Despite Piggy’s dismissive appearance, he is probably the most intellectual boy on the island. He can foresee what the island will become without law and order and exhibits a degree of caution and some organising ability. When he arrives on the island and is talking about his asthma he says ‘My Aunty told me not to run’. Even though this is partly aimed at Piggy’s physical problems it possibly implies that one shouldn’t run from fears or the truth and as the book progresses it becomes apparent that Piggy faces the truth and fears of life on the island. Piggy’s organising ability is of no use without Ralph as nobody will obey Piggy. Throughout the book Ralph relies on Piggy to help him with many decisions. The idea to blow the conch so that other boys would emerge from the island was Piggy’s idea as well as the idea to use his glasses to start the fire on the mountain. Piggy’s intelligence is the natural complement to Ralph’s common sense. Each character supports the other as they are more influential and effective when working together, each possessing qualities that the other lacks.
It is hard to conclude whether Roger is a follower of Jack or really a leader. ‘Roger followed him, keeping beneath the palms and drifting casually in the same direction.’ In this case Roger is following Jack but this is before his decline into complete savagery. However, at times, Roger leads, but unconsciously, as his personality merely expects followers: “Roger and Maurice came out of the forest. They were relieved from duty at the fire and had come down for a swim. Roger led the way straight through the castles, kicking them over, burying the flowers, scattering the chosen stones.’ In this instance Roger shows a degree of authority, leading Maurice and setting the example of savagery by kicking down the children’s castles. He expects Maurice to follow him and learn as a teacher or lieutenant would expect in the army. Furthermore, the kicking down of the sandcastles by Roger is a symbol of the disintegration of ordered life on the island. The sandcastles are a miniature civilisation on the island and by destroying the sandcastles, Roger expresses an abusive power over the younger boys but also indicates his increasing disrespect for civilized order and human institutions.
Roger soon progresses to cruelty to the littluns; an early step in the groups’ decline into savagery. ‘Roger gathered a handful of stones and began to throw them. Yet there was a space round Henry, perhaps six yards in diameter, into which he dare not throw.’ At this point in the novel, civilised instincts still dominate over the savage instincts shown by Roger’s reluctance to throw the stones at the children. ‘Here, invisible, yet strong was the taboo of the old life. Round the squatting child was the protection of parents and school, and policemen and the law. Roger’s arm was conditioned by a civilization that knew nothing of him and was in ruins.’ At this point Roger still feels constrained by ‘parents and school and policeman and the law’, - the figures and institutions that enforce society’s moral code. Before long Roger will lose these constraints and decline completely into savagery and barbarianism.
Throughout the novel it is Piggy who dismisses the idea of the beast on the island. It is Piggy who realizes that the boys’ fear is the only danger they truly face. However, as Piggy is an outcast, he is continuously ignored and stories of ghosts and beasts convince the boys otherwise,
When Piggy is murdered at castle rock, Roger had a clear understanding of his actions. When Simon was murdered it was out of instinctual panic. The boys have moved from unintentional violence to premeditated murder. Roger’s brutality surpasses Jack’s and significantly when he murders Piggy and implies torturing Samneric he seeks no authorization from Jack. His sadism appears to be entirely self-interested, and it suggests that he is a potential threat to Jack’s authority, where as Piggy had always respected the authority of Ralph as he could use it to display his message.
The degeneration from man to animal, from red-cheeked choirboy to premeditated killer, can be seen most obviously in Roger. As the final hunt on Ralph gets underway, it comes as no surprise that a stick Roger sharpened ‘at both ends’ in preparation for the hunting of Ralph is to be used to horrifying effect. On the other hand, whilst Ralph’s personality also disintegrates into a more savage state, Piggy is peaceful and represents the remainder of civilisation until his death. His constant presence and attempt to remind the boys of their traditional values is perhaps what kills him in the end.
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