Piggy, Lord of the Flies
Framhaldsskólinn á Húsavík
Smári Sigurðsson
Enska 403
Piggy
Anna Jónína Valgeirsdóttir
Introduction
In William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, a bunch of boys get stranded on an island. They came in contact with many unique elements that symbolize ideas or concepts. Through the use of symbols such as the beast, the pig’s head, and even Piggy’s specs, William Golding demonstrates that humans, when they’re liberated from society’s rules, allow their natural capacity for evil to dominate their existence. It’s very beautiful to see how creative authors, like Golding, can just make an object mean something very important – opposite of its usual meaning, like the conch was a symbol for order.
Piggy’s appearance
In the novel Piggy is described shorter than the fair boy, Ralph, and very fat. He wears a ‘greasy wind breaker’ and is constantly complaining about his asthma. The other boys on the island ostracize poor Piggy from the beginning because he had a different kind of accent and was physically weak, overweight, had pale skin and constantly complained about his asthma. Poor Piggy was also myopic and couldn’t really see anything without his spectacles. Even though the boys made fun of him all the time Piggy was rational, and constantly warning the boys about their behavior and foolish ways. Later in the novel it seemed like the boys started to see Piggy as just another animal, calling him a “bag of fat” as they called the pigs or even worse the “fat boy”
Size, athleticism and physical appearance shows us the status that the characters have and that’s why he became the brunt of all jokes and teasing in the novel. Though Piggy was the obvious choice for the leader another good-looking and athletic boy, Ralph who was Piggy’s best friend, was chosen in stead. Even though Ralph is the boys’ leader Piggy’s somehow a co-leader because Ralph cannot stay composed in pressing situations as Piggy can. E-ð um hárið á honum.
Piggy’s role and symbolism in
Smári Sigurðsson
Enska 403
Piggy
Anna Jónína Valgeirsdóttir
Introduction
In William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, a bunch of boys get stranded on an island. They came in contact with many unique elements that symbolize ideas or concepts. Through the use of symbols such as the beast, the pig’s head, and even Piggy’s specs, William Golding demonstrates that humans, when they’re liberated from society’s rules, allow their natural capacity for evil to dominate their existence. It’s very beautiful to see how creative authors, like Golding, can just make an object mean something very important – opposite of its usual meaning, like the conch was a symbol for order.
Piggy’s appearance
In the novel Piggy is described shorter than the fair boy, Ralph, and very fat. He wears a ‘greasy wind breaker’ and is constantly complaining about his asthma. The other boys on the island ostracize poor Piggy from the beginning because he had a different kind of accent and was physically weak, overweight, had pale skin and constantly complained about his asthma. Poor Piggy was also myopic and couldn’t really see anything without his spectacles. Even though the boys made fun of him all the time Piggy was rational, and constantly warning the boys about their behavior and foolish ways. Later in the novel it seemed like the boys started to see Piggy as just another animal, calling him a “bag of fat” as they called the pigs or even worse the “fat boy”
Size, athleticism and physical appearance shows us the status that the characters have and that’s why he became the brunt of all jokes and teasing in the novel. Though Piggy was the obvious choice for the leader another good-looking and athletic boy, Ralph who was Piggy’s best friend, was chosen in stead. Even though Ralph is the boys’ leader Piggy’s somehow a co-leader because Ralph cannot stay composed in pressing situations as Piggy can. E-ð um hárið á honum.
Piggy’s role and symbolism in
References: Golding, William (1999). The Lord of the Flies. London: Faber and Faber Limited. Wikipedia. (2012). Lord of the Flies. Sought 12. March 2012 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Flies