Chapter 11-- Climax and Catharsis

1. Chapter 11--Climax and Catharsis Objective: To determine what makes a story “climactic” and to observe how an author may allow their characters to evolve via those characters’ cathartic experiences.

2. discussion/ACTIVITY • Terminology • Climax: The dramatic “high point” of the story in which the protagonist confronts the story’s conflict. • Catharsis: The purging of negative emotions or relieving of emotional tensions through action. For instance, a man who has lost the use of his legs as a result of another man’s drunk driving might undergo catharsis by going to prison and forgiving that man. Similarly, a woman whose husband has left her for another man might write a poem about her experience to allow her to identify and confront the emotions that are making her feel so miserable.

3. Activity • Discuss the following: in what way(s) do the characters of Ralph, Piggy, and Jack experience “catharsis” in this chapter? Observe especially their actions on the following pages when answering this question: • Page 171 (Piggy) • Page 179 (Ralph) • Page 181 (Jack)

4. Discussion Questions: • P. 179: How/why does Ralph’s cursing and charging of Jack represent the novel’s climax (i.e.: what does their “battle” represent, symbolically)? Also, why is this type of climax “necessary”? Could Ralph have confronted Jack in another, less violent manner? Why/why not? • P. 180: Piggy never physically threatened Jack or his hunters, yet he is still killed for saying “Which is better—to be a pack of painted Indians like you are, or to be sensible like Ralph is?” and so on. How was Piggy threatening the hunters in this sense/why is he killed? Also, given that Piggy symbolizes the superego and that the conch symbolizes civilization, what does the destruction of both mean for all of the other boys on the island?

5. HOMEWORK • Essay: imagine that you are Ralph and that you have been rescued: compose a short essay, story, or poem that would allow you to purge your emotions surrounding your negative experiences on the island. In constructing your writing, make sure to say what your emotions were at the time (either explicitly or subtly [i.e.: if, in a poem, you were describing the fear you experienced while you were being hunted, you might call that fear an “icy knife against my spine”]) and how they affected you. • Read Lord of the Flies, Chapter 12 and finish study guide