Preview

Symbolism Of Piggy In Lord Of The Flies

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
186 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Symbolism Of Piggy In Lord Of The Flies
Golding’s purpose of characterizing Piggy as overweight, wearing glasses, and having asthma is to alienate him, and to emphasize his physical detriment. From the introduction, Piggy is characterized as a noteworthy intellectual, and a physical subordinate. For the duration of the novel, Piggy faced issues that were brought upon by his ailments, such as not being able to swim or run. Although it is stereotypical for the most intelligent character to wear glasses, Piggy’s symbolize the power that is held by science and technology. In order for the boys to light the fire, they needed Piggy's glasses. Furthermore, since Piggy is not as physically able as the other boys, he does not fit into Jack’s society where the main focus is hunting, and consequently,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The next morning, the boys gather on the beach to discuss what the hunters saw. Ralph tells Piggy about the creature on the mountain, which he describes as a beast with teeth and big black eyes. Piggy does not believe him. Jack tells the group that his hunters can defeat the beast, but Ralph intercut to say Jack's group has nothing but sticks as weapons. Jack tells the other boys that the beast is a hunter, also telling them that Ralph thinks that the boys are weak. He continues his rant, claiming that Ralph is not a good leader. Jack asks the boys if they want a new leader. When nobody agrees with him, Jack runs off in tears. He says he does not want to be in the group anymore. After Jack runs off, Piggy tells the group they can do without…

    • 613 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Piggy’s glasses have a literal meaning as well as a symbolic meaning. Piggy’s glasses are critical to the boys because with his glasses they can start a fire, and that gives them ambition. The significance of this symbol is clear from the beginning when the boys use the lenses from the glasses to focus the sunlight and start a fire. When Jack’s hunters made an incursion on Ralph’s camp they stole Piggy’s glasses and left them with nothing . Stealing Piggy’s glasses gave Jack more power than anyone else had because he was the one who could maintain the fire. Symbolically, Piggy’s glasses represent technology and innovation. They are use to light the fire, and to help Piggy who is very wise, interact with the other boys. As the glasses are broken…

    • 206 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    during Ralph's small laughing mania at the name 'Piggy', "Piggy grinned reluctantly". (11) As the book progresses, we will eventually learn about the symbolic meaning of Piggy's specs and how Piggy views the world. Symbolically, his glasses represent technological advancement since it was used to make the fire when Jack pointed and said "His specs – use them as burning glasses!" (40) and a clear view of the world with law and order since it was always Piggy who emphasized the conch's power and the importance of following the laws. Piggy prioritizes…

    • 450 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    beginning of the book, Piggy is described as overweight, short, and asthmatic. He wears thick…

    • 1557 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the midst of a fiery excitement, a small young boy emerges out of a dusky tropical rainforest. The boy is mistaken for the prey of the boys and is mercilessly speared to death by the crowd. He held the key to their salvation, why didn't they seem to care? Were they just ignorant or was something inside them persuading them against salvation? What diverted their motives? Who is this boy and what was their prey?…

    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Piggy lord of the flies

    • 576 Words
    • 2 Pages

    At this point in the novel, the group of boys has lived on the island for some time, and their society increasingly resembles a political state. Although the issue of power and control is central to the boys’ lives from the moment they elect a leader in the first chapter, the dynamics of the society they form take time to develop. By this chapter, the boys’ community mirrors a political society, with the faceless and frightened littluns resembling the masses of common people and the various older boys filling positions of power and importance with regard to these underlings. Some of the older boys, including Ralph and especially Simon, are kind to the littluns; others, including Roger and Jack, are cruel to them. In short, two conceptions of power emerge on the island, corresponding to the novel’s philosophical poles—civilization and savagery. Simon, Ralph, and Piggy represent the idea that power should be used for the good of the group and the protection of the littluns—a stance representing the instinct toward civilization, order, and morality. Roger and Jack represent the idea that power should enable those who hold it to gratify their own desires and act on their impulses, treating the littluns as servants or objects for their own amusement—a stance representing the instinct toward savagery.…

    • 576 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I met Ralph today. He seemed like a nice person so I told him my nickname was Piggy when I was back home. We went down to the beach together and found a shell on the beach. We used it to make a trumpet which called the rest of the boys down from the woods to the beach. This is where things went bad, Ralph apparently doesn't keep secrets too well. Ralph told everyone that my nickname was Piggy. They haven't let up on the name either everybody thinks that it's so funny to call me that. It doesn’t trouble me too much but I’d rather them not call me by that name.…

    • 376 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Lord of the Flies, William Golding creates a literary experiment in which he places a group of boys onto an island to see how they interact with each other over a duration of time. One of these boys is Piggy, a wise and rationale ‘bigun’ that has ‘ass-mar’. Piggy suffers from a lack of athleticism and ability to stand-up for himself. His combination of mental acuity, corpulence and timidity earns him the animosity of Jack. Jack identifies Piggy’s weakness and utilises his natural ability to get what he wants. Throughout the section, Jack and Piggy’s conflict develops into a theme and real world lesson: physically adept people use their abilities to gain what they desire.…

    • 457 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1.) Piggy's Glasses become symbolic of power, after the boys find that they can use the glasses to make a fire. Whoever can make fire is able to eat and create a signal fire to possibly get home. When Jack and his tribe come in the night to steal the glasses from Piggy it shows the power struggle that is going on similar to that of World War II.…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the beginning of the novel, Lord of the Flies, Piggy is timid. Piggy changes from being timid to being confident to feeling free. Here are some examples of Piggy changing. In chapter one, Piggy felt embarrassed when Ralph told the boys his name. The boys laughed then “for the moment the boys were a closed circuit of sympathy with Piggy outside: he went very pink, bowed his head and cleaned his glasses again” (Goldberg 14). In chapter two, Piggy got enraged because of Jack, Ralph, and the other boys. Piggy said, “Like kids!” he said scornfully. “Acting like a crowd of kids!”(Goldberg 30). In chapter five, Piggy became more confident when he was around Jack by calling him out on something he did not completely agree with. Piggy had said, “I…

    • 242 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Throughout the novel Lord of the Flies the character Piggy was often looked as the overweight, four-eyed, physically unfit member of the group that had no value other than as punching bag. Rather than being a valued member of the group, Piggy was often taken advantage of and all of his ideas were shadowed by the fact that he was overweight. Piggy's ideas were often overlooked by the fact that he was overweight despite that many of his ideas would bring great benefit to the group. For example, Piggy brought up that it would e a good idea to make a sundial. The boys dismissed this idea right away and told him to “shut up, fatty!” (page number). Piggy’s idea could have led the boys to record the times that they saw ships pass by so they know when…

    • 1611 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    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…

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    in the book lord of the flies, Piggy is treated like an outsider by all t the other boys on the island, mainly Jack. I personally think that the boys are treating Piggy that way because him and might be intimidated, Piggy is obviously very intelligent and i think all the boys had an idea of it when the were together for the first time and that's probably the main reason of the teasing because they know he's superior. In our society today so many people are treated like Piggy on a daily bases such as new kids at a new school, disabled people and people in different class systems. These people get hurt everyday because no one is there to help them, if this world is evolving and changing why is people hurting other people physically, mentally and emotionally still such a big issue ?…

    • 650 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Piggy's Symbols

    • 865 Words
    • 4 Pages

    It symbolizes intellect, hope, and civilization in society. The spectacles are used to start the fire for the rescue signal; “his specs – use them as burning glasses… Ralph moved the lenses back and forth… almost at once a thin trickle of smoke rose up and made him cough” (Golding 40-41). The signal fire was the group’s main focus before they went haywire. As the novel progresses, Piggy’s glasses become more and more damaged, which illustrates how the boys begin to slowly become corrupt; “Jack smacked Piggy’s head. Piggy’s glasses flew off and tinkled on the rock. Piggy cried out in terror: ‘My specs!’” (Golding 71). At the end of chapter 10, Jack and his group invade Ralph’s group back on the beach and steal Piggy’s spectacles, taking away the only intellect and hope from the only civilized group on the island; “from his left hand dangled Piggy’s broken glasses” (Golding 168). By emphasizing Piggy’s broken glasses in Jack’s hand, Golding showed that savagery finally overpowered…

    • 865 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I am stranded on a desert island with a group of rude and immature boys, and no responsible human being knows I am here. The atmosphere of the island is not very good for my asthma. It is hot and humid, so it's hard to breathe, and I can't even go swimming to cool off, because my Auntie says I can't on account of my asthma. The first boy I met on this island was Ralph, who seems completely disinterested in everything I say. The only thing that caught his interest was when I told him of my loathed nickname, "Piggy." After I warned him that I didn't want people to call me that, he went and blurted it out to the other boys, and since then I have been mocked and tormented to no end. Ralph used the conch that I found to gather all the boys together, and he was appointed leader. Whoever wants to speak has to hold the conch, but whenever I am holding the conch, Jack interrupts me and sometimes he even makes fun of me. If Auntie was here, none of this would be happening; she would take care of me and give me all the sweets I desire. For now, Journal, you are my only friend; the only thing in which I can confide. I am going to go find something to eat now.…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays