Piggys Presence in The Lord of the Flies - Essay Example

?I. The difference Piggy’s presence makes in the island. Although in the novel, The Lord of the Flies, the main protagonist is Ralph, his friend Piggy actually plays a very important role in the entire development of the story’s plot. Piggy is the actual brain behind Ralph’s leadership. Piggy can be likened to the wind beneath Ralph’s wings. Without Piggy, the conch shell found by Ralph is nothing but a debris and the boys would not have found each other and gathered together to elect Ralph as their leader. Essentially, if Piggy were not on the island, the boys would be left wandering aimlessly on the island, not knowing who else had survived the crash. The boys would be like the primitive people who first walked on land, unorganized and to each his own. Because of Piggy’s bright idea to use the conch shell to call other survivors to where they are, Ralph succeeds in gathering the boys and organizing them into a democratic government where Ralph was elected as their leader. The boys have direct participation in their government and everyone has the right to speak; whoever is holding the conch shell has the right to speak. They hold regular meetings to know the sentiments of the members of the group and to inform everyone about the rules that everyone must follow to achieve order in the island. Through Ralph, Piggy worked to maintain their civilized ways in the islands and organized the boys to maintain the fire so that they can be rescued. Piggy was ridiculed because of his appearance: he was fat, balding and wears glasses like an old man. And yet, it was the same set of glasses which gave the boys their hope of rescue. Piggy’s glasses light the fire that serves as their signal for help. Without Piggy and his glasses, the boys would not be able to light a fire unless they learn the primitive ways of lighting fires by scratching rocks or wood. And given their young age, it is very unlikely that any of them have that knowledge and strength to create a fire without the lenses. In essence, Piggy is not only a symbol for science and reason. He is also a symbol of hope. His personality, his ideas, and his personal possessions are necessary for the boys’ initial survival in the island. But when the boys led by Jack started to turn towards savagery, Piggy started to lose importance to them. They no longer needed to think; they just act according to their basic instincts. Their loss of interest in reason is symbolized by the destruction of Piggy’s glasses and later, the murder of Piggy. Piggy’s death signifies that Jack and his savage tribe is totally abandoning reason and has turned towards the primitive ways of living solely on basic instincts. Although Piggy was eliminated in the island, his presence in their initial existence there makes a great difference. Without Piggy, the story would have gone a totally different path. Perhaps, the boys would just be wandering aimlessly into the jungle or by the beach until one finds another survivor. It could take years before one boy sees another survivor on the island. And when that time comes, each of them could have been totally turned savage and killed each other before they have the chance to shake hands like civilized people do. Or worse, each of the boys, alone and helpless in an unknown jungle, would just become prey to the wild predators or be killed by venomous animals and the novel would just tell the story of how each of them is killed in the jungle. II. Comparison of two characters in The Lord of the Flies William Golding’s novel, The Lord of the Flies, is filled with symbolisms and carries a deep political and sociological statement. Each of the characters has distinguishable features and represents an aspect of society in the real world. The boys are mirrors of the sectors of society and how they interact with each other both in a system of order and of chaos. Among the four characters in the novel, I choose Ralph and Piggy. I like these two boys because they refused to join Jack in his savage ways. Both Piggy and Jack want to be rescued and return to the civilized world. Both are intelligent and used their brains in order to make their stay in the island bearable and still within the lines of the civilized ways. Together, Piggy and Ralph tried to bring order in the island. While Ralph was the natural leader, Piggy was the natural “adult” in the group. Finally, both Piggy and Ralph remained true to their morality and desire to return to civilization. However, the two also have their differences. First, while Ralph is athletic and elected as a leader, Piggy is fat, asthmatic, wears glasses and is considered as an outsider of the group. Second, Ralph is physically active and spends his time building huts and maintaining the fire in order to be rescued while Piggy is kind of lazy who is “so full of pride in his contribution to the good of society, that he helped to fetch wood." (p.118) Third, the character of Piggy symbolizes rationality and science while the character of Ralph symbolizes authority and social order. Piggy is the symbol of science and the intellectual sector of society. Like Piggy, they always try to rationalize the things and events around them and they refuse to believe in things that cannot be explained by reason. Just like Piggy, they are often misunderstood and considered as outsiders of society. Piggy’s presence in the island signifies the boys’ use of reason. When he was killed, the boys were essentially abandoning reason in favor of primitive savagery. In the words of K.M. Parivelan, “With Piggy's death, the remaining not only get degenerated, but completely devoid of human control that comes from rational awareness.” On the other hand, Ralph was the symbol of authority in a democratic government. Ralph leads the boys in a democratic way when he makes the rule that whoever is holding the shell has the right to speak. And like all democratic governments which are vulnerable to attack, Ralph was deposed in a power struggle with Jack. Only Piggy remained by his side and in the end, he was left alone and had to survive by himself and defend himself from Jack’s tribe. Piggy’s death and Ralph’s change of status from a leader to a hunted enemy is a mirror of society’s wars. These wars could be caused by political, economic or racial differences. But the bottom line of it all is the inherent evil that is in all men. Both in the island and in the real world, people suffer because of this evil. As explained by Golding himself, "So the boys try to construct a civilization on the island; but it breaks down in blood and terror because the boys are suffering from the terrible disease of being human." References: Burris, S.H. (1999) "[W]hat makes things break up like they do?" Alternative Explanations for the Societal Breakdown in William Golding's Lord of the Flies  Golding, W. The Lord of the Flies. Parivelan, K. M.  A Critical Analysis of the Psychological Insights in Lord of the Flies by William Golding Piggy his glasses represent the power of science and intellectual endeavor in society. Piggy represents the scientific and intellectual aspects of civilization. the most intelligent, rational boy in the group Fat, asthmatic boy with glasses he is scientific and skeptical constantly refers to the old way of life builds the sundial an intellectual who lacks social skills, he is an outsider. He is the voices of reason Ralph Ralph represents order, leadership, and civilization. Elected the leader of the boys at the beginning of the novel, Ralph is the primary representative of order, civilization, and productive leadership in the novel. Ralph sets about building huts and thinking of ways to maximize their chances of being rescued. Ralph is left alone to be hunted by Jack’s tribe. most of the boys except Piggy leave Ralph’s group for Jack’s, Ralph’s commitment to civilization and morality is strong his main wish is to be rescued and returned to the society of adults. As the novel progresses, however, Ralph, like Simon, comes to understand that savagery exists within all the boys Quote from the book: "The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist." - William Golding, Lord of the Flies, Ch. 11 Read More