Lord Of The Flies Piggy Pessimism

In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, a party of English boys are stranded on an island and are torn between the strain of survival and the burdens of getting rescued. Piggy, one of the boys, is remarkably pessimistic yet works diligently to integrate democracy into group discussions. When Piggy and Ralph, one of the older boys, go for a swim, Ralph attempts to comfort his new friend by hoping that his father may come to the rescue. Piggy was swift to exclaim that “[Ralph’s] dad does not know [they are here] … [and that] nobody knows where [they] are” (14). Piggy dismisses Ralph’s optimism and the cheerful possibility of Ralph’s father to come rescue them and instills a feeling of pessimism and despair that no one knows where they are and that there are no potential rescuers.

Piggy is hasty to dismiss any of Ralph’s hopes of being rescued and nurtures his own spirit of pessimism by alluding to the gloomy possibility that they will not be saved and will die on the island. After the boys fail to set up a smoky fire on the mountain, Piggy remarked that the boys’ efforts are “[not of] any use [and that they] could [not] keep a fire like that going” (42). Rather than being sanguine and encouraging the boys to keep trying till they succeed, Piggy criticizes the boys’ honest efforts as useless and spreads his negative spirit of despair by informing the boys that their task is unsustainable even if achieved. During a circle discussion after the forest burnt down, Piggy reminds the boys who frequently interrupt him that “[he] has the conch [and that he] has the right to speak” (44). Piggy’s self-defense of his freedom of expression and speech demonstrates that Piggy sincerely believes in these crucial elements of