Piggy Lord Of The Flies Character Analysis

Intelligence is the key to all progress and success. Without it, William Golding never would’ve been able to write Lord of the Flies. Written language would not exist, and neither would such a canon literary work. That said, all communities, even those that consist entirely of young boys, require some source of intelligence and logic. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the characterization of Piggy to promote the necessity of intelligence within a civilization.

Throughout the first four chapters Piggy is clearly an outsider, but his maturity and intelligence allow him to grasp the severity of their situation in a way the others can’t. Piggy serves the same role on the island as he would’ve back in England. He is very much the stereotypical nerd, and because of this the boys often overlook his importance. Piggy is the second character introduced in the book, and Golding describes him as, “[h]e

was shorter than the fair boy and very fat. He came forward, searching out safe lodgments for his feet, and then looked up through thick spectacles” (Golding 5). His appearance immediately sets him apart from the other boys, and they target him because of it. They refuse to acknowledge his ideas, “[t]hat’s what I said! I said about our meetings and things and then you said shut up-” (Golding 43). However, they wholeheartedly support the same suggestions when they came from more popular boys, “[i]f I say anything . . . you say shut up, but if Jack or Maurice or Simon-“ (Golding 43). This childish behavior continues throughout the novel, and their dismissal of Piggy and the intelligence he represents and possesses eventually lead to their downfall.
Ralph and Jack are the group’s most obvious and dominant leaders, but through characterization Golding makes it obvious that Piggy is just as essential, if not more so, to the group’s success. When the boys are deciding who should lead, they realize that, “. . . what intelligence had been shown was traceable to Piggy . . .” (Golding 43) but choose Ralph instead due to his appearance and Piggy’s status as an outsider. This doesn’t keep Piggy from staying involved, though. He helps Ralph be a better leader, and thus helps the group to be better as a whole. One example of this occurs during one of their meetings, “[y]ou’re hindering Ralph. You’re not letting him get to the most important part” (Golding 21). At this point, not much conflict has occurred between the boys. This means that, as of page twenty one, Ralph hasn’t begun to lean on Piggy as heavily as he will in the future. Piggy is still the undeniable brains behind the operation. Without his suggestions in the very beginning of the novel, “[w]e can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us-” (Golding 15) the boys might’ve spent the entire book wandering around and happening upon each other by chance.
By the middle of the novel, the boys’ changing morals and beliefs have caused the spread of dissension. Piggy himself has changed very little, though Ralph’s reliance on him and the others’ annoyance have increased exponentially. Regardless of the situation, all of Piggy’s contributions are met with comments like, “[s]hut up, you fat slug!” (Golding 91). Piggy may have the knowledge and ideas, but the others don’t want to hear it. This is why he spent the entirety of Lord of the Flies whispering things into Ralph’s ear. Up until this point in the novel, Ralph saw the value in a person like Jack, but not in someone like Piggy. After Jack fails to keep the fire going, however, Ralph begins to reassess his priorities. “Only, decided Ralph as he faced the chief’s seat, I can’t think. Not like Piggy. Once more that evening Ralph had to readjust his values. Piggy could think. He could go step by step in that fat head of his, only Piggy was no chief. But Piggy, for all his ludicrous body, had brains” (Golding 78). Ralph realizes that brains are necessary to their survival. The boy everyone mocks is even more important to the group’s success than he and Jack are. This realization marks a pivotal change in the relationship between Jack and Ralph, and Ralph’s siding with Piggy from here on out contributes to Jack’s desire to lead his own tribe.
At this point in the novel the boys’ civilization is greatly deteriorating. The leaders are arguing amongst themselves, and this conflict causes a rift in the whole tribe. Jack, chafing under Ralph’s rule and hurt by his support of Piggy, decides to begin a tribe of his own,“’I’m not going to be part of Ralph’s lot-“ (Golding 131). Jack’s hunters eventually follow him and leave behind all their humanity when they do. With Jack ruling the brutal savages on the other side of the island, Ralph is beginning to fall into despair. It is only with Piggy’s guidance that half of the original group is able to stay afloat. “I said we could all do without a certain person. Now I say we got to decide on what can be done. And I think I could tell you what Ralph’s going to say next. The most important thing on the island is the smoke, and you can’t have no smoke without a fire” (Golding 132). This is only one example of Piggy urging Ralph and the others to keep going. Without him, they would’ve given up and joined the other group. He constantly has to remind Ralph of their objectives, but Ralph was the chief chosen by all the boys. Those that stayed still see him as their leader so Piggy has to continue to be the wind beneath Ralph’s wings.
Prior to his death, Piggy continued to be the voice of reason within the original group.

Afterwards, however, he represents what the boys have lost. Piggy is the one responsible for keeping Ralph sane and humane, and one way he does this is by rationalizing what the group did to Simon, “’It was an accident . . . Coming in the dark- he hadn’t no business crawling like that out of the dark. He was batty. He asked for it’” (Golding 160). In doing so keeps Ralph from losing faith in himself and his humanity. Without Ralph, the original chief, the others would have abandoned all hope a long time ago. Piggy realizes this and dedicates himself to being Ralph’s brain and conscience. Until his death, that is. Once he’s gone and Ralph is on his own, Ralph often finds himself in situations where he longs for Piggy, “to talk sense” (Golding 201). In this same moment Ralph misses the, “solemn assembly for debate” (Golding 201), and the, “dignity of the conch” (Golding 201). Piggy has finally gained the recognition he so deserves, but the damage has been done; the boys are

savages.
In the moments Piggy is absent, there is a distinct lack of civility and forethought. The boys give into their most basic instincts and live in the moment. They make monumental mistakes, “[t]he fools! The fire must be almost at the fruit trees-what would they eat tomorrow?” (Golding 203) due to their bloodlust and immaturity. They also make some smaller ones, “’Going to be a storm . . . and you’ll have rain like when we dropped here. Who’s clever now? Where are your shelters? What are you going to do about that?” (Golding 154) and forget a number of necessary things, as Ralph points out here. Of course, this is not to say Ralph has no ideas of his own. Golding never explicitly stated whose idea the shelters were, but the reader can infer that Piggy suggested the idea due to earlier moments within the novel. He came up with all the other ideas that promoted civilization, so this idea can be accredited to him. Now, with Piggy gone, they have no shelters, no food, and no intelligence. Any semblance of civilization died when Piggy did.
Without some source of intelligence, a civilization is doomed to fail. Piggy filled this role for the boys. Although the others resented him, they succeeded only when they acted on his suggestions. He may have presented these ideas through Ralph, but they were his ideas all the same. The fact that the whole community went up in flames-literally-only after Piggy’s death proves that intelligence is a necessary component in all groups of people.