William Golding Piggy

“The chief led them, trotting steadily, exulting in his achievement. He was a chief now in truth; and he made stabbing motions with his spear. From his left hand dangled Piggy’s broken glasses.”(William Golding pg 302.) Never had Piggy changed the way he based his perspective on the reality of the situation. The intellectual approach of Piggy’s life is compared as an adult and he cannot think as the others do or even value what they value. Once the boys had killed Piggy, both of their symbols of civilization were crushed and washed away,

Freed from the conditions of a regulated society, Jack gradually became more violent and the rules and proper behaviour by which he was brought up were forgotten. The freedom given to him unveiled his true self under the clothing worn by civilized people to hide his darker characteristics.<br><br>Ralph was introduced as a fair and likeable boy whose self-assured mad him feel secure even on the island without any adults. His interaction with Piggy demonstrated his pleasant nature as he did not call him names with hateful intent as Jack had. His good physique allowed him to be well accepted among his peers, and this gave him enough confidence to speak out readily in public. His handsome features and the conch as a symbol of power and order pointed him out from the crowd of boys and proclaimed him Chief. "There was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerful, there was the conch." (p. 24) From the quick decisions he made as Chief near the beginning of the novel, it could be seen that Ralph was well-organized. But even so, Ralph began repeatedly to long and daydream of his civilized and regular past. Gradually, Ralph became confused and began to lose clarity in his thoughts and speeches. "Ralph was puzzled by the shutter that flickered in his brain. There was something he wanted to say; then the shutter had come

When the group were discussing about the fire, Piggy says, “ ‘Cos the smoke's a signal and we can't be rescued if we don't have smoke” (173). Piggy is working to help out the boys by trying to inform them about their situation, and how they can fix it together. Piggy is the voice of reason out of all the boys by telling them how things will affect them as a group, and that is just like how the superego tells the ego on how the action will influence society. Piggy always wants what is best for the group, and wants them all to get off the island safely. When the group decided to move the fire from the mountain, Golding describes, “Piggy was so full of delight and expanding liberty in Jack's departure, so full of pride in his contribution to the good of society, that he helped to fetch wood” (129). Piggy wants to guide the boys on the right path of survival, and enjoys when he is able to help. His involvement in book by helping Ralph and the other boys is based on the focus of the superego to help the needs of society.

Society tends to base one’s judgement on more of a physical build rather than an intellectual mindset. Piggy begins to be bullied to an extent that his glasses have been shattered by the other boys. Although everyone tends to bully his physicality, which is his lack of a good eyesight, what should matter more to the group is the insight he can provide. Even as seen in his final death scene, “The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (181), we see that the conch throughout the novel, has shown to represent pure government structure. And because Piggy and the conch were both destroyed, society turned into complete chaos. His death is not only symbolic of the end to civilization, but also the way he died was quick and almost meaningless. Piggy died protecting what he believed was right, and his death represents the intellectuals of society who are completely shunned by more dominant figures, which in this case is Ralph. He pursued what he believed was right, however, Jack’s group of boys

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

Imagine a world without order. A world with no leadership—no rationality whatsoever. Take Ralph's character away from the equation and William Golding's Lord of the Flies would be just that—chaos. Being the protagonist of the novel, Ralph is the major representative of civilization, order, and productive leadership. If it weren't for Ralph's coordination, determination, and logical thinking, the boys would never be rescued, and would eventually die. As the novel progresses, Ralph's self-confidence is gradually chipped away, leaving him only enough strength to fight for the one person who should matter most—himself.

From the first chapter in the story, the boys search for a higher authority to follow. On the first page of the book, Piggy inquires about the whereabouts of “The Man with the Megaphone.” It can be assumed that he is referring to the gentleman who would have been directing them as they were boarding the aircraft that crashed. When Ralph informs him that he has not seen the man, Piggy inquiries as to whether or not there is any sort of adult on the island. The significance of this is that from the very first page of the novel, the author shows the reader that the children need to have a level of leadership to follow. Due to the lack of adult figures, the children must attempt to create their own basic

All throughout the story Ralph shows us heroic qualities like: blowing the conch and having all the boys run to him. It shows that the boys look up to him as their hero to get them off the island. Even at at the end when all the boys chased him down trying to kill them. He still lead them all right to the naval officer. Showing us that he is the true hero of the story. At least Ralph stayed moral that meant he could live with himself without the weight of a person's death on his

Piggy urges Ralph to use what power he has left by calling a meeting: “’What’s grown-ups going to say?’ cried Piggy again…The sound of mock hunting, hysterical laughter, and real terror came from the beach. ‘Blow the conch, Ralph...You got to be tough now. Make ‘em do what you want.’ Ralph answered in the cautious voice of one who rehearses a theorem. ‘If I blow the conch and they don’t come back; then we’ve had it. We shan’t keep the fire going. We’ll be like animals. We’ll never be rescued.’” In this situation, Piggy is still worried about the punishment of his previous life. He is the closest thing to an adult on the island, and Ralph is the only one who advocates listening to him, illustrating Ralph’s connection to the rules of traditional civilization, which the other boys despise and want to escape through the island. After showing blatant disregard to their “chief’s” rules, they decide to escape the constraints of Ralph’s assemblies and embrace their inner savagery with Jack. Piggy urges Ralph to blow the conch, the symbol of his power throughout the book, but Ralph understands that his form of leadership is becoming the less desirable option to the boys: if he calls an assembly and the other boys do not respond, its power, and his civilization, will have completely disintegrated. Ralph constantly emphasizes their responsibilities on the island—specifically, tending to the signal fire.

Aylon Kushnir Mr. Misasi ENG2D 2016-03-09 In the novel William Golding, numerous characters represent various principles. Ralph’s character represents civilization, leadership, and order. Piggy’s character is the depiction of intelligence and logic. Finally, Jack represents disorder, arrogance and savagery.

Civilization plays a major role in shaping lives. It controls an individual’s behavior, manners, and way of living. It plays an especially important role in the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, which is about a group of British boys who are stranded on a deserted island without any adult supervision. Immediately after landing on the island, the boys develop basic rules to keep order and elect one amongst themselves, Ralph, as chief.. The boys are then faced with challenges, inciting a deep fear of a beast inhabiting the island. This contributes to the breakdown of their society. Slowly, the youths lose their roots of a civilized society and by the end of the novel, most of the boys do not recognize themselves. Throughout the story, many boys develop negative changes, demonstrating the profound effects a lack of society can have on a people.

Imagine you are a twelve-year-old and you are on an abandoned island with a bunch of kids your age, you have an abundance of great ideas but, because you are not built and muscular no one heeds your advice, that is exactly how the character Piggy felt. First, Piggy has no qualities that kids stranded on a deserted island view as useful. Secondly, all of the character, with the exception of Piggy, adhere the principle of survival of the fittest in order to survive. Finally, Piggy is used to is used to demonstrate the idea that humanity is reliant on power to escalate their country instead of trying to advance their country through science and mathematics. The character, Piggy, is part of a broader spectrum that one might not pick up on the first interpretation of the novel.

Piggy also attempts to use the conch, but he cannot figure out how to make noise with it. He needs Ralph’s confidence and charisma as a leader to command the attention of the others. His leadership qualities are apparent when he assigns people jobs, delegating work to create a functioning civil society. He takes the initiative to

Piggy acts as a conscience when rumors of ghost and monsters are spread, and he ends the gossip by explaining ghosts are not logical or scientific, meaning they do not exist. Piggy uses his smarts to make sundials for the boys to keep track of the time, and with Ralph’s combination of leadership, the two boys begin to form what looks like the beginnings of a civilized camp. Civilization exists in the children, as they follow Ralph’s initial commands and help build the first shelter. They don not fully understand why they act civil, but their morals passed on by parents or self growth guide them during the first portion of the book. Golding uses the combination of Ralph and Piggy to show the roots of civilization, and the peace that morals bring, and the other boys to show the balance factor of feeling obligated to act civil. They use law as a protective companion, making rules for only speaking when holding the conch, to prevent yelling and fights. Jack even shows a civil side to his mind, when first establishing their camp, crying out, "We’ll have rules! Lot’s of rules!" (33) The fact that Golding would show that Jack, the symbol of savagery, has some civil thoughts, indicates that he is conveying the idea that civilization exists in even the most immoral people. Jack retains a sense of moral propriety and behavior that society leaves impressed on a person. Rodger, the

From this point on, the change in the leadership brings with it the transformation of the boys from ordered society to savages. Through the downfall of Ralph’s leadership and the resulting descent into savagery, Golding is able to reveal how the dark side of human nature can prevail. Golding’s character Piggy portrays the voice of reasoning and logic and his glasses symbolize his wisdom. Ralph recognizes Piggy’s ability to think with clarity and soon depends upon him in his role as leader. Piggy’s idea to use the conch to assemble all the survivors leads to Ralph’s election as leader. Ralph uses Piggy’s ideas for building shelter and Piggy’s glasses to ignite the signal 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 the rotten wood” (30). Golding shows his pessimistic view of human nature as Piggy, whose ideas and logical thoughts have been so important to the