginning. For example, I think Piggy may become a leader later on because the other boys may realize he tends to think things through more than Ralph or Jack. I also think that the boys will come across many more problems as they try to survive and get rescued.

mollyo said...

My initial reaction to Lord of the Flies was that it had the potential to be an interesting book but it wasnt reaching its potential. It has a great story line, a group of private school boys get trapped on a deserted island with no adults, but the first few chapters were a little slow and monotonous. I feel that as time progresses some of the kids on the island will become ill or maybe even die. As the days go on with Ralph as the leader, i think that he will become a little over-confident about his position and let it go to his head. Because of this i think that the kids will stop following his directions and listening to him. I predict that Piggy, since he is already and outcast, will eventually go off on the island by himself. I think that Simon is going to become sort of a leader within the group. He is more sensative and will listen to what the kids are trying to tell him, and for that reason, more kids will look up to him. I think Jack is just going to go crazy about kiling a pig that he wil eventually hurt himself in the process.

jonathank said...

Initially, this book merely seemed a narrative of what untamed and ungoverned and unprincipled humanity is like. But the more I read, the more I saw an underlining theme-domination. Everyone in this book is looking to dominate others or even, out of fear, to be subject to others' domination. Ralph immediately dominates Piggy by making his worst fears realized. Right away, Piggy is exposed as a dominated one, a weakling. Then, when Jack and Ralph meet there's a power struggle but the group chooses Ralph to be dominant. Throughout the book, again and again, these kids are seeking to dominate. This book was written in a time of war. Perhaps this is Golding's way of painting war for what it really is-a bunch of kids stranded on an island seeking domination.

Anonymous said...

My initial reaction to Lord of the Flies is that it will have lots of sybolism and large scale metaphors. I think I will enjoy the book if I understand the metaphors and don't just take what is happening at face value. I expect that as the book develops Ralph and Piggy will not get along with Jack and his followers such as Roger. I think Piggy's ideas will continued to be ignored and that he will also be picked on more and more. Ralph will continue to be leader for a while but I think that Jack will try to take over eventually. In my opinion Ralph and Piggy represent civilization and the desire for progress within the community. I think that Jack represents primial instincts and basic human savergry. All he wants to do is hunt and be a savage. Simon is the middle ground between these two opposite ends of the spectrum. He is at one with nature and is also a peacemaker. Some other symbols of the book are Piggy's glasses and the fire. Piggy's glasses represent technology which is what Ralph is all about; progressing the community. The fire is the childrens bond to civilization. As long as it is still burning they are still somewhat civilizied. If it goes out though I think they will become savages.

emmal said...
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emmal said...

My initial reaction to Lord of the Flies was that it seems like an interesting and easy read, though it would not be my first choice of free time reading. I think Ralph will be respected by all the boys in the beginning, because they all have the same drive for being rescued. But I think as the story goes on, some of the other boys will give up trying being rescued and break off into a separate group. I think Jack is very bitter towards Ralph that he is not chief, but he still respects Ralph in some way. Thats why they have a love/hate relationship. I mean, he can sing a C sharp, whats better and more manly than that? I think Jack will be the one to separate and create his own group that deeply hates Ralph's group. I think they will turn it savages. I think Piggy will eventually form a relationship with Ralph where Ralph respects him for his clear view on how their government should be run and how they will be rescued. I am not sure how Simon will turn out, since he is so quiet and mysterious.

emeraldo said...

I won't lie, initially i am pretty bored with this book. I don't know what it is about it, I guess I don't feel for the characters enough. At this point I could care less if they live or die. I suppose it is getting more interesting as it goes along, but still not enough to make me really want to keep going. As for my predictions for characters, I kind of don't think Jack is gonna make it. He seems like he is more interested in having an adventure than getting rescued as he showed at the part when they missed the ship because of his hunting trip. I think Ralph and Simon will both stay alive, they seem to be smart enough to focus on important things, instead of meat, meat, meat. At this point I'm not sure if the boys will mostly go with Jack or if they will want to stay with ralph being the leader. And as for Piggy i don't really know. Maybe he will just start doing his own thing since no one seems to want him to be a part of the group. i think i'll just have to wait and see for him.

JackW said...

My initial reaction to the book is a pretty positive one. The author's descriptions make it easy for the reader to "see" everything that is happening on the island. I think further in the book Ralph and Jack will continue to have conflict which could have a devastating impact on the rest of the boys. I think Piggy will continue to try to get his opinion out but no one will listen. Simon will make some discovery that will prove to be significant for the survival of the boys.

connors said...

After reading the first few chapters of the book, I am not very excited about it. The story-line was interesting, but it hasn't gotten anywhere. I think Ralph will continue to be the leader, even though the boys do not understand the severity of the situation like he does.I believe Piggy will soon die because of his lack of self-confidence. Simon will be important, I think he will allow others all the fame for things he might have done. Jack will become enthralled by catching the pig and it will consume. He will loose focus and forget his other duties.

Elaine's Blog said...

My initial reaction to Lord of the Flies was that the book was going to be an interesting read. I suspect that Ralph will try to be a better leader, but will fail in the beginning. Piggy is a boy of the wise, yet always picked on for being so rotund. Also, the picture of the glasses on some covers of the book may represent that Piggy's glasses are broken somehow, possibly a fight with Jack considering both dislike each other. Simon is different from the rest of the boys and that difference might lead him into dark waters. Jack is jealous of Ralphs's "power" as leader of the group and might try to take away that "power" and create his own tribe. Also, Jack is going insane about eating and killing pig because he always wants meat... In the end, I think that Jack and Ralph will land on the same page about what to do with the beast. Both characters are deathly afraid of the beast and it will be interesting to find out how they acutally take care of that buisness to not only defend themselves, but to help others on the island.