Piggy Lord Of The Flies Analysis

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In this essay, I will explore how Piggy is represented in the novel and whether he could be interpreted as its hero. Firstly, however, we must establish the meaning of this trite term: “hero” is a “man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. The most conspicuous method used to represent Piggy is through his interactions with Ralph, which were most fascinatingly exemplified by how they spoke and sat. In the first chapter, Piggy is already complementing Ralph, saying that ‘You can’t half swim’, which indicates Piggy’s abundant admiration of Ralph from the onset; nevertheless, by his use of understatements, he is equally exhibiting his skill with words, boasting to his twelve year old companion, which…show more content…
Here the pathetic fallacy shows the shells power to bring happiness and presents the idea that it can also positively influence nature, as symbolised by the ‘light’; meanwhile how Ralph lifted the shell indicates how precious it is considered to be, thereby revealing Golding’s feeling of disgust of the alternative chaos and evil, while implying they are the natural states, as it took the lifting of the conch to scatter the light. Conversely, another interpretation is possible, as a “breeze” and “light” have extremely delicate connotations in all senses of the word, including fragility, therefore implying the conch’s power is based on random choice. In contrast to this reference, the glasses are brutalised from the alpha when “Jack snatched the glasses from his face”, thus demonstrating how intellect is depreciated, and likewise Piggy, is in society. On top of that, “snatched” reveals the spitefulness of the act (and thus Jack’s hatred of Piggy), suggesting he insults both the glasses and their owner. Being an outsider can be interpreted as heroic, on Piggy’s part as he has the courage to defy the status quo. The focus here, nonetheless s the idealistic power of the conch, which Golding created to compensate for the lack of justice which he experienced during WWII, therefore Ralph’s more significant and more heroic than Piggy, as he and the shell combat nature’s inherited

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