Piggy Symbolism

In Lord of the Flies, Golding uses strong characterization and instances of symbolism to help develop the story and reveal relevant themes on human nature and society.
One example of this is the scene where Piggy is struck by the boulder to his fatal fall. As Piggy is hit, the conch that he held in his hands “exploded into a thousand white fragments.” Throughout the story, the conch represented order in the society of the boys, so this moment is symbolic in the sense that order no longer exists among the boys on the island, obliterated by the boulder. Furthermore, what is more important is that moments before being hit, Piggy was trying to talk sense into the members of Jack’s tribe, using the conch as symbolic leverage for his “right” to speak. In this sense, when the boulder is released by Roger, a member of the tribe, it became a symbol for the tribe’s defiant savagery that sought to eliminate the previously established order. As the conch is destroyed, it marks a very important turning point, as it …show more content…
Immediately, his head cracks open as its innards flow out. This is both a gruesome and critical moment for the story as a whole, as Piggy is an integral character that served as the “brains” for the boys. More often than not, Piggy was able to come up with the best ideas and determine the most logical course of action for the boys to take, in effort to be rescued. However, his thoughts were often met with resistance from Jack, who regarded Piggy with strong aversion due to his unathletic physical attributes. Because Jack is the leader of the opposing savage tribe, the death of Piggy represents irrational savagery overpowering sensible thinking among the boys on the island. Another detail that further supports this idea is the fact that Piggy’s head cracked open; it symbolizes the complete removal of rational thought from the boys on the island, as savagery takes