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Discuss the use of symbolism in william golding lord of the flies
An appreciation of Golding's use of symbolism in Lord of the Flies
An appreciation of Golding's use of symbolism in Lord of the Flies
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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.
Piggy and Ralph get attacked by Jack’s tribe because they want Piggy’s specs. “From his left hand dangled Piggy’s broken glasses” (Golding 168). This quote shows how Jack and his hunters did everything they could do to get Piggy’s glasses.
Piggy was the one boy in the novel who has all the knowledge. Despite his asthma and obese problem, Piggy never failed to contribute his cerebral and intelligent ideas. He came up with all the ideas on how to survive and tried to keep the group organized and civilized. The glasses of Piggy symbolized his knowledge and smartness.
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
When Piggy’s glasses break in half, it symbolizes the boy's descent into savageness. Glasses, by definition¹, are “a pair of lenses used to correct or assist defective eyesight for an individual with vision problems.” Obviously, these glasses are only effective when the lenses are not broken, and this principle also applies in The Lord of the Flies. In The Lord of the Flies, the goal of the boys is to survive, and get rescued off of the island. To get rescued off of the island and therefore survive, Ralph decides that the boys need a fire, to make a smoke signal so passing ships or planes can spot them. They use the lenses of Piggy’s glasses to start this fire. When Jack lets this fire go out when he is out hunting for a pig, Ralph gets very angry, because the passing ship could have rescued them. This leads to the first fight as a result of the boy's’ newfound savageness. This fight leads to Piggy’s glasses breaking for the first time. Piggy’s glasses break again when Jack’s group steals them in a bid to start a fire of their own. “I just take the conch to say this. I can’t see no more and I got to get my glasses back.
This first interaction foreshadowed consistent degradation toward Piggy. During the aforementioned feast, during which Simon offered Piggy food, Jack’s intention had been to let Piggy go hungry. Jack claimed “You didn’t hunt,” (74) despite Piggy not being the only boy uninvolved in procuring meat. Due to severe asthma, Piggy was unable to do strenuous work on the island. After the other boys gathered wood for a fire, Jack demeans him again, saying “A fat lot of good you tried,” (42) Jack was clearly unappreciative of Piggy’s condition. At one point Jack even insulted Ralph by stating that he “isn’t a proper chief,” (126) due to thinking and speaking similarly to Piggy. Later on, Jack struck Piggy, breaking a lens of the glasses which both afforded Piggy sight, and afford the ability to make fire on the island. Piggy’s sight, already hampered by the absent lens, was nearly nonexistent after Jack sent hunters to steal the remains of the specs during the night. Jack’s hatred for Piggy was due, in part, to his passion for order, a trait shared by Jack’s other enemy
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...
His glasses symbolize many different things in the novel. First, they symbolize hope. Piggy’s specs are what the boys are using to light their signal fire, and without their fire, there is no hope for them of ever being rescued from the island. Therefore, the only hope that the boys have of leaving the island is in the balance of the condition of Piggy’s glasses. Without them being in good enough condition to use to make a fire, then there would be no hope of them ever leaving the island.
"Piggy saw the smile and misinterpreted it as friendliness. There had grown up tacitly among the biguns the opinion that Piggy was an outsider, not only by accent, which did not matter, but by fat, and ass-mar, and specs, and a certain disinclination for manual labour." (Golding 68)
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)
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
From the beginning of the novel Jack intimidates the other boys with his flaming red hair, his long black cape, and the brutal way he shouts orders to his choir. Although he is not a good-looking boy, he is amazingly arrogant. He always has to look good in people's eyes. Not that he cares if people like him, but more that they respect him. The only way he knows how to gain people's admiration is by getting them to fear him. He spots Piggy as an easy target and immediately starts to humiliate him in front of the others: "You're talking too much," said Jack Merridew. "Shut up, Fatty."(21) He sizes up Piggy right from the beginning knowing that Piggy wouldn't stand up to him and by making fun of him he was letting the other boys know that he not one to be messed with. When he feels that people are about to think him to be weak or gutless, he uses his knife as if it were a symbol of his superiority: "Jack slammed his knife into a trunk and looked round challengingly"(33). His knife gives him power, a weapon that he would use against anyone who dares to mock him.
In addition, Jack treated Piggy with extreme cruelty. Jack's brutal behavior toward Piggy exposed his evil side. This could be why he wanted to kill him, as they began arguing since they had first met. Jack also felt a desire for power; Piggy would never grant him this supremacy, which led to violence either physically or verbally. After Jack let the fire go out, Piggy reprimanded him leading to frustration in Jack; “This from Piggy, and the wails of agreement from some of the hunters, drove Jack to violence. The bolting look came into his blue eyes. He took a step, and able at last to hit someone, stuck his fist into Piggy’s stomach ” Jack could have hit anyone else but struck Piggy, showing his deep hatred for him. All Jack needed was the opportunity to kill Piggy, and he would have taken it just like when he punched him in the stomach.
-Piggy is still naïve to the point where he believes that Jack will give back his glasses just because it is the right thing to do, emphasizing Piggy’s lack of social skills. I wonder if Piggy will actually say these things to Jack? I personally hope not, as I think it will get him in a lot of trouble.
He is the most rational boy in the group; making his glasses also symbolize logical reasoning within society. But he was completely disrespected, as Jack says in the novel, “ ‘you’re talking too much fat.’ ” (Golding 18) The glasses don’t just represent Piggy and what he stands for, but for everyone else as well. Similar to real life, we have symbols that signify power, and Washington D.C. is a good example of that.
In order for Jack to be a bully, the story has to hint at his flaws and issues at the beginning of the story. In the book Jack says stuff like,"You're always scared. Yah ---- Fatty!"(Golding 45). He also says,"A fat lot you tried......You just sat..."(Golding 42). These are an example of Jack bullying Piggy. Even though everyone takes part in