1. Critical Lens Literature Review
Period Two

2. Lord of the Flies, William Golding
Characters: Roger, Jack (antagonist), Ralph (protagonist), Piggy and Simon (die)
Imagery: death of Piggy/Simon, lord of the flies, hunting
Setting: WWII (evacuated from England), plane crashes on a deserted island
Conflict (external): boys vs. beast, Ralph vs. Jack, boys vs. each other, savagery vs. civilization, Piggy vs. boys who pick on him
Symbolism
Pig’s head—savagery
The Beast—evils in society--fear
Fire—civilization/hope
Piggy’s death—death of knowledge
Conch--democracy
Glasses—knowledge

3. “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell
Plot: Hunting other humans (smartest, can fight back)
Imagery: Depiction of the setting (the island, jungle/trap), hiding in the tree, the sounds, the dogs
Characterization: General Zaroff hunts humans— he’s crazy, trophy room, fancy vocabulary, Ivan (the guard), Rainsford (protagonist)
Conflict (external): Zaroff vs. the huntees, Zaroff vs. Rainsford
Conflict (internal): Rainsford versus his idea of hunting (trying to stay calm and sane)

4. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Plot: Tom Robinson is accused of rape by a white woman (Mayellen Ewell), defended by Atticus Finch
Boo Radley (neighbor who never comes out of his house, but saves the kids from Bob Ewell), Scout (narrator), Jem (brother), Dill (friend)
Setting: Great Depression, Alabama
Conflict (external): Atticus vs. the town, Tom vs. the town (racism)
Conflict (internal conflict): Atticus vs. decision

5. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
Lenny (big and slow) and George (hard-working, Lenny’s best friend, ranchhand, intelligent)
Curly (egotistical, angry, a jerk) and Curly’s wife (flirtatious, loves the attention)
Foreshadowing: Lenny accidentally kills the puppy, Lenny touches the girl’s dress
Setting: California, the Great Depression
Lenny and George run away from Curly, George kills Lenny in order to protect him (he dies happy, thinking about their dream of the ranch)

6. Night, by Elie Wiesel Memoir about the Holocaust Symbolism:
Night/darkness: a world full of horror, a world without a benevolent God
Fire: the power of the Nazis
Imagery: desperation/survival—ugly truth about humanity
Theme:
Don’t give up hope, even in the face of unspeakable horrors.
Family means everything; even in the face of death, family can help you survive.

7. Animal Farm, George Orwell
Allegory: seems to be about life on a farm, but is really about politics
The animals represent significant political figures (Stalin [corrupt, exploitive leadership], Lenin/Marx [source of the ideals that Stalin corrupted], Trotsky [the idealist], Molotov [propaganda])
Theme:
The working class must be aware of what their leaders tell them.
Power can corrupt anyone.
Society tends to divide itself into social classes.