Lord of the Flies Essay

The book is filled with dark, gruesome moments. Moments that leave the reader with a destroyed faith in humanity. At surface value this is all true, but after looking deeper into the book many values are present. These value pertain to societal change and conformity. In the book, Piggy is the stereotypical fat boy with the glasses. The book portrays Piggy to be the victim of the society the boys have established on their small island. Despite what he has been through, Piggy makes an effort to contribute to the society the boys have built. The book says, “Piggy was … so full of pride in his contribution to the good of society … that he helped to fetch wood.” (Golding 186). The book also contains values of conformity for the better. The book tells of Jack who became upset with the tribe. He decides that he will break away from the tribe and invites everyone but Ralph to join him. One by one all the boys follow Jack to restart their society; leaving Ralph behind. The boys in the new tribe began to succeed more while Ralph begins to struggle. If Jack did not break away, then that success would have been

Lord of the Flies in an allegory for humanity (or human society) because of the loss of civilization, and the savagery in the boys, and the symbolization that rely on them. Throughout the book, three characters and their symbols that were found are Ralph; symbol of leadership and responsibility, Piggy; symbol of intelligence, civilization, and science, and Jack; symbol of evil, violence, and savagery. Most readers choose those three because they feel that it is important to discuss, rather than the other characters in the book. Although it’s important, the readers also feel that they can connect to their symbols using man vs self (internal conflict). The allegory in Lord of the Flies ties all three symbols to the loss of civilization.

Piggy was surrounded… Almost at once a trickle of smoke rose up and made him cough. (Golding 40).

Piggy lectured them by asking how they could "…expect to be rescued if [they] don't put first things first and act proper?" (45), which is something they did not want to hear, this was proven time and time again when the boys not let him speak without interruption even when he had the conch shell. Piggy's greatest asset was also his weakest point; the only way he could relate to the other boys was at an intellectual level, whereas the other boys could only relate on an emotional level. Ironically, in spite of his intelligence and logic, rational thought, from the beginning of the novel, Piggy was a social outcast.

He decided to leave and make his own group, and a lot of the other kids went with him because he had killed pigs before and

It is no surprise that Piggy's nickname is such. When Golding introduces the character, he has just come out of the bushes, after suffering from diarrhoea through eating too many unripe berries. The author continually relates to the fact that the boy is fat, and in many descriptions, Golding blatantly says this such as "The fat boy looked startled". As we progress through the early pages, we learn more of Piggy's appearance through the conversation between Piggy and Ralph. "I've been wearing specs since I was three". With these

Piggy’s physical appearance contributes to his position as an outsider within the society of boys. When Piggy and Ralph first meet, Ralph remarks on Piggy’s shortness of breath to which Piggy responds, ¨ That’s right. Can’t catch my breath. I was the only boy in our school what had asthma, said the fat boy with a touch of pride, ‘And I’ve been wearing specs since I was three¨ (Golding 9). This quote describes Piggy as a fat boy with asthma and glasses, while the other boys are skinny and do not share any of the same characteristics as him. In addition, the author contributes to the outcasting Piggy by never revealing his real name and only describing Piggy as the “fat boy.” This proves that in this society, Piggy is not worth getting to

Most people try, fail, and never try again, but not because of their capabilities but because of their personality. Piggy has great capabilities as well as a great personality, but throughout the novel, he has never really gotten the chance to reveal his great potential. Piggy is more logical and innovative than most of the boys stranded on that island. Unlike the other school boys, Piggy thinks practically about their situation and tries to reason with it as well as resolving it. On page 34, Piggy points out that no one knows where the boys are nor that a crash had happened by saying “Who knows we’re here?

In the story “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding, he shows how the boys lost all innocence and civilization. The boys went from having innocent child minds to taking lives of other people, acting savage, and losing all civilization due to problems on the island. The boys had forgotten where they came from and became savage in order to survive; it was the need of survival that caused the loss of innocence among the boys.

Golding’s characters in Lord of the Flies represent people from World War II. Ralph represented Roosevelt because they both were leaders and they liked to share their powers with others to rule. Piggy represents Churchill because they both spoke with words and they were the intelligence of the group in order for everyone to work in a democratic government. This is how Golding uses his

“ “Shut up,” said Ralph absently. He lifted the couch. “Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things around here.” (Chapter 1, Page 22) Ralph immediately notices the boys need some leadership his natural choice is to help guide these boys. He, however, lacks this responsibility. He doesn't continue to command respect from the boys. Ralph grows up faster in the book due to Jack. Later Jack breaks the tribe apart with his appealingly savage ways. Jack ended up establishing a hunting tribe. Once the tribe breaks Ralph tries to bring it back together, but since he didn’t have solid leadership skills even though he might have developed some compassion. He tries to convince Jack that he is still in charge and has power over the boys. The changes Ralph undergoes, from self-centered to group centered, doesn't reflect the island as a whole. They are all too elated to abandon the trappings of society.

Because he is physically different from the other boys on the island, he is looked at differently almost immediately after he started to make suggestions for how the island should have been run. His suggestions for what some of rules should be prior to the election of a leader prove that Piggy was ultimately and fundamentally good because he wanted what was best for the other boys.

Piggy is overweight, wears glasses, and “was the only boy in our school what had asthma,” (Golding 3). He has a slightly different accent from the rest, when he tells Ralph about his asthma Ralph replies with, “Sucks to your ass-mar!” (Golding 8). Piggy is also one of the most logical thinker in the group, “what intelligence had been shown was traceable to Piggy,“ (Golding 19). From the very beginning he never had respect, he is seen as the ultimate Omega.

Symbolism is a very important factor in many books. The use of symbolism in William Golding’s novel The Lord of the Flies is the most essential aspect to the function of the story. At first glance you may not think the symbols are very important, but with some in-depth thought you can see how it is necessary to explain the microcosm of an island.

Piggy was a stout boy who was different from all the other boys on the island because he had asthma and wore glasses. The glasses throughout the story were used to start a fire, but also