Foreshadowing In Piggy

The Kids From Yesterday Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be stranded on an island? In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, this happens to a group of boys. The boys were being evacuated from the war in the early 1930s, only to find themselves stranded on an island in the Pacific and struggling for survival. Without any adults, they continue to fight for power and to keep their sanity. Throughout the novel, Golding hints at the horrors soon to arise, including Piggy’s death, Simon’s death, and the boys transforming into savages. One of the first events that is foreshadowed in the novel is Piggy’s death. Piggy is the weakest character on the island. He has health problems including: his weight, bad eyesight, and “ass-mar”. He is “the voice of reason” on the island, yet no one listens to him, except Ralph. One scene that foreshadows Piggy’s death is when Roger is throwing the stones at Henry. “Roger stooped, picked up a stone, aimed and threw it at Henry-threw it to miss.”(62) Roger missing shows that he is still has some civility inside him.
Another death on the island that is foreshadowed is Simon’s.
He is disrespected and ignored by the other boys, even though he is one of the most wise, logical, and intellectual boys on the island. When Jack proves his savagery and how oppressive he can be by killing the sow and placing its head on a stick, Simon wants to prove that the beast does not exist, so he sets off to prove that the beast is nothing. In his efforts of coming back and telling the group that there is no beast, he is mistaken as the beast and brutally killed. “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!”(152) At this point the boys are rapidly losing their
civility. One other majorly foreshadowed event is the boys becoming savages. On one of the first few days of the boys being on the island, they decide to create a fire. This fire spreads out of control, is complete chaos, and results in the loss of the boy with the birthmark. This fire represents the fire that later burns down the entire island. Piggy’s glasses breaking is another event that indicates the boys losing touch with society. Piggy is the voice of reason and without his glasses he is blinded by his myopia. “I painted my face-I stole up. Now you eat-all of you-and I-”(74) The boys’ painted faces shows how far they have strayed from civility into savagery. Throughout his novel, Golding indicates there are horrors soon to come. He clues the reader in on the deaths of Piggy and Simon, and the boys losing their grip on order and civilization. Roger throwing stones, Piggy’s appearance, and the fire spreading out of control are few of many events that foreshadow more drastic events soon to come. Nonetheless, Golding shows the reader throughout the story what the boys are capable of and what they will do next.