Piggy's Glasses Symbolism

“No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks” (Mary Shelley).The movie Mean Girls by Tina Fey tells the story of an exchange student, Cady Heron, trying to ruin Regina George’s life by sabotaging the plastic’s group. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding a group of preteen boys are stranded on an island after their plane crashed and are forced to survive on their own. Both Lord of the Flies and Mean Girls are about the evil found within people, and they both contain similarities in symbolism and characterization;however, these stories contain several differences with the plot and setting.

Symbolism is a great way to show the meaning of something or someone to a person. In the story Lord of the Flies by William Golding, it shows much symbolism. There are three things that specifically symbolic to the story. The three symbols are Piggy’s glasses, the conch, and the scar.

“Its is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent but the one most responsive to change.” -Charles Darwin. The character Piggy in William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies serves as the intellectual balance to the emotional leaders of a group of shipwrecked British boys, but he himself is not able to cope with the idea of change and fear is what holds him back. Their new society does not care about Piggy’s intellectual talents instead they value physical strength more, as they believe it is their key to survival. Lord of the Flies is a novel which has many hidden symbols to what each character represents. Piggy is a character which can be connected with

There are multiple symbols within Lord of the Flies, however, the fourth chapter mainly focuses on Piggy’s spectacles, fire, painted faces, and long hair.

In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses several symbols to represent the transition of the characters from morally acceptable members of a society, into a more savage state of mind. The story reveals that only two boys remain connected to the moral codes of civilization and how the rest quickly turn and follow a leader, even though he was absent of goodness, which should be inherent to all people. So what are we human, animal, or savages? The conch shell is a symbol that shows the boys still have some form of authority, without it there would be anarchy. Piggy’s glasses are what is used to start the signal fire in the novel and a sense of civilization. Jack is

Firstly, towards the beginning of the book, Piggy’s specs symbolize how civilization is just beginning on the island. After taking Piggy’s glasses, Ralph begins to use the lenses as a way to start a fire. Golding states, “Ralph moved the lenses back and forth… The flame flapped higher and the boys broke into a cheer” (38). To obtain a fire is a magnificent step towards the building of a civilization, for it is extremely crucial for survival. The boys’ cheer at the emergence of the

The couch, Piggy’s glasses and the fire are all examples of symbols that change meaning in the novel Lord of then Flies, by William Golding. In the beginning of the book the conch represents power and government on the island, but in the end ends up representing the fall. Much like Piggy’s glasses represented technogical advances and then, ten loss of humanity in the boys. The fire represented hope for survival, but was later used for death. These symbols show how in a book, anything can change and become the opposite of what it was first meant for.

In the beginning of the novel, Piggy's glasses help the boys take a huge step toward their own civilization and survival. This is one of many reasons why Piggy's glasses symbolize civilization and knowledge. In Lord of the Flies Golding writes,"' His specs – use them as burning glasses"' (40). He illustrates how the boys use the glasses to create fire to demonstrate their value and why they are beneficial. Golding also writes, "Piggy's glasses flew off and tinkled on the rocks''(71). He expresses this to show the break in their civilization and how they begin to cause chaos throughout the island. The quote also describes their lack of knowledge as they succumb to evil and savagery. Piggy's glasses make a huge impact on the novel as well as

There are different perceptions of objects to different people, and the glasses in Lord of the Flies are a prime example of that statement. The glasses, to Ralph, gave him a sense of reassurance of being rescued as the glasses were the only way the boys could create a smoke signal to oncoming ships and planes. Jack used them to hold and obtain power over the boys on the island and the glasses kept Piggy feeling safe and secure. This symbol is important to the succession of the story line in a way that portrays human nature. The boys were thrown out into the wild forcing them to mature and a majority turned into savages to survive. The boys on the island have matured throughout the book, gradually becoming more and more capable to take care of themselves and using their resources. Using the one most vital resource the boys have, the glasses, they managed to get the attention of a ship that happened to pass

In the first two chapters of Lord of The Flies, we can see a growing tension between Ralph and Jack's group as the boys are taken by a spirit of savagery and engage in controversy regarding their fear and inclinations towards their state of remoteness. Golding also represents conflict and hostility through the harassment of Piggy, who is constantly interrupted by Jack and underestimated by the boys, as we can see in in a quote by Jack" 'You're talking too much', said Jack Merridew, 'shut up, Fatty' " and " 'I got the conch-' Jack turned fiercely. 'You shut up!' " Golding represents the conch in the book as a democratic symbol, which allowed every boy to contribute to decisions. When Piggy is denied to speak, it shows that intern conflicts taking away their social and democratic morals and splitting the boys apart, where the symbol of equality is forgotten and restricted to a limited number of people. The bullying

In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses items and people to symbolize many different things. These symbolic things include Piggy’s glasses, Simon’s epilepsy, the Lord of the Flies, and arguably the most important symbol, the conch shell. The conch shell was first found in the water by Piggy, who then comes up with the idea of using the conch as a blow horn to call for meetings. Throughout Lord of the Flies, the conch shell becomes not only associated with Ralph and his leadership, but with Piggy and his intuitive and wise ideas and Jack and his dictator-like, irresponsible authority. The conch shell, representing law and order, assisted in the election of Ralph as chief and ultimately determines the future of the island. However, as time

The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding is an interesting novel that shows many different circumstances that happen to civilization, for better or for worse, through the actions of children. Ralph, the main character, opens the novel up with Piggy. The two boys are strolling through the woods on this island that they have been stranded on. They had survived a horrible plane crash, fleeing the land that they came from, hoping to find somewhere safer to stay. From their knowledge, there were no adults that survived this crash, but there were other boys on the island that they have yet to meet. By coincidence, they found this perfect conch shell in a pond nearby, and they summoned up their first meeting. After

Piggy’s glasses, symbolic of clear perspective, devolves as time progresses. Piggy is the foil in the novel who is an intellectual, suffers from a larger figure, and obtains glasses. These glasses allow him to see the world around him clearly and realistically. However, in the middle of the novel, “Piggy’s glasses flew off and tinkled on the rocks” (pg.71). When Jack breaks Piggy’s glasses, it shows him as a dictator and a destructor of society. From the cracking of the glasses, Piggy’s lost his clear perspective. Following this incident, Jack and his tribe pilfer the glasses, showing the transfer of power to to the opposing side. These degraded glasses will be used for destruction of civilization rather than for good, in regards to the signal

To begin with, Golding uses Piggy's glasses to symbolize that the boys are in a sane state of mind. Golding portrays the children are in a sane state of mind through the quote, "Piggy shook his head, put on his flashing glasses, and looked down at Ralph" (Golding 14). The spectacles were in ultimate condition like the youngsters. The boys were still acting like mature adults at this point. The better shape the glasses are in, the better the boys are acting. At this time they are not going mad and murdering.

This was used as a way to represent the sanity, intelligence, and civilization of the boys. Part way into the book, Jack hit Piggy and broke one lens of his glasses. “Ralph made a step forward and Jack smacked Piggy’s head. Piggy’s glasses flew off and tinkled the rocks… ‘one side’s broken,’” (Golding 71). This was the first time any rules were broken, and Jack’s violent outburst was the first time any rules were broken and Piggy’s broken lens was a direct result of that. Later in the novel, Jack and his boys attacked the remainder of the boys and stole Piggy’s glasses. “‘They’ve got our fire… they stole it,’” (Golding 169). Piggy’s glasses were stolen, resulting in no fire and symbolizing the completely dissipated remains of sanity and