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Comparing and contrasting Piggy and Ralph
Lord of the flies piggy and ralph comparison
Lord of the flies piggy and ralph comparison
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Imagine Lord of the Flies without Piggy or Ralph. It’s almost impossible to think of the book without those two dynamic characters. Although similar those two had some differences. Piggy and Ralph are characters that are easy to compare and contrast. While they think alike on some subjects they do have different opinions on how to deal with savages, different personalities, and they worked differently for law and order on the island. There are ample differences between the personalities of Ralph and Piggy. Piggy represents more of an adult figure. He was always focused on what the adults would do, and that they should act like how they acted around adults. He said in sometimes in the book what are the grownups going to think? He didn’t know what to do with all of the chaos on the island. “We’re all drifting and things are going rotten. At home there was always a grownup. Please sir; Please miss; and then you got an answer. How I wish!”(Golding 94) Piggy was also an outcast. The boys on the island never even learned his name. They often ridiculed him based upon his appearances, and Ralph made fun of his asthma. On that note Ralph was …show more content…
more like a leader than an adult type, he was still pretty immature. He got voted leader at the beginning of the book and held the object that represented leadership, the conch. He shows his leadership skills when he calls the first meeting and attempted to make peace with Jack by giving him his choir boys to boss around. On the contrary Ralph was fairly popular on the island (for most of the book). The boys picked him leader and he picked on Piggy for some time in the book and gained popularity that way. Piggy and Ralph both had to deal with savages but they dealt with them differently. Piggy thought that they still had logic in them and could talk sense into them. Right after the savages took the fire Piggy was convinced he could talk some sense into Jack because he still had the conch. “ He believed it was still possible to band everyone together with the conch, the symbol of law and order. Piggy wouldn’t have had a chance to outfight the savages . Piggy had asthma and couldn’t even swim. Ralph thought differently when it came to the savages, he knew they were crazy and had bloodlust. He had everyone bring spears to go meet with the savages for protection, and hid from them in the last chapter because he knew if they found him they would kill him. Ralph also might have been strong enough to fight of a few savages because the author of the book depicted him as fit.” You could see now that he might make a boxer, as far as width and heaviness of shoulders went, but there was a mildness about his mouth and eyes that proclaimed no devil” (Golding 10). Other than dealing with savages Piggy and Ralph both looked for law and order in different ways. Piggy and Ralph both strived for law and order on the island but Piggy wanted law and order more than Ralph.
Piggy was always focused on the mission of getting off of the island, he tried not to“Ralph- remember what we came for.The fire. My specs” (Golding 177). Piggy also could be pretty distant and cruel when it came to law and order. Piggy got mad at the littluns for having nightmares and believing in a beast. On the other hand Ralph sometimes loses his practicality and gets too caught up in his emotions. There were times in the book where he thought about joining the savages just because hunting was fun.“Ralph too was fighting to get near, to get a handful of that brown, vulnerable flesh. The desire to squeeze and hurt”(Golding 114-115). He was also nicer to the littluns when they had their nightmares and he listened to
them. Piggy and Ralph both dealt with savages, but did it differently, and they both had strong personalities but their personalities were very different, and that they both were very passionate about law and order but Piggy cared more about the law and order of the island. In the end Piggy and Ralph were similar and different and when they worked together they made a great team. Now ponder this question; What if Piggy lived through the whole novel?
Piggy is upset with Ralph before they leave the island because Ralph thinks it is ok to make their choir boy group into hunters to kill animals. For example in the story in chapter 1 it says “Ralph talked the group into becoming hunters and killing a pig stuck in rope. Another example is when they left to go to walk and look around the lagoon Ralph saw a pig and chased it but stopped himself and said “ next time I will show no mercy.” Piggy didn't want to be a killer nor wanted his friends to
and they both start off as the leaders. Later on the boys have a vote for leader and Ralph is selected. The first impression we get about Ralph is that he is active and doesn't like authority. When he found out that there were no grown ups on the island he "stood on his head and grinned" Piggy is the first of the other survivors that Ralph meets.
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...
It is hard to find a perfect match for Piggy. He is full of sensible, bright ideas, but because he is fat, a nerd and wears glasses, no one will listen to him except for Ralph. He was also kind of irritating. For example, he followed the rules too much. If something wasn’t done the way he knew was right, he would get all irate. Then, of course, when it went wrong, Piggy had no hesitation in telling people that he could’ve done it better.
...ause he knew he was capable of doing a better job. He knew Ralph would take in concern of the opinions of others unlike Jack, but when Jack took power and one by one everyone was leaving Ralph's group to go to Jack, Piggy took the right decision and stayed with Ralph till the very end. “ We’ll live on our own, the four of us—four of us. We aren’t enough to keep the fire burning.”“We’ll try. See? I lit it.” Piggy had confidence and hope did everything Ralph told him to do because he knew Ralph was the best leader. Piggy and Finn both always tried to do what is right. Choosing from right from wrong is a tough decision and in both books their were so many decisions they had to take to be successful.
...Although, it can be argued that he had no one else to turn to so he went to Piggy, Ralph could have given up at this point. But, instead he finally consulted Piggy for advice, displaying his maturity. In the end of the novel, when Piggy dies, Ralph addresses the loss. When the naval officer arrives, “Ralph wept for… the fall through of the true, wise friend Piggy” (202). Ralph truly matures at the end when he values the intelligence, and good heartedness of his friend Piggy finally looking past his appearance.
Piggy is mentally resilient; he has the ability to think things through with the clear mind even during times of crisis. He is the true voice of reason. “‘I got the conch! Just you listen! The first thing we ought to have made was the shelters down there by the beach…But the first time Ralph says ‘fire’ you goes howling and screaming up this mountain. Like a pack of kids!’” (Golding 45). Piggy has the capability to let his voice of reason run unbridled because he tends to think before he leaps. Because of this, he is able to vocalize his morals proudly and never stray from his own beliefs.
Although, Piggy and Jack have some leadership qualities, Ralph is the best leader. This is shown all throughout the novel, Lord of the Flies, by Williams Golding. Piggy is portrayed as the wisest of them all and understands priorities; however he lacks confidence from time to time. This makes him a good leader but not the best. Jack on the other hand, is egotistic but has his good qualities as well, such as knowledge and courage. This makes him a potential leader like Piggy, but not the best. Ralph however shows the most positive qualities of being a leader. He is optimistic, committed and knows his priorities, thus making him the best leader on the island. From the day we were born, we were governed by a set of rules that influenced our behaviour. Would the story have been different if civilization was maintained on the island?
Both Piggy and Ralph’s personalities had a large amount of contrasts that determined their relationship at the beginning of the story. Piggy was the outcast, due to his large awkward body, his thick glasses and his know-it-all personality. While Ralph on the other hand was the stereotypical image of an ordinary boy. Piggy had no friends, besides those that he lived with. Thus was not used to being among other children. He quickly trusted, and latched onto Ralph, ignoring Ralph’s constant teasing . Ralph was insecure as all boys his age are, he didn’t really want to be caught liking the outcast so he teased him. “I don’t care what they call me, so long as they don’t call me what they used to call me at school…They used to call me Piggy'; (Golding: pg.11) Piggy confided to Ralph, asking him to be secretive, thinking that Ralph was his friend. When really he couldn’t care less about Piggy’s fate. Ralph betrayed Piggy by announcing to all the other boys Piggy’s name, not really caring about the consequences it would have on Piggy and Ralph’s friendship. Piggy is hurt but quickly forgives and forgets, thinking that him and Ralph are friends. Ralph doesn’t really mind Piggy’s dependence upon him, but finds Piggy to be a bore and does not consider him to be a friend. “Piggy was a bore; his fat, his ass-mar and his matter of fact ideas were dull, but their was always a little pleasure to be got out of pulling his leg, even if one did this by accident'; (Golding: pg.65). Ralph joined the others in teasing him, especially about his asthma and his love and dependence upon his auntie.
At the beginning, clearly Ralph feels that Jack is an ally, a companion; not a rival for leadership, "Ralph found himself alone on a limb with Jack and they grinned at each other ... that strange invisible light of friendship". The chosen leader of the group, Ralph tried to lead the stranded boys into some kind of order. The authority of Jack and the sensibility of Piggy easily sway him. When Ralph first meets Piggy, he sees him as a lower person who should be ridiculed. He starts off by asking for his name and he is told that people used to make fun of
Because The Lord of the Flies is Piggy’s foil, they are similar. In the beginning of the novel Ralph was voted leader by popularity,
Ralph began to embody the ideas of Piggy, while most of the other boys began their steady decline into savagery. Ralph realizes the steps that need to be taken to get rescued, as most of the other boys forget the meaning of the word all together. A seemingly unimportant person on the island, Piggy’s value soon grew in Ralph's eyes. A clear transition was made as “Only, decided Ralph as he faced the chief’s seat, I can’t think. Not like Piggy”(Golding 78). As Ralph was becoming more aware, the rest of the boys were doing the opposite. A clear symbol of society trying to hold on to civility, but failing after being thrust into war. With Ralph’s new found awareness, the boys suddenly disowned him, saying “He’s like Piggy. He says things like Piggy. He isn’t a proper chief.”(Golding 126). As Ralph’s evolution in society developed, so did the symbol of his hair. From being “The boy with fair hair lowered himself down the last few feet of rock and began to pick his way toward the lagoon”(Golding 7), to being a “coarse mop of black hair was long and swung down, almost concealing a low, broad forehead.”(Golding 85). The hair is constantly changing, from being a symbol of civility and charisma in the beginning, to be a symbol of Ralph thinking, and his subtle slip into
Ralph was all about being confident and cool with just Piggy being near, “‘I don't care what they call me,’ he said confidentially” (11). He did not care about the other boys when Piggy was talking about them hypothetically. But as time went on and other boys were afraid of Jack's “tribe” and intimidated by their outer appearance. Yet Ralph never backed down to anyone, "’ Then we must go as we are,’ said Ralph, ...that the concealing paint brought” (172).
I think Piggy gets teased and targeted so much, because he is overweight. Just some examples of that are the names the other boys call him, “Piggy” or “fat slug” or “fatty”. Before any of the boys even shared their names, the boys judged on looks, Piggy was “the fat boy” and Ralph was “the fair boy”. The other boys also actually admit that he is overweight outside of calling him names, for example, Ralph says “But Piggy, for all his ludicrous body,” Ludicrous, meaning different or fat.
When Ralph first blew the conch shell to get all the boys rounded up together after the plane crash, he was not necessarily doing any sort of extraordinary thing. He wasn't even the person who came up with the idea to blow the conch. Even so, because he did this one action, along with the fact that he was fit and had fair hair, fitting the classic model of how an English boy should be, the other boys immediately saw him as powerful. They based their decision to make Ralph leader based on impulsive, hurried judgements they made in the first moments being around him. Piggy was also judged by his appearance and actions immediately, however the other boys’ conclusions were not as favorable toward him due to his physical shortcomings. Asch would say that our first impression of someone is what we base our later opinions of their personality on. He claimed that impressions form in our brains immediately when we first meet someone. Ralph impressed everyone, Piggy did not . “[Piggy] was intimidated by this uniformed superiority and the offhand authority in Merridew’s voice. He shrank to the other side of Ralph” (21). Later observations may confirm or change our first opinion, according to Asch, but we cannot keep ourselves from forming these first impressions. At the end of the book, when the Navy officer discovers the boys on the island, he looks at how dirty the boys are and