Piggy in "Lord of the Flies" Free Essay Example

The character Piggy in the book Lord of The Flies is constantly ridiculed by his fellow peers. In many ways, Piggy is harshly mistreated which helps gather a better understanding of the themes in the story that the author is trying to elevate. Piggy himself cannot become a leader because he lacks many leadership qualities as well as no real connection with the other boys. In many cases, Piggy has better ideas but it is shown that nobody would like to listen to him because of these factors. These traits connect to how the real world works today which helps advance the novel's themes. 

Piggy's appearance plays a huge role in this story and how people are treated today. As soon as arriving on the island the boys are calling him Piggy which continues throughout the whole novel. Though he asked to be called anything other than Piggy, Ralph continued to go against his will. Discrimination against appearance is a very big and common problem. A huge variety of research papers by psychologists have shown that they connect being less attractive to being viewed as not as smart. 

In Lord of the Flies, Jack Meridew says to Piggy “You're talking too much', "Shut up Fatty"(Golding 21). As talked about before Piggy is brought down just for being overweight. When children are young they are most influenced by their teachers and parents. Children that are seen as less attractive are given less and viewed as not smart compared to a more attractive child. Appearance also changes judgments about competence and task performances. Studies have shown that when tasks are done the same material receives a lower rating than others when shown with a photograph of a less attractive person.

Piggy shows over and over that his sanity remains and he stays steady-minded, unlike the there boys. In one quote he states, “Which is better to have rules and agree or to hunt and kill"(Golding 180). As many boys start losing their civilization he tries to remind them to stay connected with quotes like that, but because of his appearance what he says is pushed aside by the other boys. The influence of appearance has a strong influence on the quality of life as the boys have shown strongly. Discrimination based on appearance is shown very heavily in this novel.

Piggy is used harshly to advance the themes of the novel. Civilization and rules are huge themes in the story that all the boys contribute to. We see repeatedly that the good ideas that Piggy have been demolished because rules weren't being followed as the story went on. Piggy is very naive and for the most part, sees the good in most of the boys. This shows his vulnerability and how people are taken advantage of just for seeing the good in people. 

Power plays a big role in themes and Piggy is used as a big piece. He has no physical power and it's obvious to all the boys. This lack of power plays into him not being able to lead their group. Since he's so powerless he resorts to the conch as a source of power and structure within their society. He has a strong sense of society as shown in the novel. When Piggy was killed all structure that remained and reasoning was destroyed. We know this because after he is killed the other boys try and kill Ralph.

The most important theme Piggy helps portray is intelligence and how other people view someone else. He is fat-shamed because of his outside appearance and made fun of but is the brightest out of all the boys. He states that “ I've done some thinking and I know about people. I know about me and him."  As mentioned earlier the least attractive people can have great ideas but just because of their looks they are more harshly criticized. When Piggy's ideas are shot down it makes a connection in our society with how people that look like Piggy are treated.

All of these scenarios and problems help elevates the themes in the novel in many ways. The themes help to show a connection with society today, while the mistreatment of Piggy helps to understand why he's treated in such a way. By Piggy getting mistreated it plays into almost all of the themes in the story and helps add depth to them.