For unit 2, our class read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie. We read this book because it has been banned in American schools for religion, sexual content, and the use of racial slurs. Our class also chose independent reading books that have been banned/censored, to support the theme of this project. I chose Lord of The Flies and it has been banned from schools all over the nation.
For this action project, we were instructed to make a podcast with one of the leading characters and interviewing them about their dogmas. I chose Ralph because he showed really strong leadership qualities and the need for maturity and guidance. His dogmas were trying to get the group of boys to act civilized and follow his rules. Along with believing in following the rules, he also knew that when people are left to their own devices they revert to savagery, and that the leader doesn’t necessarily need to be the strongest person but, the smartest. Below you will see the podcast and the script for the interview, enjoy!
It was 1942 and the world was in the midst of a World War. A group of young boys (ages 6-12) were being evacuated from their homes in England, via airplane. A devastating crash killed all of the adult pilots, leaving the children alone and stranded on an island, somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.
When the boys first gathered together on the island, they had to figure out how to take care of themselves without any adults around (which didn’t go so well). As they tested their freedom, their choices most often reflected their age levels and them satisfying their desires of the moment, without thinking through consequences.
As their imaginations grew larger, so did their “imaginary” fear of a beast on the island. This threw everybody into a larger survival mode and episodes of irrational thinking. As they fought for survival, their choices began to show the lengths they would go to protect themselves, even from each other.
The focus of today’s interview is on the boy’s leader, Ralph. We’re following his story and his experiences he had to endure. This journey begins with us back on the island that Ralph was rescued from so many years ago. We came back to this specific spot so that we were able to get the full experience of Ralph’s triggered memories; Times that were especially difficult to think about.
Opening sounds
(Plane flying and crashing sound effect)
(Fades into seagulls and ocean)
MM: What are you thinking about Ralph?
Ralph: I don’t know … just being back here, it’s bringing up a lot of memories.
MM: Do you think about it often? (pause) (Ralph sighs)
Ralph: I don’t think there’s a day that goes by that it’s not on my mind.
MM: Have you seen any of those boys since you were rescued?
Ralph (laughs a little - sad laugh): No … It was best for us to be apart.
MM: Why is that?
Ralph: It was hard because what we all did, what we turned into - or what others turned into - really caused a lot of trauma for all of us so we decided it was best for us to not see each other to prevent any negative rehashing. I remember saying to my self, “They were savages, it was true, but they were human” ().
MM: Yea, that makes sense.
MM: How did you react when you realized you were stranded and there were no adults on the island?
Ralph: I reacted in the way I think most 12-year-old boys would act at that moment, I was excited. I was with Piggy at the time and I was just ecstatic, running around doing handstands, swimming in the water, and playing in the sand. Normal things a kid would do when they have no one to be scolded by.
MM: What was the process of being chosen as the leader of the group and was there anything going through your mind?
Ralph: The boys chose me because I was the one that most resembled an authority figure. My belief was that we should remain civilized and maintain a decent amount of rules. One day we were all discussing how it was important to keep our fire going to be able to get rescued. I was also trying to set some ground rules and I said, “We’ve got to have special people for looking after the fire. Any day there may be a ship out there … and if we have a signal going they’ll come and take us off. And another thing. We ought to have more rules. Where the conch is, that’s a meeting. The same up here as down there” (52).
MM: Who was your ally from the beginning?
Ralph: Probably looking back on it, my main ally was Piggy. I often get sad when I think about how I used to treat him.
MM: When did you first realize things weren’t going the way you planned?
Ralph: One thing that was the turning point was when the younger children imagined that there was a beast on the island, so everyone started being afraid for their survival. It made them want to pick on the weaker ones even more because they didn’t want to be reminded of their own weakness and vulnerability. That’s when things turned lethal.
MM: When did the group of boys start to turn against you?
Ralph: Unfortunately that was my fault. It was one day where I said that even Jack would be afraid of the beast which made him very upset. He tried to have me removed as leader and steal some of the boys that were on my side (which he succeeded at). I remember saying, “The thing is - fear can’t hurt you any more than a dream” (111). I was trying to convince the boys that the beast wasn’t real or a threat, because it had them so dependent on Jack, which brought out the savagery in them.
MM: I know this part is hard to talk about, but can you explain how the deaths happened?
Ralph: There were three very impactful deaths, the little boy with the mulberry birthmark, Simon, and Piggy. The little boy was killed in the big fire that was out-of-control, Simon was killed when all of us let our excitement and fear get the best of us, and Piggy was flat out murdered.
MM: Finally, talk about the day of the rescue, how did you get discovered on the island?
Ralph: That day was definitely very chaotic. There was a lot of fighting that day and sadly, towards the end, my dear friend Piggy was killed. Luckily, however, there was a fire that broke out that caught the attention of a nearby ship and they came to save us.
MM: Thank you, Ralph, for coming out and letting me interview you!
Ralph: No problem, thank you for having me!
Citations:
Bloom, Harold, and William Golding. William Golding's Lord of the Flies. Faber and Faber, 1954.
Plane sound effect:
Ocean sound effect:
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