Piggy

The Lord of the Flies is a unique novel demonstrating the failure of anarchy in a society comprised of children. The characters often rebel against one another or sometimes against themselves and some show a sense of eventual change over time. One of the characters, Piggy, is introduced as an asthmatic, overweight boy who wears glasses. Piggy remains static from his first step on the island till his untimely death by briefly symbolizing intellectualism throughout the novel.

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 clear their waste in order to control the fire. "How can you expect to be rescued if you don't put first things first and act proper?"(p42) Unfortunately, during the novel's development, Jack who begins to demonstrate his aggressive side, resorting to savagery, breaks one of Piggy's lenses, thus 'handicapping' his intellectual ability to apply logic and reason over situations, rather than emotional guidance. Piggy's intelligence is slightly revealed at the debut of the novel, causing other characters to feel threatened which later leads to two groups, non-hunters versus hunters.

As the story progresses, Piggy continues to hold on logical thought. When the fear of the beast spreads, Piggy remains unaffected. Instead, he reassures the boys saying that no beast can exist according to science. "Life is scientific, that's what it is...I know there isn't no beast-not with claws and all that, I mean-" (p76) Later, Piggy adds to it by suggesting that the fire should shift to the beach since the fire on the mountain was causing fright of the