Name:_______________________________________________________ Date:____________________________ Period:______

Lord of the Flies Dialectical Journal: Chaos & Leadership

For this activity, you will write a dialectical journal using quotations from William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. In the first column, read over the
quote/provide a quote that shows a character creating chaos or demonstrating strong leadership skills. In the second column, explain your
initial reaction to the quote. In the third column, make a connection to the quote. In the last column, explain the significance of the quote.

Quotations I have found Thoughts, reactions, and/or Where else have you seen this Why does this behavior matter?
significant. questions. behavior? (Think: TV, books,
real-world events, personal
experiences, etc.)

EXAMPLE: Piggy confronts
Ralph about revealing what he
used to be called at school,
which was supposed to stay
secret. “‘Better Piggy than
Fatty,’ [Ralph] said at last, with
the directness of genuine
leadership, ‘and anyway, I’m
sorry if you feel like that. Now
go back, Piggy, and take
names’” (Golding 25).
This part made me ANGRY.
Ralph’s “apology” shows that he
does not take accountability or
feel remorse for his actions. He
should have said, “I’m sorry I
made you feel that way.” Also,
Ralph continues calling him
Piggy rather than asking for his
real name! The disrespect is
mind-boggling. I know Ralph is
only 12, but he should feel worse
about what he did to Piggy.
This name-calling feels familiar
for two reasons. First, I
remember when a friend called
me “Toad” repeatedly in the
second grade. She knew this
nickname hurt my feelings, but
she kept saying it until I told my
teacher. Second, I think of the
time one of my friends
confronted me about leaving her
out of things. I did not want to
accept responsibility for doing
this to her even though I knew I
was hurting her feelings. I made
other excuses to put the blame
back on her, which I now know
was really lame.
As the boys adjust to life on the
island, they need a leader who
promotes unity by modeling how
to treat others with respect. This
moment hurts and isolates Piggy,
and instead of taking
accountability and trying to make
things right when confronted
about it, Ralph takes the
cowardly route and further insults
Piggy. Although Ralph is said to
speak with “genuine leadership,”
his apology shows him to be
weak and unfair, which does not
establish a strong foundation for
their newfound community on the
island.
 Name:_______________________________________________________ Date:____________________________ Period:______
Quotations I have found
significant.
While hunting with the other
boys, Jack “began to dance and
his laughter became a
bloodthirsty snarling. He
capered toward Bill, and the
mask was a thing on its own,
behind which Jack hid,
liberated from shame and
self-consciousness” (Golding
64).
Your leadership OR chaos quote:
Thoughts, reactions, and/or
questions.
This quote shows how inhumane we
can be when we are liberated from
all sorts of shame and
self-consciousness. It is genuinely
scary how rude and barbaric humans more barbaric. This can cause
can be.
Where else have you seen this Why does this behavior matter
behavior? (Think: TV, books,
real-world events, personal
experiences, etc.)
I have seen this behavior before on
the internet. People on the internet
are anonymous and that creates a
feeling of safety, this safety
indirectly causes people to become
people to say incredibly mean and
disgusting things.
Name:_______________________________________________________ Date:____________________________ Period:______