Friday, July 4, 2014

Why is Piggy a social outcast in William Golding's Lord Of The Flies, and how do the boys make him feel uneasy?

In his novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding identifies Piggy as a social outcast. Piggy, whose real name is unknown, is fat and unathletic. He is also balding and wears glasses. Piggy's physical inferiority is highlighted by the fact that he has asthma and cannot complete manual laboror any other physically taxing activity. When the boys first meet Piggy they call him "Fatty," and Ralph corrects them by incidentally calling him by...

In his novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding identifies Piggy as a social outcast. Piggy, whose real name is unknown, is fat and unathletic. He is also balding and wears glasses. Piggy's physical inferiority is highlighted by the fact that he has asthma and cannot complete manual labor or any other physically taxing activity. When the boys first meet Piggy they call him "Fatty," and Ralph corrects them by incidentally calling him by the name he hates the most...Piggy. Throughout the novel, Piggy is viewed as a social outcast because he is excluded from physical activities, like exploring the island with Ralph, Simon, and Jack, as well as going on hunting expeditions. Jack antagonizes Piggy throughout the novel by interrupting him while he is trying to speak at the assemblies, calling him names, and even physically assaulting him. Piggy gets made fun of for his glasses, which get broken, stolen, and destroyed by the end of the novel. Roger refers to Piggy as a "bag of fat," which ironically is the same adjective used to describe a group of pigs on the island. Piggy fears that the boys will harm him and looks to Ralph for protection. Their constant antagonism makes Piggy feel uneasy because he is aware that he is not socially accepted by the group of boys. He is also Ralph's biggest supporter, which does not add to his popularity as Ralph quickly loses control over the group. At the end of the novel, Roger rolls a boulder and kills Piggy, effectively destroying the last hope of civilization and humanity on the island.

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