Lord Of The Flies: Piggy's Archetype

Piggy’s Archetype Compared to His True Self Piggy is set up as the nerd archetype, but really doesn’t fit it. The nerd is the one we feel bad for or become annoyed at. But that’s just how others view Piggy, it’s not who he really is. William Golding sets up Piggy as the nerd, but I feel that morally, Piggy is a strong leader. In Lord of the Flies, Golding sets up the character, Piggy, as the nerd. The nerd is described as someone we feel annoyed at or feel bad for. And we do feel bad for Piggy. He is teased from the beginning of the book. When we first meet him he is being laughed at, “Ralph shrieked with laughter.-“Piggy! Piggy” “Ralph-please!” Piggy clasped his hands in apprehension” (Golding 11). Piggy can be seen as the nerd because his voice and opinions are often pushed aside. Piggy’s wish is to be heard and when he is overlooked by Jack or Ralph we feel bad. Piggy is the character we see and think he’s the weakest. We feel bad for Piggy because of the bullying he faces. An example is when

Piggy is a morally strong leader. Readers usually see Piggy as weak and vulnerable, but Piggy has leadership qualities. Piggy is a morally strong leader because he is helpful. Helpfulness is a leadership quality because caring and helping is what you need in order to lead. An example of Piggy’s helpfulness is when he helps the mulberry boy speak up; “Let him have the conch!” shouted Piggy. “Let him have it!” (Golding 35). Piggy is a morally strong leader because when a problem arises he thinks rationally. Piggy also believes in order, a belief needed to lead. The idea of the conch is to keep everyone in order and let everyone be heard, and Piggy supports this idea. Piggy supporting this idea is shown when he says; “I got the conch! Just you listen! The first thing we ought to made was shelters” (Golding 45). The quote also shows that Piggy can lead others and decide what to do. Although Piggy is seen as a nerd, he is a