Piggy's Quest For Survival In Lord Of The Flies

720 Words2 Pages

The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a story about a time of war, where a group of boys crash on an island, and must live upon each other until rescue, if any arrives. The boys form a group, similar to a society, to establish order and attempt to dissolve the horror of dying without rescue. To accomplish this, they establish Ralph as the leader in the hope that he will lead the group to rescue and help them return home. Being one of the main characters, Piggy should be known as the "brain" of the island; he is the only person who has the type of sense that salvation requires. Beginning, Piggy is a seemingly physically short and overweight individual. His vision depends entirely on the glasses (or "specs" as he calls them) that rest …show more content…

He expresses the immeasurable potential that he has, such as his intellect and knowledge, and uses its advantages to disband diverse conflicts and disputes. For example, numerous times he has tried to persuade the savages to return their attention to what the ultimate goal has been from the beginning: rescue. One of his arguments is asking the savages what would be better between killing each other or following the established laws for the sake of rescue. Piggy, being a child himself, even has the nerve to accuse all of the savages of acting similar to that of children (137). Thus, it reveals Piggy's symbolism of being the intellect of society. Using his power of knowledge, he seems to act as a mature adult in civilized society: the ones that can segregate the immature from the mature. Their savagery and, not to mention they are still short of the adolescence stage, describe their characteristics similar to that of …show more content…

Throughout a variety of events in the story, Piggy experiences a lack of ability to control his self-esteem and confidence. His intellect is indeed useful for solving challenging problems and developing new ideas, though when it comes to bullying and hate, he fails to respond. With the pressure of harassment and bullying, it's hard to handle. An example of his dilemma is during the confrontation of Jack by Ralph when Piggy's glasses fly off of his face with force (credits to Jack). In an embarrassing and unsuccessful effort to intimidate Jack, Piggy about trying to reveal what he would do to Jack for revenge (55). This event is highly significant towards who Piggy is because it shows that even though he is the "brain" and overall "adult-like" person on the island, he and his rational thoughts still experience social and peer

Show More
Related

  • Lord Of The Flies Character Analysis Piggy

    361 Words  | 1 Pages

    Piggy is also very intimidated by boys like Jack and Roger. For example, when Jack tells Piggy to shut up “Piggy [wilts]”and this shows that his confidence always seems to go down whenever boys like Jack are

    Read More

  • Piggy's Glasses Analysis

    821 Words  | 2 Pages

    Piggy is the only one on the island who can see clearly, his glasses portray that for him. Piggy’s glasses do not only help him literally see, but they also help with clarity and staying focused on the task at hand, “Ralph remember what we came for. The fire. My specs” (Golding 177). Piggy is reminding Ralph of their task at Castle Rock, to get the specs and the fire back. Piggy is focused on the task at hand and wants to get the job done the way he in visions it. He wants to get the job done and he wants to get out of there. Piggy is bringing clarity to the boys, “Which is better-to be a pack of painted indians like you are, or to be sensible like Ralph is? ...rules and agree or hunt and kill? ...law and rescue or hunting and breaking things up?” (Golding 180). Piggy is trying to talk sense into the savages and he is making them reflect on their actions comparing them to both camps. He is trying to bring common sense back into the boys. He is helping them see what they have done because their vision is a little blurred from being on the island for so long. Piggy realizes the situation is getting tense and tells his camp and Ralph that it is time to take care of the situation. Piggy takes over at the assembly and puts jack in his place , “I just take the conch to say this. I can’t see no more and I got to get my glasses back. Awful things has been done on this island. I voted for you for chief. He’s the only one who ever got anything done. So now you speak, Ralph, and tell us what. Or else –” (Golding 170). The da...

    Read More

  • Why Is Piggy Wrong In Lord Of The Flies

    468 Words  | 1 Pages

    Piggy was a moral person and an uncorrupted person for his time on the island. he was moral because he believed in guidelines and weighed each decision he made with what the rest of society would say. He was moral because of this and never would he stray from what was moral or good in society so he would be mostly correct. Piggy had very strong ideas. when everyone else was starting out on the island, the rest of the worlds rules were with them. everyone slowly was drawn away from

    Read More

  • Piggy Change In Lord Of The Flies

    463 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the beginning of Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Piggy is seen as a weak and cowardly character, allowing the boys to walk over him. Throughout the book, he becomes more confident. For example, one instance where Piggy is seen as insecure is at the first meeting on the island. Piggy tells Ralph, another fellow survivor, that he doesn’t want anybody to call him Piggy. Later, after using a conch to summon the boys to the area, Ralph reveals Piggy’s name. Instead of insisting that Piggy is not what he wanted to be called, the book states that “he went very pink, bowed his head, and cleaned his glasses again” (Golding 21). This change is negative because Piggy is them to call him by this name he didn’t want.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Outcast In Lord Of The Flies

    1161 Words  | 3 Pages

    He shows this through Piggy's appearances, personality, and morals. Piggy’s physical description is an enormous factor in the book. Although his physical appearance doesn't change throughout the book it continues to affect him until the end. In the beginning

    Read More

  • Piggy's Turning Point

    1092 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lord of The Flies, written by William Golding is an action packed novel written in 1954. The novel starts off with one of the main characters, Ralph, stranded on an island, with no idea of what happened and not a clue if he is the only one there. Later he meets a character named Piggy, who is one of the more interesting characters because he is different from all of the other boys in contrast to his physical appearance. Ralph and Piggy meet up they find a conch shell, this is one of the most important items found in the novel that symbolizes lots of things later on. They carry on to meet up with all of the other boys and decide to form a government, the idea was given by Ralph, whoever was holding the conch should be the only one speaking and

    Read More

  • Lord Of The Flies

    1578 Words  | 4 Pages

    The lord of the flies is a book about a group of boys stranded on a tropical island to illustrate the evil characters of mankind. Lord of the Flies dealt with changes that the boys go through as they gradually got use to the stranded freedom from the outside world. Three main characters pictured different effects on the other boys. Jack Merridew began as the bossy and arrogant leader of a choir. The freedom of the island allowed him to further develop the darker side of his personality as the Chief of a savage tribe. Ralph started as a self-assured boy whose confidence in him came from the approval of the others. He was kind as he was willing to listen to Piggy. He became increasingly dependent on Piggy's wisdom and became lost in the confusion around him. Towards the end of the story when he was kicked out of the savage boys he was forced to live without Piggy and live by himself. Piggy was an educated boy that was more mature than the others, that was used to being picked on. His experiences on the island were a reality check of how extreme people can be with their words.

    Read More

  • Cruelty In Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

    676 Words  | 2 Pages

    Piggy tries to do what’s best for everyone. He was the ‘word of reason.’ But since nobody respected him, he was never given power. The author states, “ ‘I got the conch,’ said Piggy indignantly. ‘You let me speak!’ ‘The conch doesn’t count on top of the mountain,’ said Jack. ‘So you shut up.’ ‘... I got the conch!’ Jack turned fiercely. ‘You shut up!’ Piggy wilted.” (Golding 42.) Jack treats Piggy as if he is unimportant. All characters show cruelty towards Piggy one way or another. Because Piggy has the mentality of an adult, the boys refuse to listen since they want their freedom. The author indicates, “... Roger with a sense of delirious abandonment, leaned all

    Read More

  • Losing Blindnessing In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

    833 Words  | 2 Pages

    Logical and reasoned, Piggy, is tormented by the other boys for being rational. Piggy realizes that he is different and tries to use his gift for the well being of the group. Although, Jack does not like how Piggy is analytical and tries to move Piggy out of the way of himself being the chief. At one point in the novel, Piggy is scared to come out from behind his reasonable thinking and out into the chaotic island, “Piggy peered anxiously into the luminous veil that hung between him and the world” (Golding 174). This shows that Piggy knows he is in hot water due to all of his thinking and trying to make other pre adolescent boys to see reason. Even amid a fight between Jack and Ralph, Piggy reminds Ralph, “‘Ralph remember what we came for. The fire. My specs.’” (Golding 177). The aforementioned dialogue shows

    Read More

  • Lord Of The Flies Literary Analysis Essay

    1004 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lord of the Flies is a novel written by William Golding in 1954 about a group of young British boys who have been stranded alone together on an island with no adults. During the novel the diverse group of boys struggle to create structure within a society that they constructed by themselves. Golding uses many unique literary devices including characterization, imagery, symbolism and many more. The three main characters, Ralph, Piggy, and Jack are each representative of the three main literary devices, ethos, logos, and pathos. Beyond the characterization the novel stands out because of Golding’s dramatic use of objective symbolism, throughout the novel he uses symbols like the conch, fire, and Piggy’s glasses to represent how power has evolved and to show how civilized or uncivilized the boys are acting. It is almost inarguable that the entire novel is one big allegory in itself, the way that Golding portrays the development of savagery among the boys is a clear representation of how society was changing during the time the novel was published. Golding is writing during

    Read More

  • Why Is Piggy A Good Leader

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    Piggy’s leadership in the novel is portrayed as knowledgeable but lacks confidence from time to time. Piggy is shown to be a potential leader because of his wisdom. He portrays knowledge from time to time, for example, “We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us-” (12). This exhibits his knowledge of the art of survival. Even though in the novel, Piggy is shown as the weak link, his wisdom out powers his flaws. Although Piggy has lots of wisdom which makes him a potential leader, he lacks confidence. “Piggy opened his mouth to speak, caught Jack’s eye and shut it again.” (42) This proves that Piggy lacks confidence because he is afraid to express his thoughts. He would rather not contribute to a conversation than be laughed at his ideas. However Piggy does see the importance of having priorities. Specifically, when he says, “How can you expect to be rescued if you don’t put first things first and act proper.” (45) The quote proves that Piggy prioritizes the needs of his pee...

    Read More

  • Piggy as the Adult Figure of Lord of the Flies

    1279 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first point proving how Piggy represents the rational adult figure on the island is how his approach on surviving is that of what an adult would do. At the beginning of the book, Piggy maturely takes on the job of writing down the names of all the children. He also “moved among the crowd, asking names and frowning to remember them” (14). Through the eyes o...

    Read More

  • The Character Piggy in Lord of the Flies

    1383 Words  | 3 Pages

    Piggy's literal function in this novel is to be the intellectual and logical thinker to counteract the emotional thinking of the other boys. From the beginning, Piggy viewed everything logically. He quickly came to the realization that the boys may be on the island for a long time, when he told Ralph "Nobody don't know we're here. Your dad don't know, nobody don't know" (9), contrary to Ralph's assumption that his father, who happened to be a naval officer, would simply come and rescue them. While Ralph became the natural leader based on his charisma, "what intelligence had been shown was traceable to Piggy" (18/19). However, it is unfortunate that this intelligence eventually led Piggy to his demise. Piggy's direct way of analyzing a situation and voicing his opinion tended to make him quite un...

    Read More

  • What Is Piggy Fat

    180 Words  | 1 Pages

    The next quote will describe how Piggy looks like. “Piggy wore the remains of a pair of shorts, his fat body was golden brown, and the glasses still flashed when he looked at anything” (Golding 64). This quote shows how Piggy looks different from the rest of the guys because Golding describes him as fat and he has glasses. None of the other guys have glasses, which shows how special Piggy is. Him being fat is the main reason reason why Jack bullies him because Piggy can’t hunt and he is very lazy. In chapter four Jack uses Piggy’s specs to create smoke and later on they play a big role in their survival. After the boys found out they could make fire with the glasses, they don’t bully Piggy as much about his glasses, but more about his appearance.

    Read More

  • Lord of the Flies: Literary Analysis

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the novel, Piggy represents intelligence and rationality because of how he thoroughly thinks through all situations that he faces and due to his exceptional ability to create simple solutions to any problem. At very beginning of the novel, shortly after emerging from the wreckage of the crashed plane, Piggy and Ralph first meet each other. As the pair walk along the beach, Ralph finds a conch, which gives Piggy the idea of using the conch to “‘call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us’” (Golding 16). Even after the initial shock of crash-landing on a presumably deserted island, Piggy is able to gather his wits and realize that their best chance of survival to gather all the boys and get some kind of organization established. Although Ralph found the conch initially, he was only attracted to it because it looked like “a worthy plaything” (16). Piggy however, unlike Ralph, immediately thought up a novel idea of how to use the conch to better their situation, by using it to gather everyone else, and to assess the overall predicament they found themselves in. Piggy was focused on long-term survival and sustainability rather than the short-term entertainment that the conch presented. People who have high levels of intelligence often possess extremely rational thinking methods. The Beast had begun to terrorize the mountain, particularly in the vicinity ...

    Read More

More about Piggy's Quest For Survival In Lord Of The Flies

Open Document