Piggy's Savagery

William Golding 's Lord of the Flies is a brilliant novel about a group of schoolboys who find themselves stranded on an island with no adults present. Inevitably two groups form, one by the handsome and responsible Ralph and the other lead by the choir head Jack. Ralph rationalizes the need to survive while Jack becomes obsessive over hunting and controlling the boys. Golding uses symbols to add depth and further explain his theory that humans are inherently evil. He uses figures representing evil, scientific intelligence, and authority. He ties it all together to create a page turning novel. Golding 's use of symbols such as the beast, Piggy’s glasses, and the conch, indicates that humans, when detached from society 's rules, allow their natural capacity for evil to dictate their existence.

William Golding wrote the novel Lord of the Flies to draw attention to the chaos in society during the Second World War. Throughout the novel, there is a large amount of symbolism that gives the readers a better understanding of his ideas and concepts. There are many symbolic objects in the Lord of the Flies that help to expand his perception of the Second World War and his theme of there being a little bit of evil and savagery in everyone. Three of the most important symbolic objects are Piggy’s glasses, the conch shell, and the signal fire.

Lord of the Flies is often claimed to be an allegory of modern society. While this is true, Golding’s intentions in writing this novel are much deeper. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies provides an enlightening insight into the true nature of human beings; along with why people refrain from acting upon the evil that resides within them. He presents these ideas through symbolism within the novel and it proves effective in many ways. Through symbolism, Golding can unfold the excellent plot of his novel, while subsequently sharing his ideas on the relationship of mankind and society. Golding uses the beast, the conch shell, and Piggy’s glasses to symbolize the human impulse towards ‘savagery’ and the social constructs put in place to prevent it.

The novel Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding is a very iconic book in my opinion. This novel consists mostly of symbolism. Lord of the Flies talked about the relationship of teenage boys who survived a plane crash together. The boys are all on their own and struggling. They encounter many incidences that comply symbolism. A couple of the acts of symbolism are the beast the boys kept imagining, Piggy’s glasses, and the conch. The boys are all afraid of the beast, Piggy’s glasses demonstrate the fact that he saw everything more clear then the boys and how he started the fire. Lastly, the last of the most important symbolisms in the novel is the conch, showing the civilization and order.

Secondly, Piggy’s glasses shows the reader a clear view of what the boys know and what they think they know. With the glasses Piggy is able to inform the boys with things he knows that they don’t which gives him an advantage for duration he has them. It is Piggy’s glasses that start the fire and afterwards he suggests building shelters which helps them out during storms and when the boys split up into tribes.

The conch is an item that Piggy and Ralph found while on the beach at the beginning of the story. William Golding uses the conch as a symbol of order and a governing body throughout the story. Many of the characters revere this as a precious item, one character specifically is Piggy.

Without Piggy’s horrible eye sight, and him needing to wear glasses, the boys would never have been able to start a fire, a fire that ultimately led to their rescue. This is very ironic considering Piggy was killed before he would ever see rescue… a rescue that without him would never have happened. Golding did this to reinforce the importance of Piggy in the novel. It showed that no matter how useless he may have seemed, he still was the one that helped the most, in the long run. He was the most important boy to be on that island. He, in reality, saved Jack, an abusive boy who harassed him ever since they crashed, and Roger, the boy who threw stones, and the boy who murdered the innocent Piggy. “Though Piggy reaches his greatest stature at the moment of his death, it is also the moment of his greatest blindness, rendered for us at a level far deeper than his lost spectacles”. (Kinead-Weekes. Mark. 43). Piggy was completely blindsided from Rogers’s boulder. This moment in the novel makes readers realize the tragedy of Piggy’s death. The shattering of the glasses represents his knowledge and insight turning to dust, all in front of the very people he saves, from the cage that is the island. The conch was also with him at the moment of his death. This is significant because it symbolizes the shattering of all that Piggy believed in. He truly believed the conch would save him from anything on the island, and in the end it simply did not

Piggy’s glasses is the most powerful item on the island, which symbolize the knowledge and intelligence. In addition, it is also an important

In Lord of the Flies Golding expresses the opinion that all humans are capable of savagery and brutality , no matter where they came from or who they are. In the novel, the stranded boys begin the book by establishing a society similar to the one they left behind in England, but soon their society breaks apart into rival groups ruled by lead by Ralph and Jack. We soon find that the boys (and through their example all human beings) have an inherent capacity for violence and brutality no matter no matter their background or place of origin. The boys behaved according to the norms of their society when they first arrived on the island, but without the restraining hand of adults soon begin to reveal their basic natures. These different traits are revealed in each character: Ralph represents order and goodness.

Firstly, Piggy acts inappropriately at times throughout the book. “ [Piggy] took off his glasses and made as if to put down the conch; but the sudden motion toward it most of the older boys changed his mind.” (Golding 45.)This statement shows that Piggy keeps the conch, which gives permission to speak to its holder, just to keep the other boys from speaking. Then, in the same chapter, Piggy is tasked with collecting the names of all of the younger boys on the island so they could be counted. When he fails to do so and a boy goes missing, Ralph confronts him; “‘I told you to get a list of names!’

““We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us-“ he beamed at Ralph.” (Golding, 16). Piggy is trying to advise Ralph that when the shell is blown, it makes a blare that will attract the boys to converge. In a way, the conch is what brings all the boys together. This shell also epitomizes endowment and ascendancy. “”…I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking.”” (Golding, 33). In this quote, Ralph gives the power to speak through the conch. This concept that Ralph announced gives the boy holding the shell authority for the time being.

Golding uses the glasses as a symbol of common sense and rationality. Both of these qualities are possessed by a civilized human being. Golding shows the glasses as a symbol of power and introduces this when the boys say “His specs, use them as burning glasses” (159). This shows that initially the glasses were used as a piece of tech and symbolic of technological advancement made by man. The glasses also started a fire which was used as a signal to catch the attention of a plane or ship. Throughout the novel, the glasses get soiled by dirt. When Piggy speaks in front of the assembly he finds himself taking off his glasses and wiping them, “Piggy took off his glasses and blinked at the assembly while he wiped them on his shirt.” (38). In this quote, an analysis that can is that as Piggy’s glasses were getting worn out and his vision was less clear the boys also start getting blinded by reason, common sense, and cruelty. Furthermore, it shows that the more rules are broken the dirtier the glasses get. As it is known, the glasses are a sign of power and as the urge to rule spread on the island it became a fight for power. This fight of power lead to jack stealing and breaking Piggy’s glasses, “From his left dangled Piggy’s broken glasses” (131). The glasses had become the most important item on the island and this emphasizes to the reader that society can be destroyed by cruelty if rules

When Ralph finds the conch shell in the coral reef bordering the island, Piggy identifies it and explains to Ralph how to use it. When Ralph examines the item at first he does not know what it is, he has no idea how to use it, or if he can use it to his benefit. Piggy then tells him it is a conch shell and to blow in it to make a loud noise. He did this in attempts to attract other boys that might be on the island with them. Piggy also uses his intelligence to bring the boys’ attention to the fact that “ Nobody knows where [they] are ” (Goulding 34). Piggy is using his knowledge to make the boys realize that they will have to survive on their own. Because of Piggy's intellect, he is able to give the boys a sort of reality check which is a good trait for a

In the novel The Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses Piggy and his glasses to convey that when man and his society become more savage in nature, reasoning and intellect are lost through through the vulnerability of his character. This thought is further exemplified in Hussein Tahiri’s work “We Have Created a World of Civilised Savages” in which the author discusses the modernity and inhumanity of nuclear warfare. In the beginning of the novel, Piggy’s glasses are a beacon of ingenuity on the abundantly fruitful island that the boys land on. Living without authoritative rule, the glasses are a mechanism of reasoning and intellect, and are proudly worn by piggy.

n Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses two boys from the socially rigid country of England to illustrate the idea that, if left unchecked, the animalistic nature that resides deep within human beings will overcome society’s rules and morals. The true ethical nature of the boys becomes more noticeable as time passes. The author uses his characters to symbolize two different aspects of society. Ralph is the example of civilization and democracy, while Jack is the epitome of savagery and animalistic behavior. In addition to his depiction of the main characters, Golding uses different situations to highlight that human nature, free from the constraints of society, draws people away from reason and towards savagery.