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Character study of piggy in lord of the flies
William golding philosophy
Character study of piggy in lord of the flies
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Rationality, as defined by the Oxford dictionary, is the quality or state of being reasonable, based on facts or reason. In William Golding's classic novel, Lord of the Flies, a group of British schoolboys manage to survive a plane crash that eliminates all adult authority from their life. They are forced to learn how to fend for themselves and set up their own society based on what they recall of British civilization. The character referred to as Piggy throughout the novel provides the intellect necessary for survival, yet he is considered an outcast due to his physical condition. Piggy's intelligent suggestions, constant references back to civilization, and symbols associated with Piggy prove that he represents the rational world.
Within the first scene of the novel, Piggy proves that he is quick-witted and insightful. He meets another boy named Ralph on the deserted island, and they begin to speculate about whether or not other boys survived the crash. Ralph stepped into a nearby lagoon and found a shell. Piggy bubbled with excitement as a result and stated, "It's
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a shell! I seen one like that before...A conch he called it. He used to blow it and then his mum would come. It's ever so valuable" (Golding 15). Piggy came up with a practical solution to call boys together. "Ralph found his breath and blew a series of short blasts. Piggy exclaimed: 'There's one!'" (17). Piggy's suggestion enables the boys to come together and call an assembly. All throughout the novel, Piggy provides useful tips that ultimately allow the boys to survive. Piggy was previously accustomed to following rules and is extremely reluctant to abandon the order instilled him by society. He often references his Auntie and the other grownups. After Jack decides to leave the group and go over to Castle Rock, Piggy attempts to encourage Ralph to continue to reason, "I dunno Ralph. We just got to go on, that's all. That's what grownups would do" (139). He realizes that "Grownups know things," (94) that he and the other children simply do not. In his opinion, the adults would simply "Meet and have tea and discuss" (94). They would not partake in their petty arguments and would provide a logical solution for survival and rescue. As the novel progresses, all of the boys begin to look more savage, except for Piggy.
William Golding describes his appearance by declaring, "He [Piggy] was the only boy on the island whose hair never seemed to grow. The rest were shock headed, but Piggy's hair still lay in wisps over his head" (64). Piggy's hair seems to remain short, and thus remains civilized. An additional symbol of civilization and rationalism tied to Piggy is his glasses, which represent clear thinking. The glasses serve as a fire starter and allow Piggy to see. When the glasses break, another link to civilization disappears. "The chief led them, trotting steadily, exulting in his achievement...From his left hand dangled Piggy's broken glasses" (168). When Piggy dies in a graphic scene at the end of the novel, it is said that "His head opened and stuff came out and turned red" (181). This represents the loss of all
civilization. All throughout Lord of the Flies, Piggy proves that he serves as a representation of the rational world and that he is motivated by cogent thinking. Piggy is the most vulnerable child on the island, yet he proves to be one of the most valuable. After a naval officer shows up to rescue the children, Ralph began to weep. William Golding states, "Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy" (202).
"His [Piggy] head opened and stuff came out and turned red. Piggy’s arms and legs twitched a bit, like a pig’s after it has been killed. Then the sea breathed again in a long, slow sigh, the water boiled white and pink over the rock; and when it went, sucking back again, the body of Piggy was gone."
Goldings ideology is first shown through the character Piggy’s attitude and mindset. Piggy has demonstrated that he is the most mature out of all the boys through the way in which he expresses himself and the concern that he has towards the boys’ needs. This statement is supported by Piggy’s statement “ ‘Like kids!’ he said scornfully ‘Acting like a crowd of kids’ ” (pg.38). Here Piggy demonstrates a part of him that makes him bitter and rude. Although Piggy is a kid himself, he gets upset at the boys on the island and yells out “like kids”. This statement shows that Piggy believes that he is superior to the boys on the island and believes that they should
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.
Piggy first finds the conch shell, being the most intelligent of the boys on the island, Piggy knows what the conch is after stumbling upon it and how to use it. Piggy, being physically larger than the other boys and having asthma, is unable to use the conch himself. Piggy hands the shell over to Ralph who, “…grasped the idea and hit the shell with air from his diaphragm. Immediately the thing sounded. A deep, harsh note boomed under the palms…” (Golding 17) Despite the fact Piggy was the one to find the shell, Ralph becomes its main possessor after being the only one to conjure a sound from the shell. Along with being the first to use the shell, Ralph is much more courageous, physically fit, and charismatic than Piggy, qualities shown in a natural-born leader. Ralph indirectly asserts his authority and power over Piggy by being able to blow the conch, in which Piggy cannot. From this point on, Ralph has ownership over the conch, this associates the idea of authority with Ralph’s character altogether. Shortly after the conch shell is blown, young boys of varying ages begin to appear among the palms, as more boys appeared Ralph made it clear that they are in the process of a meeting. The main purpose of the meeting is to find the
the island who wears glasses; this is ironic as he is one of the only
Lord of the Flies, a book written by William Golding, published by Faber and Faber and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature is a story that talks about a group of school age boys who have landed on an unknown / uninhabited island during the second world war. Throughout their stay on the island they find ways to survive, such as finding and hunting for food as well as building basic needs like shelters and a fire. At a certain moment in the book two of the main characters, Ralph and Jack declare a war between each other because Jack refuses to have Ralph as the group’s leader for another second. This then leads to the division of the group as well as many scenes in which one sabotages the other. An example of this is when Jack’s tribe steals
crash, Piggy regretfully tells Ralph what the kids used to call him at school, “
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...
Savagery is brought out in a person when they lose everything else. Lord of the Flies by William Golding shows us that when there is a lack of societal boundaries, animalistic behavior is what will follow. Humanity is destroyed with lack of guidelines or rules.
Once this happened Piggy started to care less and less about the boys and more about his own safety and getting himself off the island with or without the boys. Jack had taken Piggy’s glasses to start his own fire and Piggy was very upset and he took Ralph and the twins over to Jack’s tribe and demanded his glasses back, but Ralph got a little sidetracked so Piggy brought him back. “‘Ralph remember what we came for. The fire. My specs’”(177)
Out of all the boys Piggy is the most reasonable. From the start he already shows a higher sense of maturity than most of the other boys. Piggy says that “we might stay here till we die” the reader can tell that Piggy doesn’t have as much of a false sense of reality like the other boys. I say as much because just before this Piggy asks Ralph “when [his] dad will arrive. This shows that even though Piggy shows some level of maturity he is still young and that shows in his speech.
After Ralph carelessly reveal the nickname “Piggy” to the others it triggered all the boys, "even the tiniest," to laugh which sets up Piggy to be the brunt of jokes and bullying. As the story develops, Piggy demonstrates time after time that he is able to contribute to the group mentally. For an example, Piggy suggested that they should construct the signal fire on the beach instead of the top of the mountain after Jack formed his own tribe. Piggy’s wisdom and intelligence begins to become obvious to Ralph but to the rest of the group, Piggy is still thought as weak and useless; it seems that the only time anyone speaks to piggy it involves an insult of some sort.
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
Stranded on the island, with the vast ocean separating them from civilization, the boys are free of restrictions from their old life. Although at first, some characters recall the protocols they were taught previously, manners are gradually forgotten. Numerous times, Piggy remembers his aunt, and says, “My auntie told me not to run,” as if even from miles away, Piggy had to abide by her commands regardless (Golding 9). However later, he acknowledges his freedom from authority, pausing mid-sentence at “My auntie—” (12). Piggy then stripped off his windbreaker, a significant act of defiance of authority in his perspective. Golding also portrays the lack of constraints on the boys by referring to the island with negative connotations. Despite its external beauty, he calls the island a ‘scar’ to represent the patch created when the plane tore through the forest. This
In Golding’s book, Lord of the Flies, Piggy learns to stand up for himself and have more self-confidence which is a positive change. Piggy is shy and weary of his actions in the beginning but as the story progresses the troubles and responsibilities of being stranded on the island causes his self-confidence and self-esteem to grow.