The Importance of Fear in Lord of the Flies

The Importance of Piggy

In Lord of the Flies, William Golding effectively uses Piggy as a multipurpose tool which the boys on the Island desperately needed to survive. He is used explore the need for civilisation, to explore the qualities of a good leader, to emphasize the importance of maturity and to demonstrate examples of cruelty. He is closely linked to themes of Civilisation, Fear and Savagery.

Firstly, Piggy is used to emphasize the importance of maturity and intelligence in civilisation. He's the closest thing we have to an adult on the island, defending the conch and insisting on rules and order. He makes a big deal about learning names, "frowning to remember them", he sees each boy as a fellow human being, and wants to give him the right and privilege of being called by his proper name. Having names matters to Piggy, because, just like the conch, it represents a system of rules and order. During World War Two, William Golding saw what happened to the minorities in society when rules and order were not kept to (the genocide of the Jewish community) and this is reflected in Piggy’s death when Rodger (a physical symbol of the evil in man) crushes Piggy with a giant bolder (a symbol of excessive force) for no decent reason.

Secondly, Piggy is used to explore the qualities of a good leader. He is very intelligent - in Chapter 1 it is his idea to make a list of names, and it is he who realises that no adult knows the boys are on the island. Later he suggests making a sundial and hats. "What intelligence had been shown was traceable to Piggy." Ralph recognises Piggy could think: "Piggy, for all his ludicrous body, had brains." However, he does not speak as grammatically accurately as the others:" How can you expect to be rescues if you don't put first things first and act proper". Perhaps this is to suggest that it isn’t just enough to have brains and intelligence, like Ralph he needs the physicality and the class education to be taken seriously. Great Leaders are made up of two thing: Intelligence and Form. William Golding fought as a Pilot in World War Two, a war which was caused by poor leaders. The interlinking leadership skills between Piggy and Ralph are meant to demonstrate what a leader must be. (This is why Jack’s leadership fails, he does not poses either of these qualities and only has entitlement)

Furthermore, Piggy is used to demonstrate examples of cruelty in Lord of the Flies. Due to Piggy’s physical description, he is immediately set apart from the group which serve to lay a foundation of cruelty which is set upon him later in the book. The incidents of cruelty happen most when Jack Merridew is around, starting from the moment all of the boys come together, “Shut up you fatty!” Since Jack, an older boy with high authority, was mean to Piggy, this gave the rest of the boys an excuse to treat Piggy like he doesn’t matter. Jack being an incredibly manipulative person would have known this and so abused his power to inflict cruelty. Jack may have been aware of the fact that Piggy’s maturity would stand in his way and so this highlights his immaturity and childishness compared to piggy who is the only voice of adult reason. Golding is using these two boys as a way to depict what Hitler did to others during his rule.