William Goldings Lord of the Flies

incident where Piggy is murdered, Golding presentation of this incident turns our judgments upside down.  Piggy, a character who is constantly mocked by the boys is the one who really thinks outside the square. It was through piggy that the boys were able to light the fire; build shelters and most importantly discover the conch –which later becomes the symbol of power and authority.  However due to his appearance and poor fitness his ideas are although appreciated and implied by the boys, but he is never credited and respected.  When boys are divided into two groups, only Ralph and Piggy remain behind to maintain the civilization and fire. Rest of the boys on the island joins Jack group since he offers fun and hunting of the pigs.  When roger “with a sense of delirious abandonment” topples a huge rock on piggy, we realize that the civilization has completely eroded on the island. This is further emphasized after the conch is “shattered into thousands of pieces …..”Conch, a symbol which once signified democracy and civilization on the island has been “exploded into many fragments”.  Furthermore we are shocked to realize that Piggy’s glasses which were once used to light the fire are also destroyed; “the shattering of his glasses” shows the end to all intelligence and logic on the island. In this particular incident the character change in Roger was very significant. At some point, in the beginning of the novel, he refrains from throwing stones at the littluns, “aiming to miss”. At this point of the novel boys are civilized and Roger is bounded by the rules of civilization. However in an instant that barrier is removed Roger becomes sinister and eventually kills piggy.  This is how we realize that policemen, schools and laws are necessary to keep the darker side of human nature in line. Without these rules, our nature becomes sinister and we are attracted towards the root of our ancestors –the savagery whether it is consciously or subconsciously.  Golding made it crystal clear that civilization is necessary to keep the darker side of human nature in line and that without the enforcement of civilization and it’s rules such as schools, authority and police, we will revert back to a more primitive part of our nature. Golding successfully wanted to warn us as a guideline so that we can learn what to guard against and he did so through this particular event which compelled to revise our own judgments and assumptions about the human nature.