Piggy: A Short Story

The conch, that states whoever holds it is allowed to speak, possesses great authority. It also shows that the Island Boys are trying to maintain their humanity by having an organization system. The conch symbolizes brains and intelligence. It was Piggy’s idea to have this rule, and he was the main enforcer of it. When the conch shattered as Piggy died, it represented the loss of all hope. Their whole system had officially ended.

In the first chapter of the novel Piggy finds the conch and comes up with the idea to use it to contact the other boys on the island. "'We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They'll come when they hear us”(Golding 16). Immediately we see Piggy coming up with ideas to benefit the boys. Throughout the book they use the conch to communicate with each other in a controlled way. He is using his brain to benefit the others and that's what he’s all about. Other boys in the story are selfish and don't really think about everyone, but Piggy automatically thinks about other’s first. Piggy is the voice of reason as he knows that building the shelters is crucial to the boys survival.

 "Piggy, for all his ludicrous body, had brains. Ralph was a specialist in thought now, and could recognize thought in another." Chapter 5, pg. 71. He is very easy to get beaten up by because of his asthma. '''He's not Fatty,'' cried Ralph, ''his real name's Piggy!''' pg. 29. 'A storm of laughter arose' pg. 29

He also tells Ralph how to use the conch from when he saw it before. Piggy initially discovers the conch. The conch was at the bottom of the lagoon. Piggy suggests that Ralph uses it to call the boys. Throughout the novel piggy was very smart but was overlooked. Throughout the novel he represented a meritocracy.

4. What do Piggy and Ralph spot in the sand, and what do they do with it?

Piggy wilted. Ralph took the conch from him and looked round the circle of boys. (Golding 42)

The naval officer took all the boys that were on the island to the ship. One by one they got on the ship and sat down quietly. Most of them thought about the things that happen on the island like what happen to Piggy and Simon and the littlun with a mulberry-colored mark on his face. Others thought about what they were going to do when they got home with their families and how their families were going to react. Ralph thought about his friend, Piggy, and how he got killed. Jack thought about his mom and what would happen if she knew what he did on the island. Everyone’s faces seemed shocked by the news that they were rescued. Ralph seem like he wanted to say something, but he was too shocked to even say a word. The naval officer asked the littluns what their name was but some of them did not even remember their names not even Percival.

Symbol Paper: Ralph Symbol #1: The conch Chapter 1: Piggy and Ralph encounter one another after the plane crash. While walking, both of them come upon a conch shell. Ralph blows into it and a bellowing sound emits across the island. Golding illustrates the conch as a symbol of authority by saying that it catches the attention of all the kids.

Piggy doesn't want the conch just to speak, but to have a voice. The conch is like a microphone for Piggy because it helps him raise his voice so everyone can listen to him. Even if he didn't have anything to say he still would've wanted the conch because he wants everyone to listen to whatever he has to say, whether it's important or not. Piggy want to speak up for himself when he gets bullied, but he doesn't know how to. Thinking the conch might help him he asks for it.

‘How could I’ cried Piggy indignantly, ‘all by myself? They waited for two minutes, then they...scattered everywhere.’” (Golding 46.) This conversation demonstrates how bad-tempered Piggy is, instead of taking responsibility for his actions,

Before an assembly Ralph is holding the conch and he looks at it with, "affectionate reverence." At this point Ralph has realized that their miniature civilization is falling apart and authority is almost gone, so he begins grasping to the conch and its resemblance to the society he use to know. During this assembly Jack decides to break off on his own. Others soon leave and things further fall apart. A while later Jack and his group raids Ralph's camp for the glasses. Piggy didn't think that Jack would go for the glasses he thought Jack would go conch. Piggy knows that the conch represents is all that is left of authority and thought Jack would want it to prove he is the new authority. While Jack doesn't care for the conch's representation of authority, Ralph and the others cling to

From the minute they arrive on the island, Ralph and Piggy are searching for some semblance of the glue that held their lives together: authority. Within the first chapter, the conch shell that Piggy stumbles upon becomes a symbol of leadership and community, like the “men with the megaphones” it is used to bring the community together, and “most obscurely, yet most powerfully” determines Ralph being elected as leader over Jack’s blustering

This symbolized that piggy and the other kids would not get along what so ever and it also expressed his personality. He is also unsure about himself and respects what others people think about him the evidence behind this is because he yearns to be accepted by his peers. He has also lost all hope in people rescuing him. Unlike the other kids piggy is the only one who is still civilized and all the others turn into savages and bet each other up as the story states ‘’Samneric were savages like the rest; Piggy was dead, and the conch smashed to powder’’(Golden 268). But when Jacks tribe steals piggy’s glasses it renders him hopeless.

Out of all of the boys on the island, Piggy is the only boy who cares most about getting off the island. He also attaches himself to the conch, which represents order, and surrounds himself in items that symbolize order. Because of all of this, Piggy chooses to accept civilization with open arms. For example, Piggy always says “‘You haven’t got the conch!’” ( 11 . 29) whenever the boys forget the purpose of the conch. The conch represents order and their rules on the island. Whenever they are broken, Piggy tries to reinforce its purpose and bring back their ‘government’. Another item Piggy is attached to that represents civilization are his glasses. “Here-let me go! His voice rose to a shriek of terror as Jack snatched the glasses off his face.

Throughout the book the conch develops as motif and it keeps reoccuring because it has symbolic meaning to it. The conch symbolizes order, civilization and voice. Piggy and Ralph found the conch at the beach and they use it to bring all the boys together after the plane crash. The conch symbolizes order and rules because of the meaning the boys give it, the conch is just a random shell but they value it which makes it important. The conch is extremely important to Piggy because it makes him feel like they’ll “have rules!..Lots of rules and when anyone breaks ‘em wacco!”(Golding 33). It gives him power and respect he also feels as if the boys can be organized instead of being chaotic. It represents civilization because the boys work together