The Unsung Hero In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding writes how a plane, full of boys from England, crashes on an uncharted island and are hoping to find a way home. Golding presents many themes pertaining to the individual lives of certain boys.
Golding portrays a fat boy named Piggy who is picked on, but yet is the most intelligent one out of all the boys. On the island, the boys are faced with many hardships and decisions to make; Piggy always seems to come up with logical solutions to these difficulties. But, due to his abnormalities, such as asthma, Piggy acts as the outcast and the boys never listen to anything he has to say.Through Piggy, Golding teaches humans to listen to those who resemble the sophistication of society and whose comments are considered the voice of reason, or else society will break down and become uncivilized.
Piggy is the only one out of the boys that can think rationally and focus on the main goal which is to keep the fire going and get rescued. During the fight between Jack and Ralph towards the end of the book, Piggy senses that Ralph is getting carried away and warns him to stay on task saying “Ralph—remember what we came for, the fire, my specs” (177).By saying this it shows that even when everyone else has turned savage, Piggy can still think clearly and keep to the task that is at hand. Also, by saying this, Ralph realizes that they are acting like children when their predicament is a very serious one, they need to get rescued and keep the fire going, so there is no time for fighting. Because of Piggy keeping Ralph on task, Ralph is able to take in the seriousness of the situation and think rationally “He relaxed his fighting muscles, stood easily and grounded the butt of his spear” (177).
If Piggy did not remind Ralph why they came to Jack, then Jack and Ralphs brawl would have continued escalating and end with either Jack or Ralph dying. As well as being the only one that can think rationally, Piggy is also the most intelligent one on the island. At one point he proves that there cannot be a beast, ‘“Life…is scientific…I know there isn’t no beast…but I know here isn’t no fear, either…unless we get frightened of people”’ (84).In this quote Piggy also predicts that the boys themselves will turn into beasts or “savages” by saying “unless we get frightened of people. ” As the days pass, the boys are getting more and more savage and are becoming a greater danger towards themselves, such as when they burned down half the island carelessly.
Piggy is the one who realizes what they are becoming and in this quote he tries to warn them, but afterwards the boys just laugh at him and think nothing of it, “A sound, half-laugh, half-jeer, rose among the seated boys.Piggy ducked his head and went on hastily” (84). If the boys would have taken into consideration what Piggy was trying to say, then they could have stopped acting savage and focus on getting rescued. In conclusion, Golding’s use of characterization of Piggy has helped me understand his message by warning humans to listen to the person who is the most perceptive, even if that person has certain abnormalities drawing him or her back. If humans can learn to do this, then we can avoid the chaotic predicaments such as the one on this island.
This relates to how Kennedy prevented world destruction during the Cold War. Russia (Jack and his tribe) was acting very hostile and aggressive towards the United States but Kenned (Piggy) was able to keep a calm head and avoid a Nuclear War when everyone else was going crazy. Piggy may have not completely succeeded in saving the boys, but his aim was the same as Kennedys. In the end, Piggy was the unsung hero, trying to get everyone saved but eventually dying at the hand of savagery.
