Piggy Lord Of The Flies Essay

The character Piggy in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies helps to develop foundations of truth and understanding in the story. Throughout the story, Piggy is associated with intellect, logic, and often an adult voice on a child’s island. Piggy offers direct and to the point advice as to how to go about doing daily chores and running the government of the island. Piggy functions not only as a character in the novel but also as an important element to develop symbolism and theme. Piggy and his glasses play a key role on the island. In the story his glasses are used to start the fire which sustains the hopes of being rescued. When Jack and his group of hunters steal Piggy’s glasses, the hopes of being rescued are also stolen, but more
He comes up with countless ideas as to how to improve life on the island and the way to go about doing that. After the fire started by the hunters consumes most of the jungle, Piggy emphasizes that “The first thing we ought to have made was shelters down there by the beach” (45). In the beginning of the book, as Ralph finds the conch, it is Piggy that instructs Ralph in how to blow on the conch and make the sound that makes Ralph the “man with the megaphone” (7). More importantly is the role that Piggy plays as an adult voice on the island, a voice that the boys grow to resent. “‘Grownups know things,’ said Piggy. ‘They ain’t afraid of the dark. They’d meet and have tea and discuss. Then things ‘ud be all right” (94). It is this adult view of life and how he asserts his opinion that shapes the way Ralph ultimately begins to think and govern, and in a certain light, why he fails. Piggy believes that rules should be strictly followed, and this totalitarian view is shown when he tries to stress the power of the conch when speaking before Jack on Castle Rock. It is this effort to remain true to the ideals that the island was founded on, his ideals that were formed from intelligence and reason, that get him