Lord of the Flies Lord of the Flies is a gruesome, dark and intense novel written as a political allegory by the author William Golding. In this novel Lord of the Flies, there are various significant symbols the most being Piggy’s glasses because of how it allows a logical smart boy to see and perform tasks, it becomes a tool of innovation being able to start fires, and how it leads to the destruction of an island. Firstly the reason why the glasses are so important to the novel is how it enables a smart logical boy named Piggy to see and performs tasks.This is shown in the text when Jack steals Piggy’s glasses and Piggy becomes immobile without it. “His voice shrieked of terror as Jack snatched the glasses off his face… I can hardly see!.. Jus’ blurs, …show more content…
Jack Pointed suddenly. His specs-use them as burning glasses! Piggy was surrounded… Almost at once a trickle of smoke rose up and made him cough. (Golding 40). In this quote the two boys Ralph and Jack start thinking about making a fire. They quickly come to realize they have no matches to start a fire. As they look around in embarrassment they quickly see Piggy’s glasses. From this we are able to see the glasses that were being used as an item to see quickly becomes a tool of innovation, that is able to start fires without Jack and Ralph looking like an embarrassment after they had no matches or tools. Lastly why the glasses play such an important role as the most significant symbol is because of how it leads to the destruction of the whole entire island. This is shown in the text when Jack sets a bush on fire and a huge curtain of fire breaks out, hunting Ralph to his grave. “The fire was a big one and the drum-roll he had thought was left so far behind was nearer couldn't a fire outrun a galloping horse? He could see the sun-splashing ground over on areas of perhaps fifty yards from where the sunlight in every patch blinked at him. This was so like a curtain…” (Golding
Le, Kevin: The significance of Piggy's glasses is for Piggy to be able to see, and it also symbolizes the intelligence of Piggy's character. In the first chapter, Piggy says that he's "been wearing specs(glasses) since he was three years old. When hs is embarrased or in deep thought, Piggy will "wipe his glasses". The dependence on the glasses can be seen when Jack steals his glasses to burn the fire and Piggy howls, "My specs, give me my specs!". Piggy's glasses are very important because without them, Piggy could not see or be usefull and the group would turn into chaos without the intelligent advice Piggy
Piggy's glasses were used many times throught out the novel, where the boys of the island in fact found good use in them, and treated his glasses as a symbol of discovery,innovation, and source of civilization on the island such as creating the fire. Once piggy's glasses break, the innovation, and civilization is gone.
Piggy’s glasses symbolize reason and innovation throughout the novel; Golding most commonly associates them with the old camp on the beach. Piggy uses his glasses to help the other boys “see”, both physically and intellectually, the best and most reasonable way forward. However, any time they are removed from the beach, chaos is sure to ensue. The first time, when the boys go to the mountain to light the signal fire, Jack and the other boys pry the glasses off Piggy’s face so they can use them as burning glasses. While this does help to start the signal fire so they can be seen by a ship, it traumatizes Piggy since even at this point in the book, Jack scares him. Despite the good intentions for the fire, it soon goes wild and even results in the death of a littlun.
Piggy’s glasses is the most powerful item on the island, which symbolize the knowledge and intelligence. In addition, it is also an important
In the beginning of the Lord of the Flies we are introduced to two young boys, who have survived a tragic plane crash. The aircraft was an evacuation plane and it was transporting the group of boys out of England. One of the boys named Piggy is trying to catch up to the other boy, Ralph. Piggy is described as being very fat and shorter than Ralph. He wears “thick spectacles” (William Golding 7) and he is the first to determine that they are on an island. Piggy is also the one that knows how to use the conch shell and comes up with the use of it, which is to call everyone else to the beach. He believed the conch created order. Once the conch had been used we are introduced to more boys and they gain interest in Piggy’s glasses. They discover that Piggy’s glasses can start fires and they refer to them as “burning glasses” (Golding 40). The boys also rejoiced when they discovered that his glasses could create the fires. They proclaimed, “His specs - use them as burning glasses!” (Golding 38). The spectacles symbolize Piggy’s intelligence, which distinguished him from the others. Without the glasses Piggy would be blind and he would not know what to do. Although Piggy is portrayed as being physically weak and not having a great chance at survival, he is the only one that seemed to know a few survival skills. He is the one that created the fire, sundial and shelter. Without his glasses he would not be ‘intelligent’. His appearance and personality cause him to be shunned
One of the main symbols throughout the book was the symbol of fire. Ralph, being the leader at this point, called a meeting to try to get through to them that the fire is how they will survive: "The fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don’t keep a fire going? Is a fire too much for us to make?...Look at us! How many are we? And yet we can’t keep a fire going to make smoke. Don’t you understand? Can’t you see we ought to—ought to die before we let the fire out?" (31) Ralph is trying to explain to everyone that the fire is the key to survival. Also he is trying to convey that fire will save them and get them off the island. When Jack bought the idea up that they should make a fire all the boys were so excited and all they could think about is making a fire, even though Ralph was trying to call them to order: “‘A fire! Make a fire!’ At once half the boys were on their feet. Jack clamored among them, the conch forgotten. "Come on! Follow me!" The space under the palm trees was full of noise and movement. Ralph was on his feet too, shouting for quiet, but no one heard him. All at once the crowd swayed toward the island and was gone—following Jack” (37). Jack was convincing everyone to go with him and they did, and stopped listening to Ralph. Also Jack is starting to become the
Piggy in the beginning of the book was using his common sense, he was intelligent, he knew what was right from wrong, and he could condone things that made him angry easily. In the beginning of the book, (pg. ) Ralph told everyone his name was Piggy even though Piggy specifically told Ralph that he didn't like to be called that name Piggy later condoned Ralph's action with great ease. Piggy's action's and behavior depended on his glasses. Piggy and his glasses symbolized intelligence, he represents the rational side of civilization. With the glasses it seemed as though Piggy made all the right choices, and he helped Ralph know what needed to be done with the tribe. Without his
Rabara, Mari: In "Lord of the Flies", the significance of Piggy's glasses are his emotions everytime his glasses flash or mist and the importance of what his lenses can create. His glasses could also determine the intelligence he has in the group. When the group of boys would taunt him or embarrass him in any way, his glasses would mist and he'd wipe it. As it says in the book, "...he went very pink, bowed his head and cleaned his glassing again" (21). In chapter one, it also says, "Piggy's glasses were misted with humiliation" (13), when the group of boys make fun of him for being called 'fatty'. In the following chapters, cleaning his glasses would be repetitive because it is not shown that the group cares about his feelings. Piggy's glasses
In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, Piggy’s glasses represent both weakness and power. The symbolism for the glasses progresses throughout the novel.
Secondly, in the novel, Jack and Piggy’s relationship was fairly better than the relationship they had in the movie when they were trying to figure out how to start a fire it was Jack who noticed piggy's glasses and told them they could use them. On the other hand, in the film, it was Ralph who had the idea to use his glasses, because Jack’s relationship was very weak with “the boy who had asthma.” And they surely didn’t get along.
When he first met Piggy, Ralph thought of the glasses as a joke- a way to make Piggy feel lesser than himself. “‘What did you expect?’ ‘I didn't expect nothing. My auntie-’ ‘Sucks to your auntie!’” (13, Golding) Ralph knows Piggy is not as physically capable as him and therefore is not afraid to throw insults. Then, the spectacles became an important tool to build the fire. Ralph and Piggy developed together throughout their time on the island and as time went on, Ralph understood an underlying meaning of the glasses. The spectacles represent the strengths of each person and how they contribute. No one would have guessed Piggy could be helpful, but he can if it regards itelligence. This applies to others like the littluns, Simon, and even Jack. There is no order because the kids do not choose to come together and use everyone’s strengths to their advantage, instead there are multiple people competing for the same spots and some who feel like they have nothing to offer. Ralph sees this, but it is already too late to return back to an organized
He planned and eventually took Piggy’s glasses from Ralph’s group, and the glasses were the only way the boys knew how to start a fire. Ralph and Piggy were one of the few left who were not savage and cared about keeping a fire alive to be saved. The author writes, “You go away, Ralph. You keep to your end. This is my end and my tribe. You leave me alone.’ … ‘You pinched Piggy’s specs,’ said Ralph breathlessly. ‘You’ve got to give them back.’ ‘Got to? Who says? ” (176). Jack did not realize the importance of keeping the fire going, and by not giving the glasses back to the few people who still cared for the fire, makes their chances of being saved even slimmer than before. Jack’s decisions will only benefit himself and keep him in power, another act of being selfish, but does not want his actions to be
Piggy’s glasses symbolize knowledge. The glasses also represent society’s reliance upon technology because humans are sometimes weak. The glasses were created to make Piggy’s eyesight better than before. His life is better with the glasses because he can see, without them I don’t know what he would do. Jack slaps the glasses off of Piggy’s face, and in that
Fire, in today’s society, is used for several different reasons including warmth, cooking, and destruction while prescription glasses have mainly one purpose, to help aid in eyesight. But for Piggy, the most rational of the group, and Ralph, the leader of all the kids, fire and a pair of bifocals are solely used for survival. Jack on the other hand, who is the leader of the savages, uses fire to harm and control others around him. Lord of the Flies by William Golding acquires an elaborate way to develop deeper meanings of each of the symbols especially fire and Piggy’s glasses.
Even thought Piggy is physically blind without his glasses he has insight as to his surroundings. Jack shows dislike towards Piggy by ridiculing his physique by saying , “Better Piggy the Fatty”. (40) His intelligence is undermined by the fact that Jack makes fun of him.