How Does Piggy's Glasses Symbolize The Specs In Lord Of The Flies

Piggy's glasses were used many times throught out the novel, where the boys of the island in fact found good use in them, and treated his glasses as a symbol of discovery,innovation, and source of civilization on the island such as creating the fire. Once piggy's glasses break, the innovation, and civilization is gone.

Firstly the reason why the glasses are so important to the novel is how it enables a smart logical boy named Piggy to see and performs tasks.This is shown in the text when Jack steals Piggy’s glasses and Piggy becomes immobile without it. “His voice shrieked of terror as Jack snatched the glasses off his face… I can hardly see!.. Jus’ blurs,

In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, Piggy’s glasses represent both weakness and power. The symbolism for the glasses progresses throughout the novel.

for Ralph to act out. "We can use this (the conch) to call the others.

“Wilbur Wanted Love,” Just Like Piggy… Ronald D. Laing had once said, “Alienation as our present destiny is achieved only by outrageous violence perpetrated by human beings on human beings.” This statement declares that being alienated is only a result from being violent with others, thus creating hatred and savagery among people trying to be true to themselves. This quote relates to one of the novels written by William Golding. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, a character known as “Piggy” is alienated from the rest of the characters for his superior intelligence, physical appearance, and his endurable capabilities.

    To Piggy, the owner of the spectacles, the glasses at first represented the basic ability to see. They were thought no more of than a helpful accessory. “His specs- use them as burning glasses!” (40, Golding)  As the story progressed and the once well-mannered group slowly turned into

     Piggy in the beginning of the book was using his common sense, he was intelligent, he knew what was right from wrong, and he could condone things that made him angry easily. In the beginning of the book, (pg. ) Ralph told everyone his name was Piggy even though Piggy specifically told Ralph that he didn't like to be called that name Piggy later condoned Ralph's action with great ease. Piggy's action's and behavior depended on his glasses. Piggy and his glasses symbolized intelligence, he represents the rational side of civilization. With the glasses it seemed as though Piggy made all the right choices, and he helped Ralph know what needed to be done with the tribe. Without his

us how Piggy is sectioned from the est of the group due to his social

In the beginning of the Lord of the Flies we are introduced to two young boys, who have survived a tragic plane crash. The aircraft was an evacuation plane and it was transporting the group of boys out of England. One of the boys named Piggy is trying to catch up to the other boy, Ralph. Piggy is described as being very fat and shorter than Ralph. He wears “thick spectacles” (William Golding 7) and he is the first to determine that they are on an island. Piggy is also the one that knows how to use the conch shell and comes up with the use of it, which is to call everyone else to the beach. He believed the conch created order. Once the conch had been used we are introduced to more boys and they gain interest in Piggy’s glasses. They discover that Piggy’s glasses can start fires and they refer to them as “burning glasses” (Golding 40). The boys also rejoiced when they discovered that his glasses could create the fires. They proclaimed, “His specs - use them as burning glasses!” (Golding 38). The spectacles symbolize Piggy’s intelligence, which distinguished him from the others. Without the glasses Piggy would be blind and he would not know what to do. Although Piggy is portrayed as being physically weak and not having a great chance at survival, he is the only one that seemed to know a few survival skills. He is the one that created the fire, sundial and shelter. Without his glasses he would not be ‘intelligent’. His appearance and personality cause him to be shunned

Piggy’s glasses symbolize reason and innovation throughout the novel; Golding most commonly associates them with the old camp on the beach. Piggy uses his glasses to help the other boys “see”, both physically and intellectually, the best and most reasonable way forward. However, any time they are removed from the beach, chaos is sure to ensue. The first time, when the boys go to the mountain to light the signal fire, Jack and the other boys pry the glasses off Piggy’s face so they can use them as burning glasses. While this does help to start the signal fire so they can be seen by a ship, it traumatizes Piggy since even at this point in the book, Jack scares him. Despite the good intentions for the fire, it soon goes wild and even results in the death of a littlun.

In this passage, we see Ralph, the chief of the island, wishing that he is able to think like Piggy because, as chief, he needs to be able make smart decisions, like Piggy is able to do. In the beginning of the novel, Piggy’s glasses represent intelligence. However, later in the novel, after they are broken, they represent how power has the ability to corrupt people, especially Jack Merridew. The glasses also symbolize power because they have the ability to create fire which represents life and independence. Therefore, whoever wields the power of the glasses also has the ability to survive without anyone's help. This power is something that Jack desires and seeks throughout the novel. For example, when Prometheus gave fire to the humans in Greek Mythology, he was tortured and had his liver pecked out every day by a crow for doing so because fire symbolized light and independence from the gods. This passage takes place right after the brutal attack by Jack and his hunters on Ralph’s crew, “Piggy drew his legs. ‘You

Lord of the Flies is a book that uses symbolism. One notable example of this is Piggy’s glasses. Everyone on the island thought that Piggy was not useful. He was not helping the group survive. He did not like to help when the others were gathering supplies to build their huts or hunting for food. The group thought it was not an issue to take Piggy’s glasses to start the fire.In the novel it stated “Piggy took off his damaged glasses and cleaned the remaining lens.”(page 101). This shows that piggy's glasses were already cracked where he could not see out of them anyway. His glasses turned out to be one of the main reason the kids survived. Without Piggy’s glasses they would not have been able to start the signal fire and ships would not have found them.

His glasses symbolize the power of science and undertaking. At the beginning, the boys are trying to light a fire, so they end up using Piggy’s glasses by focusing the sunlight against the wood to start a fire. “His specs – use them as burning glasses!” (Golding 40). Jack had a plan to attack Ralph and Piggy with his tribe and steal Piggy’s glasses so they have the power to make a fire and leaving Ralph and Piggy with

The symbol of Piggy’s Glasses is illustrated in many different ways, such as structure and civilization. When Piggy first got onto the island, he looked at it

Piggy’s glasses symbolize knowledge. The glasses also represent society’s reliance upon technology because humans are sometimes weak. The glasses were created to make Piggy’s eyesight better than before. His life is better with the glasses because he can see, without them I don’t know what he would do. Jack slaps the glasses off of Piggy’s face, and in that