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Karlee Duncan
Mrs. Werner
Lit. and Comp. II Honors
10 April 2014
Lord of the Flies Literary Analysis
Imagine an island run by young boys without a single adult... In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, an English plane with a group of young boys crashes on an unknown island in the midst of World War II. The pilots are dead, so there are no adults, and the boys are forced to begin governing themselves. The young boys are forced with the conflict of working towards creating a civilization or succumbing to chaos, violence, and savagery. Eventually the boys decide on a leader and split up into different roles on the island. Ralph is appointed as the leader, and Piggy assumes the position as his “lieutenant.” Over time tension grows among the boys, and savagery begins taking over. In Lord of the Flies, Piggy represents the rational and intellectual side of civilization.
In the beginning of the novel, Piggy is very passive while assisting Ralph, and his intellect often leads to innovation and civility among the boys. Piggy is organized in his thinking, and he always has his focus on the best way to increase their chances of survival and civility. Before all of the boys are gathered together, Piggy and Ralph begin evaluating the situation, and Piggy gives Ralph a conch shell that he discovers. "'We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They'll come when they hear us--' He beamed at Ralph. 'That was what you meant, didn't you? That's why you got the conch out of the water?'" (16). Piggy is always one step ahead of the others, and his strategic thought processes lead to great innovation, such as later on in the novel when he creates a makeshift sundial to help the boys tell time. Without Piggy, the others wouldn't h...
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... across the the square red rock in the sea. His head opened and stuff came out and turned red. Piggy's arms and legs twitched a bit, like a pigs after it has been killed" (181). Piggy's dead, the conch is smashed, and all order on the island is officially gone. Without the conch, there is no assembly or organization of the boys, and with Piggy gone, the rationality of the boys and their intellect has vanished. Throughout the novel, Piggy represents order and civility, and when he's gone, the whole island is permanently changed.
In Lord of the Flies, Piggy symbolizes the intellect of society and order of the boys creating their own civilization. Throughout the novel, Piggy progresses as a leader and innovator, but when he dies, all hopes for withstanding savagery are lost. Along with the loss of Piggy, the boys lose their last connection to the adult world.
Ralph, the first character introduced to the audience, is probably the most likable character in the entire story. Although he does not ponder such deeply like Piggy, is not as spiritual like Simon, or as energetic as Jack, there is something in him that attracts the audience. Ralph serves as the protagonist of the story. He is described as being a playful, innocent child in the beginning, but towards the end he matures significantly. In the first chapter where he takes his clothes off and goes swimming like any child would do, he seems to be Adam in the Garden of Eden, a child left to play with the nature.
..., the biggest being his relationship with Ralph. He is Ralph’s right hand man and supports him throughout the entire novel. Piggy is always there for Ralph even when he does not agree with Ralph’s decisions. Piggy also proves his loyalty through his relationship with the ‘littluns’. Piggy becomes a father like figure to the younger boys and is always looking out for them when no one else does. Many of the boys on the island do not see the good traits Piggy has because they are so focused on his physical flaws. Piggy is not the most athletic out of the boys and is described as shorter than Ralph, fat, wears glasses and has asthma. His physical abilities keep him from doing tasks that require anything physical such as swimming, running, climbing, carrying heavy items and building the shelters. Many boys see Piggy as a setback; they do not see how valuable truly he is.
Piggy is known for being the most intellectual and reasonable out of the boys. While the other boys are off fooling around and dreaming about their next adventure, Piggy is using reason to plan an organized method of survival on the island where everyone is satisfied. For example, while the other boys were exploring the island, Simon came up with an idea and said, “‘I’ve been thinking,” he said, “about a clock. We could make a sundial. We could put a stick in the sand, and then—’” (Golding 90). Although the boys can rule using any form of government on the island, Piggy attempts to create a civilized and orderly environment by advising Ralph to implement a democratic state. Despite his weak appearance, Piggy has a very strong moral compass and sense of self assurance, meaning, he’s very confident in the moral choices he makes. Since he bases his actions and way of thinking on reason and justice, he has a tendency to believe everyone should follow and share his methods because “rules are rules.” As seen when electing a leader, Piggy believed that because the conch and name system were his ideas, he should have been voted as leader, resulting in “Every hand outside the choir except Piggy’s was raised immediately. Then Piggy, too, raised his hand grudgingly into the air.” (Golding 29). Due to his strong confidence, Piggy is not afraid to act upon his beliefs and what is right, even if it may not be a popular
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a peculiar story about boys stranded on an island, and the plot and characters relate to many prevailing events and problems. A specific problem that is currently occurring is the mutual hatred and enmity between North Korea and South Korea. This is a current event, but the North and South’s hostility has been ongoing since 1945, when Korea was split into North and South, Communist and Capitalist. When the 38th parallel(Border between North and South Korea) was created, Kim Il-Sung ruled the North, and Syngman Rhee ruled the South. As of now, a power hungry dictator, Kim Jong-un rules the north, and an optimistic president who wants to see change was recently elected in the South, named Moon Jae-in. In Golding’s book, Ralph is a character who aimed to keep everyone alive and to stay together. Jack on the other hand, wanted to have fun and hunt, and although he also wanted to be rescued, he made no effort to help. In this sense, North Korea is a clear representation of the character Jack and his quest for power, and opposingly, South Korea is a representation of Ralph and his strive for order, democracy, and civilization.
Piggy's intellectual balance to the emotional leaders proved to be his downfall, as the new social order formed by the boys valued physical qualities over intellectual attributes. If this large, asthmatic, and generally unattractive boy would have been more charismatic and emotional, would he would have undoubtedly been the island's sole leader? Would there have been less death and destruction due to Piggy's logicality, rationality, and intelligence? Golding's creative symbolism using Piggy to represent intellectuals who are usually ignored by political hopefuls, and the comparison with Prometheus, ensures Piggy will be well remembered character in the William Golding's masterpiece Lord of the Flies.
When others are giving up Piggy keeps them on the right track. Toward the end of the book after Simon died and Ralph kept saying, “That was murder” (156). Piggy, trying to keep Ralph sane said, “it was an accident,” said Piggy suddenly, “that's what it was. An accident”(157). Piggy is one of the few left faithful followers and he helps give Ralph hope that killing simon was an accident, that he is still chief and that he can still help get everyone off the island. Without Piggy, Ralph would have given up every last bit of hope.
Importance of Leadership Leadership is something that stands out in people. In a group, people tend to look for the strongest person to follow. However, the strongest person may not be the best choice to follow. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Ralph and Jack each have leadership qualities. Jack is probably the stronger of the two; however, Ralph is a better leader.
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
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 ...
-Piggy is still hanging on to the slim amount of civilization left, as he forces Ralph to blow the conch even though there are only four boys left, proven when he says, “It’s all we got.” This shows that although ineffective, calling an assembly with order and talking in turn still comforts Piggy, and ultimately shows that he is still civilized.
The novel ‘Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding is about a group of boys that are stranded on an island after their plane crashes. Two boys – Piggy and Ralph – find a conch shell and use it to summon the other boys to them so they can have a meeting. While not much is immediately solved, Ralph is quickly voted as the chief of the boys. Throughout the novel, Ralph can be judged on his ability to lead the group. However, the group is soon split: Ralph’s boys, and Jack with his hunters. Jack’s group is focused hunting for pigs and finding the ‘beast’ of the island, which the little ‘uns claim to see. Ralph is only focused on being rescued. Soon,
“‘He’s like Piggy. He says things like Piggy. He isn’t a proper chief’” (Golding 126). This quote represents how Piggy is the proper leader and was not realized near the end when he was killed. Emotions are the strongest thing to humankind; They are the reason we, as humans, make the decisions that we do. But some emotions are stronger than others. The character Piggy( the character represented as wisdom) from William Golding’s, Lord of the Flies, shows a lot from our history of the world in the 1950’s. During that time, World War II was coming to an end and the Cold War was beginning. When Piggy is examined from a historical lens, He shows how human emotion played a huge role during this time period. In the sense that, Humans’ anger and power
Throughout the book Lord of the Flies, he character Piggy is seen as the weak and vulnerable one. Piggy is very intimidated by Jack, and cannot do as much as the more in shape boys. He cannot run as long and far, and he gets to the fire too late to help with
People are privileged to live in an advanced stage of development known as civilization. In a civilization, one’s life is bound by rules that are meant to tame its savage natures. A humans possesses better qualities because the laws that we must follow instill order and stability within society. This observation, made by William Golding, dictates itself as one of the most important themes of Lord of the Flies. The novel demonstrates the great need for civilization ion in life because without it, people revert back to animalistic natures.
Piggy has always been an outcast. He always has trouble being accepted by others, but throughout the book he persistently attempts to fit it and be appreciated. To keep order, the boys on the island have a conch shell and whoever has this conch is the individual that has the right to speak. Whenever Piggy has the conch, the boys cease to listen and talk over him. This doesn't stop Piggy from speaking his mind as he continuously says in an authoritative voice "I got the conch, you let me speak!" (42). Piggy has to work extra hard compared to the others to be acknowledged, but this never stops him. He relentlessly stands up for himself, even when no one has his back. His hope for acceptance never fades. In addition, Piggy is also a very intelligent individual and he is able to come up with some rather clever tactics in hope to be appreciated, such as excessively flattering someone with compliments. Piggy tells Ralph "you're the chief Ralph, you remember everything" (173). Piggy acknowledges that Ralph is the chief and that he holds power over everyone, and he also compliments Ralph on his memory. In using these tributes, Piggy hopes that Ralph will like and accept him. Piggy uses clever tactics like this one multiple times throughout the book, which reveals that his hope for acceptance is ceaseless even when it seems that he should give up. In conclusion, Piggy's hope for acceptance reveals that human nature is always