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Knowledge In Lord Of The Flies Essay

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In a time when science was becoming a large influence on the lives of all people, the value of that knowledge is lost almost too easily. When the boys first crashed on the island, they believe for a short time that they would be rescued quickly, but soon realize that their return home is very unlikely. Once they have accepted this fact, the descent into complete savagery begins. However, in this group of presumably intelligent boys, only one of them attempts to use this knowledge and science throughout the entire novel, all the way up until his eventual death. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses Piggy to show how logical thinking and knowledge are often overpowered by personal bias and instinctive behavior.
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“Then we’ll just have to look after ourselves” (Golding 14). The realization occurs early on in their first meeting, and they seem to be unexpectedly okay with it. By accepting this, they have started their inevitable loss of humanity because there is no possible way a group of childish boys can lead themselves and live in stability for more than a short period of time. With the choice to have the boys be alone on the island, it allows them to fall back to instinctive behavior faster and probably much easier than it would be for an adult to give up a civilized lifestyle. Within this behavior, the three different parts of the human psyche can be seen in the individual characters. By examining Piggy, it can be seen that he represents the superego. This part of the ego functions as a place to reflect on learned social standards, which is exactly what Piggy attempts to do by suggesting rules and norms for the boys. However, it seems that, on some level, the boys enjoy being on their own and living without rules. The lack of consequences on the island grants them the opportunity to act without thinking and rely on the id rather than the ego. Golding is using this newfound freedom to prove that humans are naturally instinctive animals who have been taught to behave in a way that is considered “good” by those who influence them. Piggy is the outlier who maintains a

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In the fiction novel Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, English schoolboys 6-12 years old crash land in a plane on an uninhabited island as they leave their war-torn country. An older boy named Piggy takes charge of organizing the boys, however, Piggy’s days of leadership are short-numbered as others soon cast his opinions aside believing they are unnecessary worries. As a result of his death symbolizing the end of all reason, Piggy illustrates the negative effects of lacking an open mind to create a system of rules in society. In an environment that is rapidly changing from seemingly innocent boys to savage animals, Piggy is able to keep his sanity and common sense that helped suppress the amount of chaos caused by the boys up until his

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This mode works as an appeal to logic as well as reasoning. Piggy can be seen as the most rational boy on the island compared to all the other boys. As a logical person, he is able to control his emotions as well as analyze any situation with a clear head. His personality enables him to resolve conflicts that the boys may face on the island. As he tries to assist the boys on the island as the brains behind Ralph’s ideas, Piggy demonstrates his appeal to logic and reasoning by being the first one to suggest that the first thing they need was “shelters down there by the beach” furthermore he adds, “how can you expect to be rescued if you don’t put first things first and act proper” (Golding 45).

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Analysis of Piggy in Lord of the Flies Though physically vulnerable and socially inept, Piggy stands as the voice of reason and is the last sense of rationality and innocence among the boys. Though Piggy shows signs of low self esteem and is frequently made fun of, he is intelligent and good natured. Though he acts as Ralph’s advisor and is the most intelligent of the boys, he is often overlooked and his comments are often disregarded. Piggy represents intelligence and civilization, but also is a symbol of reason and innocence. Piggy may well be one of the most important people among the island, but is suppressed by the others, who never realize what great significance he has.

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The author discussed how the boys were not guided at all throughout the time of the story. They lacked an adult figure, without one, they believed there were no rules around. No way to get caught or be in trouble. He also claimed that everyone has their own inner aggressions, the cause for the boys’ case was the impact of what the whole island had in store for them. Another thing Golding discussed was the way the act of killing changes you.

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