Lord of the Flies Research Paper

In most societies adults play an important role in civilization. In William Golding’s novel, the Lord of the Flies, there is no adult authority which leads the young and reckless characters to lose control. The two characters Ralph and Piggy can be compared and contrasted in interesting ways. Both William Golding’s novel the Lord of the Flies and the secondary source “Men of a Smaller Growth” by Claire Rosenfield represent Piggy as young adolescent who has a mind of an adult. Piggy is conscious and aware of the fact that they will not be rescued, where as the other boys either ignore it or are ignorant of this fact. He is considered to be the voice of reason with his rational and intellectual thought process even though he is also considered to be an outsider due to his physical appearance (chubbiness). Ralph is introduced as the oldest of the marooned characters. The vote for island leadership is both unanimous and undisputed naming Ralph as the chief. As the leader, Ralph would try to accommodate everyone’s needs by listening to everyone’s opinion. When Ralph and Piggy first meet on the isolated and deserted island it was Piggy who picked up the faded pink conch shell and suggested to Ralph “we can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us-” (Golding 14) This example shows Piggy’s intellectual thought process because he is aware that when everyone is speaking things can quickly get chaotic. Enforcing the rule only the one that holds the shell is allowed to speak will instill order. The similarities are evident between the two characters in that both Piggy and Ralph share a common goal; peace and order on the island. The main difference between these two characters is the way the other boys perceive them. Even though Piggy was clearly the wisest of them all no one would listen to him (except for Ralph) because he was fat and wore glasses. Ralph recognized Piggy’s great intellect and used it to his