Piggy Lord Of The Flies Essay

In William Golding's psychological fiction, Lord of the Flies, he utilizes Piggy as a catalyst for sensibility and knowledge, trapped on an island where there is no “adult world of authority” (71). Piggy, a plump British boy, finds himself stranded on an island with a group of boys who elect a leader. Despite Piggy being best suited for the role of leader, being both intelligent and sensible, the children elect another boy as tribe leader. Instead of being understood and heard, Piggy is ostracized from the group and is never truly welcomed because of his differences. Slowly the group “liberate [themselves] from shame and self-consciousness” (75) and begin to act barbarically, resorting to brutish tendencies, ending in the death of knowledge and

After a severe plane crash, Piggy realizes he is stranded on an island and sees another boy named Ralph. Piggy quickly finds a “conch [which] was gleaming” (19). He tells Ralph what the conch is, the conch symbolizing civilization and its societal rules because it is what gathers the boys and creates a form of order. Ralph decides to blow it gathering the boys on the island where “a crowd of kids” (46) decide to elect a leader and create rules. Though Piggy discovers the conch, the other boys make fun of him, telling him to “shut up” (24), calling him ”fatty” (24), and making fun of his “ass-mar” (9). Golding utilizes the harsh words of the other boys to demonstrate the theme of the slow regression in society and the disregard of rationality. Piggy, trying to help the kids, suggests his idea of starting a “signal fire” (88) but, he swiftly gets shut down. When the chief suggests the same idea, the boys quickly agree. Golding employs the negligence of the boys towards Piggy to depict the theme of insightfulness and discernment being often ignored when secluded from