Character Study of Piggy from Lord of the Flies

In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, some English boys find themselves on an island because their plane was shot down during World War II. When the boys first land Piggy and Ralph emerge from the woods and gather the rest of the boys that are still alive. Piggy plays a very important role in this book as an advisor to Ralph. Piggy is very weak physically, but he makes up for it with his mental power.

Piggy is made fun of for his physical appearance. The other boys pick on Piggy because of these physical traits he has. Piggy is over weight and cannot keep up with the other boys because of his weight. Also he has asthma, which holds him back from doing many activities. Jack, especially likes to pick on Piggy, he slaps him around and occasionally says things to him like "Move Fatty" or "Push aside".

That is how Piggy is held back physically, but he makes up for it in the mental state.

Piggy is exceptionally intelligent, and comes up with ingenious ideas. When the boys first crash on the island Piggy is the one who finds the conch shell and had Ralph go get it. Piggy also has a good idea when he suggests using his glasses to start the fire. He also tells Ralph they should have meetings, "We need to have a meeting tonight!" He also tells Ralph to make a rescue plan so they can get off the island. That is how Piggy is uses his smarts to help out he rest of the group.

Piggy's intelligence also helps him be organized which benefits the group of boys greatly. Piggy wants to keep order at the meetings and helps with the idea to come up with them. He ask questions like "How many of us are there"" He also tries to keep peace between most people. Piggy also shows organization by telling Ralph to use the conch to call all the boys out of the woods. Piggy also shows organization by not going crazy like most of the other boys and tries to be like he was when he was in England.

Piggy is very intelligent, but does get picked on a lot for his physical appearance. He is a main character in this book though, and as time goes on he will come up with many more fabulous ideas. Piggy, in William Golding's Lord of the Flies, is very weak physically, but he makes up for it with his mental power.