Preview

Piggy's Glasses In Lord Of The Flies

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
421 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Piggy's Glasses In Lord Of The Flies
Once designed as lenses for the simple purpose of seeing clearly were then used to harvest the power of solar rays to produce the flames their civilization relied on for survival. In William Golding’s book the Lord of the Flies Piggy’s glasses represent innovation and clarity which reveals that their use can be used to help their society or to destroy it.
Piggy’s glasses represent innovation in a way that aided as well as harmed their society. Using Piggy’s glasses, the boys were able to intensify the sun’s beams which was then used to start the fire. The use of his glasses to create the fire helped their civilization because the fire produced smoke. Then, they used the smoke in order to try to signal anyone that could see it in the efforts
…show more content…
In the beginning, Jack brings up the idea of using Piggy’s glasses to start the fire. Instead of asking, Jack chooses to rip them off of Piggy’s face directly. Piggy said that he didn’t want them to use his glasses because he wouldn’t be able to see at all without them. Again, the glasses provide insight on a character, but this time it’s Jack. His actions reveal that he’s forceful and does what he wants. Also, this also foreshadows the growing savagery within the boys. When Piggy says that he can’t see without his glasses, this also refers to the idea that the boys aren’t able to act civilized because their brains are enveloped with thoughts of savagery. When Piggy tried to explain to Jack that he shouldn’t have let the fire go out, Jack lashed out at him causing his glasses to fly off his face and land on the rocks. One of the lenses broke from the impact. The broken lense on Piggy’s glasses represents that they lost a connection to their civilization. This is when the boys first begin to grasp onto their savage ways, relying on violence to get what they need and want. The broken lense foreshadows the breaking of their civilization as well as symbolizing how fragile an organized society really is. Not too longer after, Jack and his choir decided to split from Ralph’s

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • 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

    For example, Piggy reproaches the boys in chapter two after the group allows a fire to spiral out of control. The wise boy understands the overwhelming importance of the fire, which the others chose to abuse. Whatsmore, in chapter five the boys begin to fear irrational impossibilities. In response to their fears, Piggy attempts to defuse the situation by stating that life is “scientific”, but because of his physical differences the boys choose to ignore him. When Piggy’s glasses are stolen by Jack, the transition from prophet to blind prophet is complete. In one last emotional warning, Piggy lays out a choice for the boys: wildness and savagery or responsibility and rescue. Piggy puts his life on the line, proselytizing the truth none of the boys want to hear, and with no way to defend himself. In thanks for his constant boldness and rationality, the boys chose to murder Piggy. Although a tragic end, Piggy’s death was fitting for a blind prophet with an unwanted…

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages
    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

    Imagine being a 7-13 year-old kid stuck on an island? With nothing to eat? What would you do? In Lord of the flies, British school kids are stranded on an island, and in order for them to stay civilized they create laws. They elect Ralph to be the leader. Since Piggy was “the smart one” he was to be the counselor, but Jack wants to lead too, and he tries to persuade the others to turn savage and hunt. The 3 symbols I used were; the conch shell, Piggy’s spectacles, and the beast. One of the symbols thats a big factor is the conch shell.…

    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The story's beginning does not clearly depict Piggy's intentions, as that of intellectualism. His glasses represent a symbol, initiating the fact that he's the scientific and logical aspect of civilization. In Chapter 1, Piggy finds the conch and guides Ralph on how to employ the conch to unite the survivors. "He blew from down there." (p16) Throughout the story, Piggy communicates his ideas through Ralph for the benefit of the group. An example would be during the assembly when Piggy grabs the conch and addresses the boys saying that a signal fire is vital for rescue. Ralph then agrees and implements Piggy's advice. When the fire spreads later on, burning parts of the island due to irresponsibility and the fact that the boys seem to resort to their savagery, Piggy uses reason to restore the importance of their situation and maintain stability by telling them it's important to…

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    1. The conch being inexpertly blown and the fact that Piggy has only one lens shows that society has begun to function poorly. The reason for this decline in society is Jack. Jack broke Piggy's lens, and now Jack who has power, represented by the conch, does not know how to blow it properly. This tells us that Jack is an inept leader who misuses power and destroys knowledge. To become an expert at something, such as blowing a conch or leading a society takes time, so this is also significant because it shows that Jack has just recently come to power. Because the conch and Piggy's glasses are crippled, knowledge and power are crippled, but not yet fully eliminated.<br><br>2. When Simon says, " I think we ought to climb the mountain.", he means…

    • 1209 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory 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
  • 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
  • Good Essays

    Piggy's Glasses

    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages

    This is shown because at first, they still follow the old rules of their society,as their elected leader Ralph, is able to attain their cooperation to finish the tasks that they need to do, but when they need to build a fire, they realized that they had no means to light one, until one of the boys suddenly have an idea and he shouts to the others:: “his [Piggy’s] specs-use them as burning glasses!” (40). This not only shows that the glasses are a critical part of their life because they need it to light and relight the fire, but also symbolizes that they will need this rational approach that the glasses represent for their everyday routine; as the boys still have strong reasoning at this point, the glasses are in good…

    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Piggy Lord Of The Flies

    • 244 Words
    • 1 Page

    Piggy is one of the main characters as well as one of the first characters we, the readers, meet. He is characterized by his glasses, asthma, and a level of decorum that direct decorum that any stereotypical Brit could envy. Within their community, he is seen as the voice of reason(see: direct). This makes his character particularly important as he is surrounded by other boys who would rather treat their crisis as a playground. However, this cynicism, on a deeper level, can be seen as a method of deflecting and a power play. On page 46, he looks upon the others with disdain as they rush up the mountain to start the fire. This separates him from the other boys, in case something goes wrong. And, of course, it does. Towards the end of chapter two, as the mountain is burning, Piggy scolds them for both not thinking, but also(and more importantly) not listening to him in the first place. These actions enable Piggy to pass the blame to everyone else and thus, allowing him to walk away with a free conscience even though their main hope for food just burnt and one of their own might be dead.…

    • 244 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies

    • 1551 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Throughout the novel, it is unambiguous that Piggy is treated unfairly and is mocked. All three of the selected injustices are in relation to Piggy’s glasses and how Jack treats Piggy. Early in the novel, Jack grabs Piggy's glasses right off of his face in order to start a fire.…

    • 1551 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Since Piggy is the symbol of intelligence and his glasses are that of technology, they make him use his specs to create the fire. “’So we must make smoke on the top of the mountain, we must make a fire’” (Golding 31). Golding uses the fire as a symbol of hope and strife in the society, showing how the boys react to each event, like how the fire goes out after there is a dispute between Jack and Piggy and Ralph. Even though the boys know it is a means of getting off the island, they treat it like a hassle and don’t want to maintain it, and they just want to move onto the next fun activity. Ralph says, “‘we shan’t keep the fire going. We’ll be like animals. We’ll never be rescued,” after he starts to stop believing in the conch and their society. The fire is being maintained by only Ralph, Piggy and Samneric at this point, but is starting to become more of a symbol of strife and their hardship. Even when Ralph tries to pitch the importance of the Fire, the other boys just shrug it off and blindly follow Jack. The boys are falling deeper and deeper into savagery with the losses of each of these symbols, showing how important each was to holding together the…

    • 1023 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    An important symbol in Lord Of The Flies by William Golding is Piggy’s glasses. Golding uses this symbol to help build up a theme throughout the story. A major theme is that people act in an unprincipled manner when there is no authoritarian figure watching over them. In most cases, people will be disorderly or even become rebellious without some sort of hierarchy and social rule to follow. A perfect example of this is what often happens when a teacher leaves a classroom, some students will start talking, getting up and moving around, or even throwing items to each other, all actions they would normally refrain from when the teacher, an authoritarian figure, is present. At elections or protests, if there are no authorities nearby, people might…

    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Civilization

    • 281 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Civilization is destroyed when Piggy’s specs are stolen, and when Jack splits away from Ralph and begins to lead a new tribe. It is Jack’s fear that makes him do this. He is afraid of Ralph being more powerful than him, and he doesn’t like to be reprimanded by the younger boy. To feel more powerful than Ralph, Jack defies him and leaves during a meeting, taking his new tribe with him. Golding also demonstrates the crumbling of civilization through symbols like Piggy’s glasses, the conch and the war paint. The glasses represent clear sightedness on the island. Half of the glasses broke when Jack steals them momentarily from Piggy after he and his hunters let the fire go out for the first time (71).…

    • 281 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays