In the novel, Lord of the Flies, the author, William Golding, uses one of the characters, Piggy, to represent technology. Piggy acts as a resource to the boys on the island who utilize his intelligence and material possession to their advantage. Piggy’s “breakdown” and eventual death reveals that the boys on the island cannot function properly without him. The character, Piggy, symbolizes technology and the vitality of it within society. Throughout the novel, Piggy’s intelligence and material possession, used to represent technology, are used as a necessary resource on the island. Jack realizes early on, how to use the otherwise physically useless Piggy to the boys’ advantage, “ His specs—use them as burning glasses!” (Goulding 40). In a very literal sense, Piggy’s possession of glasses acts as a great resource on the island; without them the boys would have no way to make fire. Piggy’s glasses are used to light every fire on the
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Like technology, Piggy’s presence in society allows the boys on the island to do things which they otherwise would not be able to do. Piggy holds immense intelligence some of which ends up being of great significance to the boys on the island. Immediately following the discovery of the conch, Piggy dispenses every bit of knowledge he holds about them, “ S’right. It’s a shell! I seen one like that before. On someone’s back wall. A conch he called it. He used to blow it and then his mum would come. It’s ever so valuable—” (15). Piggy’s rambling, having sparked an idea in Ralph, he responds,“We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us—” (16). It is Piggy’s knowledge of conch shells that gives Ralph the ideas to blow the conch as a signal for meetings on the island.
Like technology, Piggy’s presence in society allows the boys on the island to do things which they otherwise would not be able to do. Piggy holds immense intelligence some of which ends up being of great significance to the boys on the island. Immediately following the discovery of the conch, Piggy dispenses every bit of knowledge he holds about them, “ S’right. It’s a shell! I seen one like that before. On someone’s back wall. A conch he called it. He used to blow it and then his mum would come. It’s ever so valuable—” (15). Piggy’s rambling, having sparked an idea in Ralph, he responds,“We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us—” (16). It is Piggy’s knowledge of conch shells that gives Ralph the ideas to blow the conch as a signal for meetings on the island.