Piggy Character Analysis - Lord of the Flies Essay

By the end of the novel Piggy has perished while Ralph survives to be rescued. Even this puts Ralph in a good light because it shows he was smart and resilient enough to survive on an island full of savages. If Piggy-with all his disadvantages- were to survive it would only serve to undermine the effort Ralph put into survive. In Ralph’s civilized society and the insane society of Jack, a weak person like Piggy can't make themselves known without consequences. This is similar to

The character Piggy in William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies serves as the intellectual balance to the emotional leaders of a group of shipwrecked British boys. Ironically, their new society values physical qualities over intellectual attributes whereas it is the rational actions that will lead to their survival. Piggy's actions and the reactions from his fellow survivors foreshadow his eventual death. Lord of the Flies is overflowing with creative

At the beginning of the novel, the boys were trying to start a fire. The boys then used Piggy’s specs to light the fire. “Ralph moved the lenses back and forth, this way and that, till a glossy white image of the declining sun lay on a piece of rotten wood”(40). Using Piggy’s specs to start the fire was a scientific method to create and it contributes to the fact he represents a scientific approach. Also, it was Piggy’s idea to make shelters so the boys could sleep in them for the night. “The first thing we ought to have made was shelters down there by the beach”(45). By building shelters, the boys can sleep and stay dry when it's raining. This would also establish a settlement so they won’t have to continuously move to different areas of the island. Even though Jack’s tribe unknowingly murdered Simon, Piggy tried to keep the reason why they killed Simon rational. He tries to think that the death of Simon was justifiable. Ralph argued that the death was murder and Piggy complained “What good’re you doing talking like that”(172). Piggy is trying to find a formula that would explain Simon’s death. In other words, Piggy is one of the only characters in the novel who takes a scientific approach

Piggy is the closest to an adult on the island, wanting to defend the conch, and wanting to keep rules and order. Without these Piggy will be

     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

Piggy’s responsibility set him apart from the other boys, like Ralph. When Piggy cried out, “I don’t ask for my glasses back, not as a favour. I don’t ask you to be a sport, I’ll say, not because you’re strong, but because what’s right’s right” (190). For a moment, Piggy’s anger with unfairness and helplessness he felt took away from his logical reasoning but returned as soon as he was confronted by the savages. When Piggy asked, "Which is better- to be a pack of painted niggers like you are, or to be sensible like Ralph is?"(200) it demonstrated a change in Piggy's nature. Piggy learned to stand up for himself against Jack and the savages. He was able to think clearly and plan ahead of his encounter with the savage boys. The cruelty Jack showed towards him taught Piggy how much more pain there was in the

Lord of the Flies is a novel written in 1954 by William Golding. A plane carrying a group of British citizens trying to escape the nuclear war gets shot down and lands on a deserted tropical island. The only survivors are children ranging from the age of six to twelve-year-olds. The younger children are nick named “littluns” and the older children are nick named “biguns”. At first, they celebrate their freedom from the war but then they begin to realize there aren't any adults to supervise them, they don't have food, they don't have shelter, and they are stranded on a deserted tropical island. One of the characters Piggy is classified as smart but is fat chubby and has asthma so he isn't capable of much things. “ “My auntie told me not to

Laws and rules are what set people apart from savagery. Leaders are what keep a group alive in times of crisis. In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, Piggy is the only character who remains civil and does not turn to savagery. The boys notice his appearance more than his brain which blinds them from seeing his intelligence, patience, and rationality.

Even though Piggy is the one that died, he could have still been responsible for his own death. In chapter 11, page 171, of The Lord of the Flies Piggy says, “ I got the conch. I’m going to that Jack Merridew an’ tell him, I am.” It was Piggy’s decision to go the cliff and confront Jack. He kept insisting that they go and get his specs back instead of waiting and being patient while they came with a better plan when they did decide to go speak with them. If he would’ve waited just a little longer he could still be alive. Again in Chapter 11, page 171, Piggy says this after Ralph tells him he will get hurt, “ What can he do more than he has? I’ll tell him what’s what. You let me carry the conch, Ralph. I’ll show him the one thing he hasn’t got.” Piggy underestimates Jack and his “tribe”. He does this because he does not

“‘I don't care what they call me,’ [Piggy] said confidentially, ‘so long as they don't call me what they used to call me at school.’[...] ‘They used to call me 'Piggy.’(11)” Here, one can see that Piggy’s real name is not actually Piggy but, is meant to endure such a horrid name due to his looks. His body size causes the children around him to make fun of him and from then on, the name sticks with him till his very last moments. On this new island with new faces, Piggy’s suffering starts with the horrid name. From the moment Ralph tells the other boys about his name, the boys immediately start to treat him as a different person. These boys realize that on such an island with no other source of entertainment, the only other resort for these children is Piggy. One would assume that Piggy’s intelligence would be able to write off the insults and discrimination, but to these children, his intelligence served as a vulnerability as the boys use it to make him seem different from the others. Overall, Piggy acts as a source of entertainment for the boys. They want fun. They wanted entertainment. They want to enjoy the life without adults when they have the chance.

Sometimes, looks can be deceiving. Nobody can predict the success of a person simply according to his/her appearance. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the consequences of making the incorrect decision based on one’s looks is revealed. In this novel, a group of young British boys are stranded on an isolated island with no adults as a result of a plane crash. They must remain civilized and create rules themselves to ensure that order is not lost. To do so, they elect a fair-haired and attractive boy named Ralph as the island’s chief. However, when a strange beast makes its appearance on the island, panic rules over the boys. Ralph’s control over the group is diminished as Jack takes over. All faith in being saved is lost when

In the book, Lord of the Flies, the character Piggy is seen as an outcast. Piggy is different in his looks, intellect, and role in the group. There are many instances within the book to further show his experience on and off the island to be different from the rest of the boys. Because of the differences from Piggy to the rest of the boys, Piggy is shown as more of an outsider or outcast throughout the book.

In,Lord of the Flies, the boys are divided by their physical traits. From the beginning Piggy is setup to stick out or be divergent from the group due to his physical traits.

Nobody seems to listen to Piggy’s intelligent ideas of how they should act on the island in order to survive. When Jack began assembling his own group of boys, under his leadership, things began to fall apart. Piggy is expressing his frustration towards the boys in the quote,“Can’t they see? Can’t they understand? Without the smoke signal we’ll die here? Look at that!” (Golding, page 139). Piggy, like Simon, has always questioned if the beast could be deeper than a real being. Therefore, Piggy had a greater fear of the boys abandoning the fire, than he did of the beast. The boys are being naive, going after pigs and the beast instead of tending the fire, and Piggy realizes that. He is aware that the boys don’t see the importance in the fire signal as he and Ralph do. Abandoning the fire will lead to no rescue and eventually death upon the island. This could be foreshadowing Piggy’s death since the group of savage boys end up killing

In this next piece of evidence, we can perceive an instance of Piggy’s pacifism. "You were outside. Outside the circle. You never really came in. Didn't you see what we--what they did?" (Golding, pg. 121, PDF) In this scenario, Piggy was on the outside of the circle during Simon’s death. Piggy always tried to tell the boys to stop fighting, to be more united, and try to leave the island so they could all go home. For example, whenever the boys have meetings Piggy tried, for only one boy to talk at a time. He also tried for everyone to be included in the conversation. As a result of this Piggy was perceived as a stranger. For the fear of dispute and danger to his own life, Piggy wasn’t able to save his own friend.