Piggy’s Character Development in "Lord of the Flies"

In the present day, people have conflicts all the time. From arguments to disagreements to fights or wars, but adults have always been the solution to these problems. Parents are there to raise and guide kids in the right direction. It is no different from what happens in Lord of the Flies. In Lord of the Flies, Golding represents the role of an adult or a tool of survival through the character of Piggy. Throughout the book, the reader gets to see how Piggy changes as a character and how others’ feelings and actions change towards him.

Piggy was first introduced as a short and fat boy who wears glasses and is deprived of doing what the other boys are doing by his asthma - it's like asthma an' you can't breathe.'(Golding 97) At first, he seems like a desperate naive boy who panics over the lack of information of where he and the boys are. While others see this as an opportunity to be independent and away from adults.

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In this time Piggy is coming up with ideas of how to get rescued instead of playing or doing fun things like the others. The reader later comes to the understanding that Piggy panicking, in the beginning, is related to his clever way of thinking. Even though the others don’t like him very much due to his physical appearance. Even though the others make fun of his appearance and name, he still strives forward in finding a way to get rescued.

Which really shows how strong Piggy is on the inside.

Later on in the book the true intellectual “leader” Piggy. Even after being bullied and brutalized by Jack, he maturely blocks away from the hate and focuses on getting rescued and temporarily living in on the island as a civilization. Piggy transitions from a shy discouraged boy to a true leader who assists Ralph. As soon as Piggy opens up his intellectual side the tables turn and they’re actually getting work done. Piggy starts by asking the others for their names and forming teams. - “I expect we’ll want to know all your names.”(Golding 27) “And make a list. We ought to have a meeting.”(Golding 28) This shows that Piggy is slowly being accepted by some people in the group. His cleverness is appealing to the others. Such as when he thought of the idea of making the holder of the conch have the power of speech. This is especially prominent to Ralph, who becomes his friend because of his clever ways. “Piggy rubbed his glasses slowly and thought. When he understood how far Ralph had gone towards accepting him he flushed pinkly with pride.”(Golding 40) After Ralph says this, Piggy is very thankful and continues to be a loyal “sidekick” of Ralph throughout the rest of the book. This was the beginning of a partnership and a strong relationship between the two. Ralph then compares his leadership skills to Piggy, who stands up for him. “You said Ralph was chief and you don’t give him time to think. Then when he says something you rush off.” (Golding 45) This quote shows how Piggy stands up for and protects Ralph and reminds him that he was picked as the leader for a reason. Although he might not fit in with the rest of the boys, he is able to get his ideas across with the help of Ralph.

Piggy is shown in many ways that he is the “adult” of the group. Piggy is underestimated by many at the beginning, even by Ralph. The role of Piggy is very important as it represents the attributes in adults. His understanding of reality and his mature personality differentiates him from the others. - “With the martyred expression of a parent who has to keep up with the senseless ebullience of the children.” (Golding 38) Golding created this character not to just help with survival on the island but also to try and prevent the transition to barbaric and bloodlust actions of the others. Golding specifically made these characteristics for Piggy because it was a metaphor for the hunters. Golding made Piggy have horrible eyesight to symbolize that without his glasses he can’t work as well with Ralph, which is disabling him from stopping the hunters from their violent ways. The reader then sees that this is true when Piggy dies and the hunters have completely lost it and go on a rampage.

No matter how much kids dislike adults because of their rules and actions. Kids will always need adults in their lives. Piggy was created to represent the role of an adult. He was mature and had a good understanding of the world’s reality. That is what differentiated him from the other kids. Just like an adult, he received a lot of negativity, but he still strived forward because he was determined to get his ideas out there and to get rescued.