Think you have a better idea of how to end Lord of the Flies than William Golding?
Leave a comment with your alternate ending or an epilogue (a brief description of what happens to the characters after the ending of the book--you can imagine them right after they get back to "civilization" or years later... up to you!).
Have fun!
Alternate Ending (not that it's better- just a different possibility):
ReplyDeleteWhen the boys are hunting Ralph, Jack and Ralph suddenly come face to face. They both freeze up- they aren't sure exactly what to do. Ralph suddenly begins to run for his life. Jack gives chase but trips and falls. The fire catches up to him and is about to engulf him. He can't get up, and he cries out to Ralph. Ralph has literally a second to decide before Jack is killed. Ultimatly, he decides to save him, thinking about the deaths of Simon and Piggy and the skull with the six-foot grin. He will not let evil win out this time, and he pulls Jack from the fire. Jack is now in a very awkward position. He must have some scrap of civilization in him yet, though, because he calls off the hunt. With a warning to Ralph to stay away from his tribe, he retreats back to Castle Rock. Ralph returns to the beach, powerless to stop the raging fire and overwhelmed by the events of the past few days. Then (much too conveniently), the rain comes back, peaceful this time but heavy all the same, and puts out the fire. This is how it ends, with Ralph living alone on the beach and Jack and his tribe on the other side of the island.
Alternate Ending(from the bottom of page 199):
ReplyDeleteThe savages were gaining on him. Ralph could hear the ululation that spread across the island. Suddenly, the forest in front of him burst into flames and he swerved to the left, and came face to face with a savage. Ralph spun around and ran, crashing through the forest even faster than before. The fire was now on his left, and the heat was scorching his skin. He burst out of the forest and onto the beach. Standing on the beach and glaring into Ralph's eyes was a savage with a painted face. The rest of the savages burst out onto the beach as the rest of the forest catches fire and they wait to see what the one with the painted face will do. Unexpectedly, a spear is hurled from behind Ralph and it pierces the savage with the painted face right in the throat. Ralph turns around and is stabbed with another spear from the same savage. "Roger. Why?" Ralph says in agony and crumples onto the warm sand. Roger claims the role of chief and the shocked savages follow obediently back to castle rock. The day turns to night and the fire still burns. The squeals of pigs could be heard from all over the island and the birds cry out and fly away. Slowly, the fire burns out and is left charred and black. As the tide rises, phosphorescent creatures come with the water and the two floating bodies are surrounded with these creatures. Slowly, Ralph and Jacks bodies float out to the open sea.
Epilogue of the alternate ending:
The sand around castle rock is littered with dead bodies. The savages that once lived here had starved to death. The fire that had ravaged the forest had eliminated their chance of survival. The fruit trees had been scorched, the stream had been evaporated, and the pigs had been kill and all that was left was their bones. And of all the bones that were left, the grin of the skull was now even wider.
Who wrote this? If you want to get credit for this, you need to make sure you put your first name, last initial on the post. Thanks!
DeleteSorry, that was mine (Jordan Chan 8C).
DeleteJordan Chan 8C
Thanks!
DeleteEpilogue:
ReplyDelete20 years later...
Most of the littuns have committed suicide because of the trauma they had been through. Best of all though is that Jack and Roger who ended up with a life sentence in jail. Now you will find out why in a couple seconds but now we will have to backtrack. When the boys finally back to England the government had them start therapy lessons. Ralph's sessions would have to wait because when he got back to England he lost the ability to speak for all that happened. It came back about a year later but it had never been the same. During the therapy one day Ralph told the therapist that Jack killed Simon and Roger killed piggy. When this slipped out the therapist set up some special sessions to make sure Jack and Roger were alright. Let's put it this way they are never allowed in the same room with each other ever again and the specialist will be released from the hospital in the next month or two. Anyway it was decided that Roger and Jack were not safe. Ralph was put in a special security system the government set up to make sure he would stay safe. Samneric were also were put with Ralph to secure their safety. Most of the littluns came out ok because they were a bit to young to remember every graphic detail like the other ones. The one thing they did remember is the power Jack had so everday for the next 50 years until Jack died they visted him in jail everyday except for sundays inwhich they prayed they would step foot on the island every again. Other then that everything went back to normal. It all ended though when England was bombed by the Chinese where everyone died.
~ Eva Jacobs ~
Page 200
ReplyDelete2nd Paragraph
Revised ending.
Ralph stumbled over a root and the cry that pursued him rose even higher. He saw a shelter burst into flames and the fire flapped at his right shoulder and there was a glitter of water. Then he was down, rolling over and over in the warm sand, crouching with arm to ward off, trying to cry for mercy.
He staggered to his feet tensed with more terrors, and looked up at a flat Red’s cap. The fur covered garment sat upon the head of a man whose face was whiter than the sand that covered Ralph’s unclothed body. The mans hands collapsed firmly around the butt end of his sidearm. He drew out the small firearm and put it up the young boys forehead.
The cry of the savage swept closer to Ralph’s location on the beach. The man quickly but so carefully swept the barrel away from the Ralph’s face and there was a blast of a cannon that skimmed past Ralph’s ear and went directly into the chest of a running savage. The cries were halted. There was no longer any sound that overwhelmed the sound of the restless sea or the sound of crackling burnt leaves. Ralph turned to see the savage who was now quite, hushed by the bullet in his heart. The boy had a head covered in red hair. His body was clothed only by the paint that he had worn since the first feast and the remains or a black cap on his head. One more savage, this one hair black as the paint that masked his face, came rushing out of the forest. Another cannon boomed behind Ralph. Without a sound the savage stopped in his tracks and collapsed with his face in the sand. Ralph now examined the body of the hunter. In his loose hands he held a spear sharpened at both ends.
Ralph closed his eyes to try to return to a world without death. Slowly, one by one another painted faced boy came out of the tree line, and one by one another cannon boomed, until Ralph had heard a total of 13 burst of the small cannon the pale man held in his hand. Finally the man spoke.
“What is your name?”
“Ralph,” the addressed replied in an overwhelmed voice. “Well Ralph, what are all the names,” the man asked. Ralph squinted and let a single tear run onto his lip. “Jack Merridew, Roger, Johnny, Wilfred, Sam, Eric, Maurice, ... I forget the rest.” Ralph finally cracked. He started to feel his legs grow weak.
“Who was the leader”
“I was”
His legs gave out from beneath him. His mouth had grown dry and his body dehydrated. The sand under his knees now hurt him. The sand stung him and each grain of sand felt like a large sharp pebble under his knee. Finally there was a small pressure on his temple. “What type of leader forgets his subject?” The voice broke the silence.
Finally, the conversation was interrupted by one last boom of the cannon. The lifeless body fell forward. His head was turned on its left, so that his left cheek laid flat in the sand. The sand around the boys skull turned maroon to match the other patches red sand on the beach.
The man looked down upon his work and smiled. He had done the work of his faint countrymen, so he thought. He finally replaced his firearm back into the empty space in his holster. He continued down the beach, past the burning and collapsed shelter, and whistled to the tune of a march.
In the undergrowth of the forest line lay Percival, whimpering as usual, but this time softly. The true beast from the real world had left the beach, but Percival still stood in hiding. The last littluns, rested his head in a patch of moss, closed his eyes, and drifted off back the memories of the good times.
The island is silent. Ralph comes to and realizes that he is bleeding. He had just had the strangest dream. He had dreamt that all the boys had been rescued by a naval officer. He reslishes his dream as he looks around his surroundings. He then sees that he is bleeding from a cut on his head. He grimaces as he wraps a leaf around the cut. Suddenly, he hears a rustle in the undergrowth. He goes rigid, waiting for something to happen. Suddenly he hears an ululation and quickly spins around. He looks onward and sees a painted savage in the trees, scurrying away. He realizes that he is still being hunted by Jack and his tribe. Ralph hurriedly picks up the sharpened stick and runs in the opposite direction. As he runs, he looks back on better times, times before the death of Simon and Piggy and the fall of order. As he moves, he hears a faint trickle. He suddenly veers to the right and heads towards the trickle. He then stops near the edge of a cliff. As he looks down he sees waves crashing far below him. Without knowing, Ralph had doubled back to Castle Rock. As he looks around for an escape route, there are sounds of shuffling on the rocks behind him. Ralph turns around to see Samneric walking up to him. They each hold a spear in one hand and are apprehensive. They stare at each other for a moment. Ralph staring at them tries to speak. His throat is dry and not ready. He clears it and tries again, "Sam. Eric. Help me please. You don't have to do this. You can fight back against Jack." Samneric exchange a glance and reply," You don't know- Jack- he beats- and Roger- he's a- a monster- a beast. We have to- have to catch you. They's still looking in the forest. They set- set a fire- Look!" Ralph spins around and discovers this is true. In their hunt for Ralph, Jack and his hunters had set fire to the whole forest. Ralph, cursing under his breath, spins around and confronts Samneric again. "Don't they know what's gonna happen? They're going to die. They won't have food and there are no ships! Do they want to die?" Samneric look around and then cast down they're spears. They look at Ralph and then jump off the side of Castle Rock. Ralph, shocked by their actions, can only look as they're bodies pinwheel through the air. Ralph then climbs down Castle Rock and numbly walks along the beach. Jack having a suspicious thought, leads his tribe back to Castle Rock. They discover Ralph pacing the beach slowly, holding his head in his hands, gibbering. Jack cries, "Get him!" and charges Ralph with his tribe, aiming to bring him down. Suddenly a flash a light pushes them back. A shadow falls on Jack. He looks up into the face of Simon. However, this Simon is clad in black, has two twin swords strapped on his back and a kunai in a ready position. Jack attempts to stab Simon. Simon parries his strike and slashes with his kunai. Jack's body falls as blood gushes from his neck. Simon then unsheathes his two twin swords and then proceeds to slaughter everyone on the beach, save Ralph. After all the carnage, he then proceeds to sheath his swords and walks towards Ralph. Ralph who looks at the horror with uncomprehending eyes stands stock still. Simon then pulls out a kunai and then proceeds to stab Ralph in the heart. Ralph's body slowly keels over on the beach. Simon then slowly walks toward a boat, hidden carefully in the water.
ReplyDeleteEpilouge:
Soon after the war ends. The United States and the United Kingdom are destroyed. China is now in control of all the land ranging from the Phillipines to the Americas. Only a few pocketfuls of land are neutral. Simon is now in his thirties. As he sits down to read a story to his children, he remembers a time. A time of peace and happiness with a fat boy, boys that used to stand in straight rows and one boy in particular. He remembers how Ralph, chief of the tribe, lost control. He remembers the smell of blood and smoke and burning.
~Giorgio Shi~
While they are on the way back to their intended destination, Jack and Ralph stare at each other while the others either are crying or are in complete silence. When they arrive, they are questioned and Jack admits that several murders occurred, and everybody is shocked to hear that Jack would state this and they still are utterly stunned. Then later, they are put on trial for multiple cases of murder but are not convicted because they were adolescents. They were taken to a mental rehabilitation center, though because the images cast on that island scarred every survivor except perhaps some of the little-uns and they all kept that experience a secret for the rest of their lives. Ralph perhaps had the most trouble with forgetting this experience because his fear of paint and housing supplies stores still existed until the date of his death .
ReplyDeleteDean Steinman 8D
Alternate Ending: Emily Ma 8B
ReplyDelete(Just wanted to say, these epilogues/alternate endings are amaazing!)
Long after the hunt for Ralph began, Jack and Ralph now find themselves face to face. The fire is slowly closing in on them, and only the forest and the cliff assure safety from the flames. The two of them take each other in for a split second, but then they instantly break out into fight - Jack as a savage and Ralph for the sake of survival. They viciously tear and scratch and kick and bite - anything to better express the hatred for one another. However, the smoke soon becomes unbearable and they break apart to grasp a breath of oxygen. Ralph stumbles around and coughs, when Jack suddenly throws himself on Ralph's back, tightly gripping his neck. As a reflex, Ralph manages to fling Jack off of him. A gust of cool air swoops in, and the air surrounding the two, clears. Ralph watches as Jack staggers up and stumbles onto the ledge of the cliff. The weak and loose rock crumbles under the pressure, and suddenly Jack is falling when his hand miraculously catches on a ledge. "NOO! Augh!!!" With extreme madness, Jack climbs his way towards safety until he finds no more foot holds to prop himself up. When he realizes his situation, he brings himself to look at Ralph, with wide and scared eyes. At this moment Ralph goes through a serious of thoughts. At first he sees a happy trio of boys squandering about the island to their heart's content, and his heart tugs with an unusual yearning at the memory. However, once he takes a good look at what had become of Jack, his heart darkens and his hatred threatens to overpower him. Then he remembers the forest, and how he could run away and deny the immediacy of the presence. He stands so overwhelmed with his emotions that he slowly crumbles to the ground. Ralph starts to curl up into a ball, and his head pounds against his temple. Just as his first tears slip from his eyes, he catches a glimpse of Jack. Strangely enough, he is not glaring at Ralph, nor is he sympathetic towards him. No, Jack appears to be weary. The paint hardened and chipped to create deep lines etched across his face; his eyes no longer ablaze. His final three fingers relieve themselves from the pressure and the pain at last, and there is a finality to his fall. Meanwhile, Ralph is tired as well. No, he is empty. Is that the same? Ralph can no longer bear to process the events which had just occurred. He is only aware of the slight tugging in his heart and his heavy eyelids. There is grime covering his body and the fire has reached his toes, but strangely enough, Ralph can only think about the feel of fresh, linen sheets.
Alternate Ending: Christine
ReplyDeleteRalph ran through the forest, his heart racing and his lungs screaming for air. The fire was rushing quickly behind him, and the sound of ululations filled the air around him. Jack was close behind him, screaming at him and throwing rocks and spears, which came close but missed. Ralph burst out of the forest and onto the beach, but he tripped on a log on the way out and fell onto the sand. Jack ran up to him and raised his spear while laughing a maniac laugh, ready to impale Ralph, when the sound of a man calling his name reached Ralph. Ralph sat up screaming in bed in a room filled with beeping monitors. Next to him was his father, shouting “Ralph! Ralph! You’re awake! Everything’s going to be fine.” Ralph looked around in confusion. What happened to the island? Why was he in a hospital? Then another man, a doctor who had red hair just like Jack, appeared at his side. Ralph started screaming. “Everything’s going to be fine!” the doctor said. “You hit your head pretty hard in that accident and you were in a coma for a week. But you seem to be fine now.” At that moment, Ralph started sobbing, out of relief that it was all a dream.
LOTF Epilogue
ReplyDelete-by Ashley Phillips 8A
3 years have passed since the boys were rescued from the island
Jack:
Jack Meridew was put in a mental facility shortly after arriving back in England. He had gone crazy after realizing all he had done. However after he was released a year later he sent a letter to Ralph explaining how sorry he was for all he put them through. Jack also; felt that all of the deaths on the island were his fault. So he sent a letter to Simon’s parents and Piggy’s auntie explaining his grief and his sorrow.
Ralph:
Ralph had decided to write a book. He wrote two of them actually, he wrote “How to Survive When You are Stranded on an Island” and a memoir “The Time That I was Stranded on an Island” he also had memorials set for his two friends Piggy and Simon. Ralph felt pity toward jack and would often try to visit jack.
15 years later they all had a reunion. All the boys were in their twenty had graduated from college and had started to build their families.
Jack:
Jack had become a geographer trying to figure out what island him and his friends were on. He was married and his wife Jackie was expecting a child.
Ralph:
Ralph was married to Rose he had two kids a little girl, Jane, and a boy named Simon. Ralph had obviously become a writer who was making a lot of money.
Roger:
Oh Roger had become a fast food worker. He lived at home with his mother. He had become quite heavy. Roger doesn't have a wife or any significant other. However, he has 5 cats, 3 dogs, and 2 hamsters, and a parrot to keep him company.
All of the boys still have night terrors of their days on the island. Most of them see a psychiatric one a week.