After landing on the island, establishing a food source, and before creating long-term shelters, the boys establish the necessity to build a signal fire. After the boys accidentally burn down a large portion of the island in virtually smokeless—and therefore fruitless—fire, Piggy harshly chastises the other boys: “The first thing we ought to have made was shelters down there by the beach. It wasn’t half cold down there in the night. But the first time Ralph says ‘fire’ you [the boys] goes howling and screaming up this here mountain. Like a pack of kids!” (Golding 45) Piggy’s fierce outburst (despite he himself being socially weak) demonstrates his pragmatic nature and his self-restraint, as Piggy himself did not participate in burning the island. Piggy’s specific reference to that “it wasn’t half cold down there in the night” exhibits his keen foresight. Despite that the threat of rainy nights was invisible and more entertaining activities were present, Piggy still focuses on the boring, yet necessary, task of creating shelters. Much later in the novel, as the fear of the beast (an imaginary creature of which many boys believe to …show more content…
After virtually all of the boys (save Samneric, Piggy, Ralph, and some little children) leave Ralph’s tribe, which focuses on securing an escape, and join Jack’s tribe, which focuses on hunting pigs and engaging primal instincts, Piggy attempts to restore order by verbally accosting Jack’s tribe: “Which is better—to be a pack of painted Indians like you are, or to be sensible like Ralph is? … to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill? … law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?” (180) Despite that Jack’s tribe demonstrates the capacity to slaughter both pigs and people, Piggy ignores this fact (whether due to ignorance or obstinance) and continues to censure the “misbehaving boys”, indifferent to the threat of retaliation (which lead to his death). Any conviction that is stubbornly held in the face of death is undoubtedly powerful; Piggy was undeniably a tenacious advocate of social