character comparison, piggy and jack

Lord of the Flies: Jack Vs. Piggy, Savagery Vs. Civilization
Ciara Ridley
Mrs. Egner
APPrepEng.9, Hr.5
19 December 2013 Imagine being eleven and stranded on an island for a month with no adults. Most children’s personalities would change, right? They would need to establish rules and pick a leader. Morals would be questioned, and people would disagree. They would be forced to take on responsibility in the face of survival, which at age eleven, is way too much for any child to handle. Jack and Piggy’s changes show it enough for any child to crack, in the novel
Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Jack and Piggy represent the change from civilization to savagery as they go through changes in physical appearance, personality, and morals and ethics while they are stranded on an island.
Physically, Piggy’s and Jack’s appearances are very distinct and different. In the beginning of the book, Piggy is described as overweight, short, and asthmatic. He wears thick glasses and a greasy windbreaker. He is often made fun of for his weight and poor eyesight, hence the nickname “Piggy”. Later in chapter four, when all the boys’ hair grows longer and becomes dirty, it is said that Piggy’s hair does not grow: “He was the only boy on the island whose hair never seemed to grow. The rest were shockheaded, but Piggy’s hair still lay in wisps over his head as though baldness were his natural state and this imperfect covering would soon go, like the velvet on a young stag’s antlers” (64). Piggy’s hair not growing is thought to represent rules not changing, staying short and not growing as if he were still in civilization and his hair had to be neat. Jack’s physical appearance seems harder and more

mean looking than Piggy’s round, helpless appearance. Jack is described as “... thin and bony; and his hair was red beneath the black cap. His face was crumpled and freckled, and ugly without silliness. Out of this face stared two light blue eyes, frustrated now, and turning, or ready to turn, to anger” (20)
. Later in the book, Jack’s hair gets unruly and long and he paints his face for hunting. This is to characterize his descent into savagery, just as Piggy’s hair not growing represents how he stays close to civilization and rules. His hair grows long and dirty from neglect and not washing, and face painting is not a tolerated thing in usual society. His face mask represents him hiding his old civilized self, and becoming a savage, a monster, and breaking away from the molds that society and civilization had created. Jack’s and Piggy’s appearances correspond to their personalities in a way that Piggy is overlooked, and Jack is mean but still idolized. Jack is very demanding, which is clear in the beginning of the book. Jack states to the group when demanding to be chief "’I ought to be chief, because I'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp”(22). Jealousy also plays a part in Jack’s personality. When Ralph is elected as chief, despite Jack’s demands, it later shows that Jack is haughty and doesn’t want to follow under Ralph’s rules, and branches of into his own tribe where he leads. Jack can also be described as egotistical, cruel, power­thirsty, but strong­willed. Jack was a born leader, but in his case, he leads by force and is seen as abusive, as he slaps and punches Piggy, or gouges pigs. He becomes more savage throughout each chapter, starting with getting the boys carried away in the hunt and chanting and abusing the pig instead of just killing it. His savagery is finally proven when he gets too carried away, and he kills Simon. Jack represents the complete loss of civilization and rationalization, and the plummet from humanity into savagery. Piggy, on the other hand, is completely different from Jack, although the two do have similarities. Piggy is often not given any attention and is overlooked, but he demands to be heard. He is strong­willed, like

Jack, in the way he fights for the conch and his voice to be heard. He is annoying to the group, but his intelligence does come in handy. He is definitely more of a follower, but he does have great ideas, just nobody pays attention! When Jack, Piggy, and Ralph had a disagreement about if Piggy would hunt the beast or not, and Jack got angry and said they don’t need the conch and told Piggy to shut up, Piggy eventually lost his confidence in what he was going to say. Golding describes him sitting down, infuriated, but not speaking up:“Piggy, finding himself uncomfortably embroiled, slid the conch to Ralph’s knees and sat down.The silence grew oppressive and Piggy held his breath” (102). He will sometimes speak his mind if he grows angry or concerned enough, but other times he falls silent after people ignore to criticize him and just listens to others insult him and goes along, because to him it’s not worth the while if they’re not listening. In the middle of the book, there is an air of confidence that inside both their heads, they both think they could be better leaders than
Ralph, or have better ideas than him, but Jack’s confidence and Piggy’s self­consciousness and self­image create a gap between the two and how Jack decides to act on his thoughts.
So in some ways, they are very much alike, but their morals and beliefs cause them to clash together and not get along.
Piggy’s morals throughout the book are static, as he never goes through significant changes, while Jack’s morals go through slight changes from the beginning to the end.
Piggy’s always been by Ralph’s side, his beliefs the same. Piggy shows compassion to the
“littleuns” more than others, and believes in the rules of civilization and order. In the moments where he met Ralph, he frequently references his aunt, and references to outer civilization.
Piggy’s glasses specifically represent hope of being found, as his glasses started the fire in hopes of signaling a rescue ship. And even later in the book, Piggy references to being rescued, he says to Ralph (165)
“We got to get out of this.”

“What d’you mean?”
“Get rescued.” for the first time that day, and despite the crowding blackness, Ralph sniggered. “I mean it”, whispered Piggy. “if we don’t get home soon we’ll be barmy”
Even
when it seems absolutely hopeless, Piggy still brings up being rescued. Even later, right before his death, he brings up points to the boys when his voice is finally heard,(180) “
Which
is better­ To have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?” He just wants to get home safely, and everyone to get along. When he got killed and the conch was crushed to pieces with him, it symbolizes the official downfall of civilization on the island, of all the rules being broken and shattered, symbolizing anything could happen from that point on. Jack otherwise completely embodies chaos and savagery. He lives for the hunt and completely immerses himself in killing a hog. He becomes so obsessed hunting, it corrupts his mind and his moral compass, so that in his mind everything is hunt, then kill. Piggy points out that Jack’s blood­thirst has become the top of his priorities. (70)
“You and your blood, Jack Merridew! You and your hunting! We might have gone home­” Show’s how Jack’s rights and wrongs only have to do with hunting, as he thought it was ok to let the fire out, if he was hunting. However, Jack’s character changes from the beginning. At first, he couldn’t even kill a pig, given the opportunity. The island changes him, in a way that he needed to prove himself worthy of being a chief. He thinks that the group would reconsider their choice and let him be chief, and he thinks that killing a pig will make them do it. His jealousy fuels him towards his savagery, until finally hunting is the only thing on his mind. Then he becomes chief of his own tribe, and hunting pigs isn’t enough, he needs to kill. His morals are if you're hunting, it’s acceptable. If they kill, it’s ok, because it’s just hunting. Jack and Piggy’s morals point in opposite directions, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have similarities in personalities. Their traits are both very obvious in the book, but the

changes in physical appearance, personalities, and morals and ethics in Piggy and Jack may not be. Jack, throughout the book becomes more rugged and savage, changing from proper to improper. Piggy stays mainly the same, always the annoying one, an outcast, but still offering ideas to the good of a group. Golding meant for the island to represent the earth, and the boys all of humanity. Jack represents the savagery in all of us, and Piggy represents old ways, old rules staying the same. Neither of them get very far in real society, of course, which is why Ralph was leader, and not either of them. Because Ralph’s a perfect medium. He’ll evolve but won’t go too far, but he’ll change from the old ways but keep some rules, unlike
Piggy and Jack, who both want only one thing and wouldn’t be willing to negotiate.