Symbolism of Piggy's Glasses in Lord Of The Flies Essay Example

📌Category: Books, Lord of the Flies, William Golding, Writers
📌Words: 394
📌Pages: 2
📌Published: 25 June 2021

Piggy’s glasses are symbolic of the internal dualism in all human beings. On one end of the spectrum, humans are able to live together orderly, working collaboratively to create a healthy community. On the other end, the inner darkness of mankind can overtake one’s mind, causing them to act heartlessly. In LOTF, this duality, represented by Piggy’s glasses, plays a vital role in the state of the boys’ civilization. During the boys’ first meeting, Piggy addresses their dire situation: “Piggy put on his glasses. ‘Nobody knows where we are,’ said Piggy” (Golding 34). 

The action of Piggy wearing his glasses prior to speaking shows that he is speaking from intellect and reason, establishing him as a thinker. In the hands of an intellectual like Piggy, the glasses represent reasoning and civility. When the glasses fall into the wrong hands, however, their symbolic meaning changes. When Jack, who had succumbed to his inner demons, succeeds in stealing Piggy’s glasses, he begins to celebrate with his tribe of hunters. “Trotting steadily, exulting in his achievement … he made stabbing motions with his spear. From his left hand dangled Piggy’s broken glasses” (Golding 168). Jack’s victory over Piggy represents anarchy and savagery prevailing over order and civility, and enables Jack to use the glasses for violent purposes. In the hands of Jack and his hunters, the glasses represent savagery and destruction. 

When Piggy’s glasses and the boys’ civilization were intact, the glasses were used for civil purposes, but as the condition of the glasses and boys deteriorated, the glasses were used for cruel purposes. The glasses, much like the boys, were subject to the inner evils of man and eventually gave way to the darkness. The duality represented by Piggy’s glasses can be seen inside all human beings through the constant battle between civility and inherent evil. How humans choose to act upon this battle determines if they live in order or chaos. External factors, like the environment humans are placed into, play a significant role in this internal struggle. When humans live in an orderly environment, they tend to coexist peacefully. 

However, when placed in an environment lacking rules and responsibility, their ingrained malevolence eventually takes over and causes them to act ruthlessly. The boys in LOTF, who were otherwise normal children, eventually lost their connection to their civil sides and were forcibly indulged into savagery by their own inherent evils. As reflected in William Golding’s LOTF, there is an eternal war between civility and savagery inside all human beings, and the ability to control this war determines the state of life.

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