Lord of the flies - Piggy.

Lord of the flies essay Lord of the flies is a novel about a group of boys who crash land on a island and are left to fend for themselves. Piggy is a fat boy who wears thick spectacles. Piggy lives with his aunty and has asthma. Piggy is a clever, cautious and rational thinking boy. Piggy is very cautious he admits to Ralph that he can not swim he says "I can't swim I wasn't allowed, my asthma, my aunty wouldn't let me, blow on account of my asthma". This shows that piggy is very cautious about entering the water and does not on account of his asthma. Also this quotation shows that piggy is very attached to his aunty. When the other boys find out that Piggy has asthma they pick up on that straight away and use it against Piggy Ralph said, "Sucks to your ass-mar". Piggy is a very clever boy the book states that "Piggy was no chief, but Piggy for all his ludicrous body, had the brains". This shows that although Piggy is fat he is the only one that can think logically and sensibly. Piggy says, "We ought to have a meeting" this also shows that piggy is thinking sensibly. This combination between this physical appearance and his brains does not make Piggy very popular as he is also an easy target. The other boy on the island most of all Jack dislike Piggy, they call him fat and discriminate Piggy as he is physically different. Ralph is the only one on the island that finally

  • Word count: 628
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Lord of the Flies Character Study: Piggy.

Lord of the Flies Character Study: Piggy Piggy is the second person we meet in the story. He is overweight, unfit and has asthma - referred to as 'assmar'. He finds physical things hard but he is very advanced for his age, mentally. Piggy is the intelligent one of the group. Although he isn't that sporty, he is clumsy and asthmatic. He has a quick sense of humour. It his knowledge of the conch shell which allows Ralph to get the rest of the boys together and he shows most concern for some sort of order. This is shown in his names; immediately asking Ralph for his and wishing Ralph wouldn't respond badly, 'I don't care what they call me'. He brings up the conversation of names at the first opportunity. To Piggy names mean order and normality as well as the reflection of a person's character, as shown in his nickname 'Piggy', he hates it. He also sees names as a concern when they first meet the others, 'Piggy moved along the crowd asking names and frowning to remember them'. Piggy is a very organised person. He tries to seem confident and relaxed. He tries to be an adult figure for the boys but inside he isn't very secure. 'Piggy! Piggy!', 'Ralph, please'; Piggy, here is almost begging Ralph to stop, he hates getting mocked and it upsets him a lot, he wants to fit in but also realises the need for order and these views cause the other boys to dislike him as he

  • Word count: 758
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Lord of the Flies: Simon and Piggy

Lord of the Flies: Simon and Piggy The second character to be introduced in the book; Piggy immediately grabs the pity of the reader. Piggy is short, fat, has glasses, and is an orphan. He has a far different social standing than the "fair haired boy". This is shown by the fact that since first seeing him, Piggy develops a following of Ralph. As Piggy is doubtlessly used to however, Ralph shows very little interest in him. Piggy asks Ralph his name, which is an obvious introductory act, designed to let Piggy get to know Ralph. The reader sees Piggy's hopes that Ralph will ask him the same question, and the reader feels Piggy's disappointment when he does not. The reader understands that Piggy is not a popular boy at school, and so is used to having his expectations let down, but Piggy might have thought Ralph was different, he would have been hoping for a new start. When he finds out that Ralph is no different, and he will be treated no differently on this island than he would be at home, Piggy must feel upset. Instantly Piggy falls into his following role; lagging behind Ralph as he strides toward to beach and asking irritating yet easily-ignored questions. As a final, last-ditch attempt at friendship with Ralph, Piggy tells him his darkest secret: his school nickname which he so detests: "They used to call me 'Piggy'." Piggy thinks of this as sign of his truth in Ralph,

  • Word count: 1599
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Explore the importance of Piggy in Lord of the flies

Explore the importance of Piggy in Lord of the flies Piggy is a key character in the novel not only because he is important in showing the emotions of the boy's through the hate that he generates but also because of the underlying symbolism that is so closely related to him. Piggy's "specks" are used to show the state of the boy's society. At the start of the novel Piggy's glasses are intact this shows us that the boys are still clinging on to the thoughts and morals as they had in their homes in the past. But later in the novel Piggy's glasses bet cracked this is symbolic for the cracks that are appearing in the society of the boys on the island, as they are becoming more savage. The fact that Piggy wears glasses is ironic. Piggy is the only one on the island who wears glasses; this is ironic as he is one of the only people who have the clear sightedness to see the fall from normal society to the savage depths that the boys reach. As their stay on the island evolves it becomes clear that piggy is clear sighted with things to do with the boy's changing attitude. Piggy uses the conch and society as a shield for his insecurity and his lack of proficiency at all physical activities "Piggy was a bore, his fat, his ass-mar and his matter-of-fact ideas were dull. Piggy is always seen to act with a sense of authority and caring towards the conch within the meetings telling

  • Word count: 642
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Lord of The Flies - Piggy.

Question 2 (Piggy) Piggy is very important in this novel and he has a major role in the story. Piggy is someone that has many different skills but often hides them.He is clever, sensible, civilised and has good ideas, but he is quite shy and insecure so we rarely see these films. At first he is very quiet and keeps himself to himself. But as the story progresses he gains confidence, and begins to 'come out of his skin'. Although he seems to gain mental strength and seems more confident as time goes by, he is still quite fragile and cries several times in the book. This is due to him being scared of the situation he is in, being away from his aunt who he must love a lot as he mentions her often, and also the fear of never being rescued. But when he cries the main reason is due to the fact that he is constantly insulted and taken the mickey out of. This is what is holding Piggy back from showing his intelligent side and his many skills. Piggy is one of the main characters in the book (along with Jack and Ralph) and we don't even know his real name! There is a reason for this and I feel that it is because the other boys see Piggy as just another 'face in the crowd'. Although he tries to stand up and be listened to like a leader, as Ralph and Jack are, he is always seen as a pest that you can't get rid of. On many occasions he has been made fun of and he has got angry,

  • Word count: 849
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Piggy In ‘Lord of The Flies’ Compared With ‘The Signalman’

Piggy In 'Lord of The Flies' Compared With 'The Signalman' The signal man was set in a typical setting for a ghost story where it would most capture the imagination of the reader. It was set in a dark cutting where no light could penetrate the tall concrete walls. As it was dark throughout the day and the night this sets the scene for a perfect ghost story. The signalman's box was situated outside of a tunnel that was moist and was soaked with water. "water trickled down the sides of the tunnel" Piggy is described as a short fat boy at the beginning of the novel 'Lord of the Flies'. Piggy wears glasses and also has asthma. These are four physical handles that children will grab at the chance to victimise or make fun of. Piggy is not like the other kids in his physical appearance and this is how all forms of bullying are triggered by people standing out because of their appearance. The signalman at the narrators first glance is described as foreshortened and shadowed. The only explanation for this would be because the narrator was looking down into the poor light and was some distance away from the signalman when looking down upon him. At a nearer distance the signalman is described as a:- "dark sallow man ,with a dark beard and rather heavy eye brows" This is a description of a man that has gone long periods of time without a shave and his sallow complexion is the

  • Word count: 1389
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

How is the character Piggy significant in the novel, Lord of the Flies?

How is the character Piggy significant in the novel ‘Lord of the Flies’ Piggy is an overweight, timid school boy, who suffers from ‘ass- mar’ and unlike the majority of the other boys on the island; Piggy comes from a working class background. We are first introduced to Piggy at the very beginning of the book, along with Ralph. William Golding portrays Piggy to be the most intelligent out of all the boys and makes Piggy a symbol of authority and civilization. Piggy’s physical appearance makes him comical to the other boys and they exclude him from the beginning, because he is overweight, asthmatic and speaks differently from the rest of them. “Who cares what you believe- Fatty”. Nearly all the boys, apart from Ralph, who is Piggy’s closest friend, betray Piggy, however early on in the novel even Ralph betrays Piggy’s confidence, by revealing his nickname to the rest of the group; the name that he hates so much. The bullying that Piggy endures is still seen as “acceptable behaviour” according to the rules of their old lives .Working together is crucial for their survival on the island, however the other boys never include Piggy in anything, even though he is the most knowledgeable out of the group and plays a significant part in their rescue (even though Piggy never gets to be rescued). We never find out Piggy’s real name, as he is defined by his

  • Word count: 985
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Compare the death of Piggy in the following - 'Lord of the flies' the novel by William Golding, 'Lord of the Flies' film by Peter Brooke (1961), 'Lord of the Flies' film by Harry Hook (1994).

Compare the death of Piggy in the following: 'Lord of the flies' the novel by William Golding 'Lord of the Flies' film by Peter Brooke (1961) 'Lord of the Flies' film by Harry Hook (1994) 'Lord of the Flies', written in 1954 by William Golding, is a classic novel about a group of boys being stranded on a island and the way in which they change due to the change in society that they experience. In this essay I will be comparing the scene of death of Piggy in three different texts, the novel itself and the two films created by Peter Brooke and Harry Hook. The background to Peter Brooke's adaptation was the Second World War, or maybe a futuristic war that he predicted to happen or invented. William Golding has maybe used it in the context of the Second World War to give this novel the base that these upper-middle class boys have become stranded on the island due to their evacuation from Britain. Indeed, the simple yet effective photo montage at the beginning of Peter Brooke's film shows activities at middle class English schools prior to the war and then entwines them with images of the V2 rockets and the Holocaust. This symbolises the link with WWII right from the start of the film. Harry Hook's update uses the Vietnam War as a setting for his film, probably to connect more with the American people, as this film was American. This shown in the way Hook has used American

  • Word count: 2719
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

What is the significance of Piggy in the novel The Lord of the Flies?

What is the significance of Piggy in the novel The Lord of the Flies? The author William Golding uses the character of Piggy to relates to certain themes in the novel. He is linked closely with civilisation, time and the conch which itself represents order. As savagery becomes more intense in the novel, Piggy begins to suffer more injustices and eventually loses his life speaking out against it. Piggy is described by Golding as 'short' and very 'fat'. This has earned him the nickname 'Piggy' in his previous school. It's no coincidence that Piggy's nickname is such, it relates to the overwhelming emotion Jack and his hunters feel when they feel the urge to 'kill the pig'. This indirect metaphor suggests that the boys are killing a part of Piggy each time and that their aggression is directed at him. In fact, while Jack and his gang continue to kill more pigs, the logic and reason which Piggy symbolizes progressively diminishes with the pigs. Piggy's appearance alone has made him an outsider, because the other boys look down on him. He has asmtha and doesn't do much physical work on the island. He is not welcomed on their first exploratory trip of the island. "We don't want you," Jack says to Piggy. It is his academic background and his isolation from the savage boys that had allowed him to remain mostly unchanged from his primitive experiences on the island.

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 942
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Lord of the flies

Lord of the flies Character List: Ralph: The protagonist of the story, Ralph is one of the oldest boys on the island and becomes the boys' leader. Golding describes Ralph as tall for his age and handsome, and he seems to preside over the other boys by a natural sense of authority. Although he lacks Piggy's overt intellect, Ralph is calm and rational, with sound judgment and a strong moral sensibility. He is susceptible to the same instinctual influences that affect the other boys, as demonstrated as Ralph's role in Simon's death, but Ralph remains the one character who remains civilized through the entire novel. With his attention to justice and equality, Ralph represents the liberal democratic tradition as chief. Piggy: Although pudgy, brusque and averse to physical labour because he suffers from asthma, Piggy, a nickname that he dislikes intensely, is the intellectual on the island. Piggy is an outsider among the other boys, accepted only grudgingly because his glasses are the key to starting fires. However, his clear thinking and ideas soon endear him to Ralph, who comes to admire and respect him for his clear focus on the main objective of securing their rescue from the island. Piggy has a clear concern for remaining civilized and consistently reprimands the other boys for behaving as savages. Roger murders Piggy by dropping a rock on him. Jack Merridew: The leader

  • Word count: 2229
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay