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The Voice Of Piggy In The Lord Of The Flies

Decent Essays

Piggy in The Lord of the Flies was a very smart, yet unheard, voice. He was a friend to Ralph, and if listened, to he probably would have changed the outcome of the book. In Lord of the Flies, Piggy can be seen as an outcast in three different ways. The first way was that he was never able to talk. He was never given attention, and had to demand attention even with the conch. The next way was how he was excluded from physical activities because of his “ass-mar”. The final way is how unimportant he was as a person compared to how important his belongings and ideas are.
In the book Lord of the Flies, Piggy is unable to talk in many examples. At many points, he demands attention by saying he has the conch, but nobody really cares. “Piggy held up the conch and the booing sagged a little, then came up again to strength. “I got the conch” he shouted “ I tell you, I got the conch!” (Pg 179-180 Lord of the Flies William Golding). In this quote piggy and Ralph are captured. Jack punches Ralph, and Ralph returns the favor. Before they are able to begin a full-on fight, Piggy begins to talk at the top of his voice trying to make himself heard. No one cares at all; until he uses the fact that he has the conch to gain attention. Another example of this is when they are gathered around after lighting the forest on fire. “I’ve got the conch,” said Piggy, in a hurt voice. “I got a right to speak.” … “we got to let that burn out now. And that was our fire wood.” He licked his lips “There ain’t nothing we can do… I’m scared” then Jack says “You’re always scared. Yah—Fatty!” (Pg 44-45 Lord of the Flies William Golding). This quote shows the utter disrespect Piggy gets when he tries to talk. Not only is he ignored, but also insulted.
The next way Piggy is an outcast is because of his “ass-mar”, as the pys referred to his asthma. He is excluded from many physical activities, and he also excludes himself. He also isn’t able to keep up many times with the pace that moves. One account of this is when they were going to swim. Ralph starts “you can’t half swim.” “Piggy took of his shoes and socks… “its hot!”(Piggy) “What did you expect”(Ralph) “I didn’t expect nothing. My auntie—”… “aren’t you going to swim?” Piggy shook his head “I

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