Most of my Lord of the Flies presentation was to be an updated rehash of the paper I turned in the year before in high school, though I did have to double its length and the number of sources. I don’t recall doing this for anything in Comp I so this may have been the first year I was required to visit the library and seek out various periodicals with already published essays and reference them on the token bibliography page. As for the presentation, for what I was to distribute to the class, I constructed a sort of “family tree” of the characters (granted, none were really related) with hand-drawn caricatures that identified everyone by name, their role, and what they symbolized.
In the days leading up to my presentation (which was to be a Thursday) Michael Arthur and I went over what was to happen. Part of me recalls us visiting the room late one day to go over the layout and the best plan of action. The only thing Michel really blanched at was that he had to be up and ready to go by 7:00. Other than that, I think he was just as anxious as me to see how this was going to be pulled off. I think Ms. Fontaine was curious, too – a few sessions before the presentation I asked if it would be a problem using props or other characters. She said not all: those sorts of things could only serve to boost one’s grade. From the way she looked at me I could tell she wondered what I had up my sleeve.
Here’s what happened.
Thursday morning Michael and I got to the room a little before 7:30. I had noticed over a period of several weeks that students usually went straight to their seats when they arrived – no one ever walked around the partition between the podium and west wall. This meant that Michael could quietly sit back here among the surplus equipment and wait for my cue during the presentation. Ah, but when would that be? Today would be four more (possibly the last four) though, as I cautioned Mike, I had no clue when I’d get to go. My hopes were to get this over and done with as quickly as possible and let Mike go back to bed – but I couldn’t make any promises.
When class started Ms. Fontaine took her seat in the audience with the students and called the first speaker for the day. It wasn't me. While I was somewhat anxious to get started, I was thankful that class had started without anyone discovering the secret that stood (or, as I was told later, spread out reading a paper) on the other side of the wall.
At about 8:45 it was finally my turn. I got up and handed out the “study guides” to the class and began reading my research on The Lord of the Flies. First there was Ralph, then Jack, and maybe Sam and Eric next – I forget the order but I knew I needed to have Piggy near the end. A few seconds after I began reading the section about Piggy there came a knock on the glass door behind the wall. It obviously woke everyone up and I played off being startled.
“...and...oh, yeah, hey, I thought it might be best to actually bring in someone who knows a lot about this character an’ so I’ve asked the one and only Piggy to join us today. Hold on a sec!”
I walked around the wall and signaled to Mike to open the door loudly. Seeing the faces of my classmates when I came back around the wall was priceless.
“Well, welcome then Piggy, thanks for stopping...do you want to come in and be seen?”
“No,” wheezed Michael in a loud, whiny voice. “I’ve been stranded on a desert island for I dunno how many weeks and I didn’t wash up b’fore I came in so I smell pretty bad. Plus I gots assmar.”
“Huh-huh. Well, sucks to your assmar. Tell us a bit about yourself....”
Michael, with a copy of my research notes in hand, proceeded to read off information about Piggy and how life was good when the conch was around and how things got out of hand when Jack had his way. I half-sat on the tabletop of the right wing seats, situated in a way where I could see both Michael standing and the rest of the class wondering just what the hell was going on. I hammed it up, too, turning periodically to the class and acting impressed at what was going on. This ran for a few minutes before we decided to wrap this “interview” up in a most disastrous way. As I thanked Piggy for coming by, Michael threw open the doors and started yelling and making rambunctious noises to indicate he was being dragged away by Jack. As I said before, Michael knew The Lord of the Flies well enough to throw in some other jabs – “No...no! Don’t kill the pig! No! No! Take your hand off me...stop...” – and then, for icing on the cake, he tossed an old pair of glasses from the behind the wall onto the floor. Finally, with a thunderous noise, Michael dragged himself outside and slammed the doors. The interview was officially over.
“Piggy, everyone.” I started clapping and, while the rest of the class began applauding with mild confusion, I nonchalantly retrieved the glasses from the floor and went right back into the presentation, ending with a brief spiel on the titular character.
When I was done nodded a brief thank you and returned to my seat while everyone applauded once again. In my seat, the girl in front of me turned around and smiled: “that was good...but how did he know when to come by and be interviewed.” Because he’s Piggy, I said coyly. Mrs. Fontaine, also seated in the row in front of me, turned around as the next student ascended the podium and also said good job: “but he really didn’t look like Piggy,” she said with a wink. When I turned around I realized that from where she sat one could see through the large wall-length windows and anyone passing by. I always assumed she only witnessed one person walking along the old Avenue E service road that morning: a tall, skinny kid with unkempt hair that looked nothing like the character described and who was probably making a bee-line straight back to bed.
That didn’t cost me any points, though – I easily aced the presentation with an A.
Later than morning I met up with the rest of the Octumvirate and Michael and I laughed at pulling off such a bizarre interview. Who would have guessed that what had originally been a one-shot joke with the pizza server would go on to be a memorable college experience?
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Lord of the Flies
(Gers, Harris)
Iron Maiden
From the album The X Factor
1995
I don't care for this world anymore
I just want to live my own fantasy
Fate has brought us to these shores
What was meant to be is now happening
I've found that I like this living in danger
Living on the edge: it feels, it makes feel as one
Who cares now what's right or wrong? It's reality
Killing so we survive wherever we may roam
Wherever we may hide, we've got to get away
I don't want existence to end
We must prepare ourselves for the elements
I just want to feel like we're strong
We don't need a code of morality
I like all the mixed emotion and anger
It brings out the animal, the power you can feel
And feeling so high with this much adrenaline
Excited, but scary to believe what we've become
Saints and sinners, something within' us
We are lord of the flies
Saints and sinners, something willing us
To be lord of the flies...