The Importance of Piggy in Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Piggy’s appearance makes him appear ill suited to be on a deserted island, let alone acting as the leader of one. Piggy is fat and has glasses which makes him seem much less charismatic than Ralph. Ralph has a lean physique and no physical hindrances such as

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.

A character in a novel can represent a larger idea in society. In William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, each character is illustrated to represent a larger idea in society. Ralph represents democracy, Jack represents savagery, and Piggy represents a scientific approach.

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

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

One can see by examining why the boys bully Piggy, that cowering behind the mask of society and belonging, humans are inherently evil.

Piggy’s personality and beliefs also connect him to the “adult world” in this novel. He wants to enforce rules so that everything is in a set order. He shows his organization and order through the use of the conch. Piggy had the brilliant idea that when you have the conch only you can talk. This made it so that he and others would have a chance to talk and the others would listen. The conch also is a big form of unity as it requires them to gather. Piggy realizes quickly that they need to stick together if they want to

     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

Lord of the Flies presented many changes that the boys underwent as they adapted to the island and freedom from society. The four main characters reacted differently on certain individuals under those circumstances. Jack begins as an arrogant leader of a choir. However, the freedom the island presented caused Jack to develop the dark side of his personality as the Chief of a group of savages. Ralph started as a very assured boy whose self-confidence was only a result of being well liked by his peers. When Ralph refuses to join the society of savage boys, Ralph is forced him to fend for himself. Piggy was a well-educated boy who had grown up as an outcast. Due to his academic childhood, he was more mature than the other boys and kept up his civilized behaviour for the majority of the novel. But his experiences on the island gave him a realistic understanding of just how cruel humans can be. Roger’s character traits become

The classic book Lord of the Flies written by William Golding is a story of a group of schoolboys being stranded on a tropical island during World War II. The three main boys are Jack, Ralph, and Piggy, but there are other boys with them on the island. As the book progresses, our group of protagonists slowly lose their morality and become wild savages. In the story there are three specific pig hunts the group has that canonize their steps to insanity. On the first hunt, three boys come across a piglet caught in the vines. The boys attempt to kill it, but the piglet escapes. During the second hunt, a larger group of boys run into a wild boar, which also escapes. On the third hunt, the groups hunters find a sow feeding her piglets. The boys slaughter the pig and put its head on a pike. Ultimately, the piglet, boar, and sow hunt slowly show the boy's madness progress. This helps to portray Golding’s theme that there is a darkness in every man’s heart.

In the novel the boys are removed from civilization and must learn to think for themselves. The character of Piggy is used to represent goodness and civilization. While the boys on the island must learn to govern themselves and freely choose their actions, Piggy’s naturally mature instincts, ingrained by civilization, begin to rationalize the situation and how the boys can work together to survive. Piggy’s beliefs and values were modeled on that of the authoritative adult world, what he assumed to be best. He enjoys contributing to a working civilization and for the good of society: “Piggy was […] so full of pride in his contribution to the good of society […] that he helped to fetch wood.” (8.118). Piggy’s human defect lies less in the recline into savagery, but rather his meekness to speak up for the greater good of the society. His intellect approach to life, modeled by the attitudes and rules of the adult world, is something he believes everyone should share. He is however weak and lacks the courage to stand up to the growing evil on the island. At castle rock Piggy attempts to stand up for himself against Jack after having his glasses stolen but he is unsuccessful. He

Piggy is able to reason and think things through in a logical, sensible way. For example, while the others want to play, Piggy realizes that the group needs a plan to survive. He attempts to explain to the group that shelters are the next logical step. Piggy tells the group, “How can you expect to be rescued if you don’t put first things first and act proper?” ( 45). Ralph acknowledges Piggy’s ability to think sensibly when Ralph finds himself alone, being hunted by Jack, and not knowing what to do. Ralph states, “There was no Piggy to talk sense.” (196). It is at this moment when Ralph truly realizes Piggy’s

The first instance where Piggy is shown to be different than the other boys is in his looks.. Piggy states in the first chapter, “I was the only boy in our school what had asthma. And I’ve been wearing specs since I was three”. (9) This shows that from the start Piggy stood out for he had the distinct characteristics of wearing and needing glasses. Piggy is also a chubbier kid than the rest of the boys which causes the boys to act differently around him

Lennie from Of Mice and Men and Piggy from Lord of the Flies, both illustrate the theme that some individuals may appear incompetent but actually are very competent. In both of the novels, the boys’ assets are doubted. For Piggy, he is useful for rational thinking but that is overpowered by his weak ability. With that being said, his rational thought is benefitted for the group. For example, on page 25 to 26, Golding depicts Piggy to be perceived as weaker to the boys when it came to deciding who would go on the trip to find more boys.

First of all, Piggy is especially smart for his age. He often has the most reasonable ideas besides Ralph. Moreover, also just like Ralph, he wants to keep order even though no one would listen to him as he is not like the others. Piggy often comes up with ideas, alongside Ralph of course, but they would just tell him to be quiet—despite the fact that someone may come up with a similar idea or take his idea as their own. Finally, Piggy is by far the smartest on the island even though most of the boys refuse to hear what he had to say.