English Literature Reading Skills - Layers of Meaning - Lord of the Flies Example

1. “wait a minute!” – Piggy.
Chapter 1, Page 11
“wait a minute!” – Piggy.
Chapter 1, Page 11
Perhaps Piggy can’t catch up
implying he is slower or weaker.
This could represent how Piggy
is going to hold the others back
from doing what they really
want to do.
Piggy needs Ralph to wait as
he hasn’t caught up.
Piggy’s weakness could make
him inferior to the other boys.

2. “wait a minute!” – Piggy.
Chapter 1, Page 11
Perhaps Piggy can’t catch up
implying he is slower or weaker.
This could represent how Piggy
is going to hold the others back
from doing what they really
want to do.
Piggy needs Ralph to wait as
he hasn’t caught up.
Piggy’s weakness could make
him inferior to the other boys.

3. From the very first time Piggy is introduced in the novel he is seen as
inferior. One of the first things he says is “wait a minute.” Already he is
behind and needs the other characters to wait for him. Golding is
immediately establishing in the reader’s mind that Piggy is going to hold
the other characters back. This idea of inferiority is also seen in the fact
that he is overweight, wears spectacles and has asthma. Piggy also
repeatedly says how he is not allowed to do things as his Auntie would
not allow him to. He has clearly been well protected back at home and so
the reader automatically begins to doubt how he will be able to cope in
the situation he now finds himself in. He isn’t excited by the prospect of
the island and he doesn’t choose to rebel, instead he does he has always
done and says that he is “not allowed.” As the weakest of the characters
that have been introduced up to this point, the reader wonders how long
Piggy will be able to survive, especially if the rest of the group are much
stronger, and potentially smarter than he is. Golding has already
effectively built a strong picture of the character within only a few pages
of the novel, with lots of potential about what could still be to come.
Analytical Paragraph – Option One

4. From when Piggy is first introduced he is seen as weak. Through the
phrase “wait a minute”, Golding is suggesting to the reader that Piggy is
behind the other characters and struggling to keep up. This request could
also mean that Piggy will have an inferior role to the other boys on the
island. The word “wait” is particularly effective as it highlights how Piggy
may try and stop the others from rushing into ill advised acts, perhaps
through wisdom, or perhaps through fear. Golding may have he writer
may have included this line to make the reader wonder about the place
Piggy will have on the island, and whether he will survive.
Analytical Paragraph – Option Two – Using David Didau’s Reading Skills Ladder

5. ZOOM OUT to show you have an ideas what the
writer’s intentions might have been
The writer may have done this because…
ZOOM IN on individual words or phrases to say
how and why they are effective.
The word “…” is effective because…
Offering an alternative explanation; saying what
the quotation might tell us. Use tentative words
like could or might.
It could also mean… because…
Explain how and why the quotation supports your
opinion.
This suggests… because…
Giving your opinion about a text and using a
quotation to support your view.
I think… because it says, “quotation”

6. ZOOM OUT to show you have an ideas what the
writer’s intentions might have been
The writer may have done this because…
ZOOM IN on individual words or phrases to say
how and why they are effective.
The word “…” is effective because…
Offering an alternative explanation; saying what
the quotation might tell us. Use tentative words
like could or might.
It could also mean… because…
Explain how and why the quotation supports your
opinion.
This suggests… because…
Giving your opinion about a text and using a
quotation to support your view.
I think… because it says, “quotation”