In my breath. I was the only boy

In my breath. I was the only boy

In every piece of literature there is always one character that stands out to me. Coincidentally, the characters I usually choose to admire are the weak, unpopular, failure types. In the book “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding the character that stood out to me most was Piggy.

He was the boy whose real name was never mentioned, but his real name wouldn’t be as symbolic as the nickname he had throughout the book. Throughout the earlier chapters I pictured Piggy as the run of the mill loser that wasn’t cool enough to share snacks with in school even if he had the tastiest ones.Piggy is a very obedient character that always followed his auntie’s rules. He was different and he accepted that fact on the outside, but in the inside he was quite jealous of Ralph’s capabilities to do things that he couldn’t. “The fat boy stood by him, breathing hard” Golding 9 This quotation proves that Piggy stood near Ralph trying to catch his breath because of his “ass-mar” and obviously because his physical state wasn’t as exercised as others.

He begins to explain asthma to Ralph, “that’s right. Can’t catch my breath. I was the only boy in our school what had asthma, and I’ve been wearing specs since I was three.

Golding 9 Piggy is clearly the perfect example of an outcast. “I don’t care what they call me, so long as they don’t call me what they used to call me at school… Piggy” Golding 9 As soon as he tells Ralph that he doesn’t want to be called Piggy, of course Ralph is suddenly inconsiderate of Piggy’s feelings and begins to call him by the nickname he dislikes. Piggy gets along with certain characters and the lack of chemistry him and other characters have, foreshadow things that happen in the future. His interactions with Jack and Roger end up costing Piggy his life.In the earlier chapters when the boys try to gather a group to go exploring around the mountain and the first person vs. person conflict is brought to action. “You’re no good on a job like this” “All the same-“ “We don’t want you,” said Jack flatly, “three’s enough.

” … “ I was with him when he found the conch. I was with Ralph before anyone was. ” … “You can’t come” Golding 24 Jack feels it is okay to belittle and leave Piggy behind simple because he’s different. Piggy is fairly persistent when matters involve Ralph but he seems to have control over himself as Jack tries to test his patience.

Piggy might be weak physically but later on in the novel it is demonstrated that Piggy is quite strong mentally. His ideas show convenience and efficiency to getting rescued. “I expect we’ll want to know all their names,” said the fat boy, “and make a list.

We ought to have a meeting. ” Golding 5 Even though Piggy is a very unique character in his own way there are some similarities between him and Simon. The obvious similarity between Simon and Piggy is the outcast personalities they both have. Simon is considered crazy because he was the first to see what the real beast was, which was just a dead man with a parachute.

Everybody else was convinced that it was a crazy mythical creature. Simon is mostly discriminated because of his actions, and Piggy is discriminated because of his appearance. Piggy was referred to as “fatty”, while Simon was referred to as “batty”. Their own “friends” on the island murdered both boys. Simon tried to tell the boys what the real beast was, but by being mistaken for the beast, Simon was stabbed to death by the boys.

The sea then washed his body away. Piggy on the other hand was murdered simply because Roger had the chance, so he took it.Ralph was challenging Jack and Roger felt the need to eliminate any other chance of Jack not being able to be chief, so he rolled a boulder and it caught Piggy at the knees and dragged him off the cliff into the sea. One could argue that many of the characters in Lord of the Flies change, which is true for characters like Jack and Ralph.

But in my point of view Piggy never changes. Piggy always remained true to his morals and understanding of how to survive on the island. Some of Piggy’s last words really demonstrate that he was always the same Piggy the whole time. I got this to say.

You’re acting like a crowd of kids, which is better – to be a pack of painted Indians like you are, or to be sensible like Ralph is? Which is better – to have rules and agree or to hung and kill? Which is better, law and rescue or hunting and breaking things up? ” Golding 180. This quote stood out because he isn’t afraid to admit all the problematic things that are happening. He may not look one bit like an adult, but he acts like one throughout the book until his death.

Even in the face of insanity, Piggy keeps in sanctity.He knows he’s isn’t the most salient out of the bunch, but he stands his grounds well throughout the whole novel and suffers a painful death because he simply didn’t realize the effect of isolation and violence the other boys endured. With all that being said, Piggy is really a true character that not only is an important character in the book, but also teaches the readers to treat others with respect. Piggy was unfairly treated because of things he could not change.

He truly is a unique asset to the novel and things would have gone differently without him.