which book between :
A gathering of old men by Ernest Gaines
and
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
would be better for a freshamn to understand ?
2007-07-26 16:05:12 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Homework Help
Personally - and speaking from the lips of a teacher - I have read and studied "Lord of the Flies" in great depth. I have taught if for 4 years - and to eighth graders! A couple of years ago our school system moved the book to the 9th grade level because they felt the 8th graders were not quite ready for all the blood and gore and murder the book contained. Unfortunately, the same students that were denied reading that book, go home to drive bys and shootings in their neighborhoods every night - they are not novices to bullets.
A Gathering of Old Men is a very good book because it helps students understand the days of racism and how it continues to linger. Ernest Gaines is a Black author who dives deep into the structure of a murder of a white man who lies in the yard of a black man. 18 old black men declare they are the murderer.
Now - both of these books are extremely interesting but your understanding is going to come from whatever you have learned about life. If you have never experienced racism, or have not studied race relations and how it was in the south, you might learn something interesting in this story. Lord of the Flies is almost about an adventure, but it also has a great lesson in it about human nature. A plane crashes and all the adults are killed leaving the children, a group of boys who ranged in age from about 6-14 to have to take care of themselves in on an island. Before they are rescued - many, many things happen - some of the horrifying.
You would have to decide. Both are excellent reading.
As a side note - and I don't wish to offend anyone in the community, but I have to state some true facts - as a teacher, I have found that many whites are not open to reading about southern live and slavery, books with racial content. It seems that only the black teachers are willing to expose their students to this side of the coin. Literature is a wide open field - our books contain stories about Asians, Hispanics, and many other cultures of people.
2007-07-26 16:19:50 · answer #1 · answered by THE SINGER 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lord of the Flies would be the best option, probably because it's about kids who are a little younger than a freshman. It's really easy and well known, so even if you do get a little confused on the theme or whatever, you can find a clear summary or an analyzed paragraph or two of each theme and whatnot, like on sparknotes.com
woahhh, a gathering of old me? never heard of that one.
2007-07-26 23:12:28 · answer #2 · answered by juiicyxxbebe 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
haha im a freshman this year and i had 2 read lord of the flies over summer..it was pretty easy so i say go 4 lord of the flies..plus i have never heard of a gathering of old men
2007-07-26 23:14:34 · answer #3 · answered by **CUZ IM A BOSS** 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lord of the Flies used to be required reading in ninth grade but I think many people found the content to violent. I think both books are good but I believe a freshman in highschool would relate more to Lord of the Flies.
R
2007-07-26 23:10:07 · answer #4 · answered by muesky 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lord of the Flies
2007-07-26 23:12:53 · answer #5 · answered by Perfect_Paige 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well i am a sophomore, and ive never heard of the book a gathering of old men.
Lord of the flies is probably junior level. But it still is a great book for freshmens.
2007-07-26 23:09:18 · answer #6 · answered by BlahBlah 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just as far as keeping them interested I think Lord of the Flies.
2007-07-26 23:09:29 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I did Lord of the Flies in 9th grade and it was pretty easy.
2007-07-26 23:08:11 · answer #8 · answered by ♫Chatte 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go for Lord of the Flies.
^ ^ FANTASTIC book
2007-07-26 23:09:14 · answer #9 · answered by Tunesmith 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋