Piggy Character Analysis in Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies

William Golding

The smartest boy on the island. Due to his obesity and asthma, Piggy is also the weakest of the biguns. Piggy believes passionately in civilization, law, and reasoning through problems, but he seldom does any work because of his obesity and his nonstop craving for food. Piggy also has a tendency to lecture and criticize. His condescension infuriates the other boys and inspires them to single him out, ridicule him, and even physically abuse him. Piggy symbolizes science and rationality.

Piggy Quotes in Lord of the Flies

The Lord of the Flies quotes below are all either spoken by Piggy or refer to Piggy. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Penguin Books edition of Lord of the Flies published in 2003.

"Aren't there any grownups at all?"
"I don't think so."
The fair boy said this solemnly; but then the delight of a realized ambition overcame him. In the middle of the scar he stood on his head and grinned at the reversed fat boy.
"No grownups!"

Related Characters: (speaker), (speaker)

Related Symbols:

Page Number and Citation: 8

Explanation and Analysis:

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"We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They'll come when they hear us—"
He beamed at Ralph.
"That was what you meant, didn't you? That's why you got the conch out of the water."

Related Characters: (speaker),

Related Symbols:

Page Number and Citation: 16

Explanation and Analysis:

"He says he saw the beastie, the snake-thing, and will it come back tonight?"
"But there isn't a beastie!"
"He says in the morning it turned into them things like ropes in the trees and hung in the branches. He says will it come back again tonight?"
"But there isn't a beastie!"
There was no laughter at all now and more grave watching. Ralph pushed both hands through his hair and looked at the little boy in mixed amusement and exasperation.

Related Characters: (speaker), (speaker)

Related Symbols:

Page Number and Citation: 36

Explanation and Analysis:

His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.

Related Characters: ,

Related Symbols: , ,

Page Number and Citation: 202

Explanation and Analysis:

Piggy Character Timeline in Lord of the Flies

The timeline below shows where the character Piggy appears in Lord of the Flies. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...a list of everyone who survived. He lets slip that in school people called him Piggy. Ralph laughs. Piggy begs Ralph not to tell anyone. (full context)

...swimming hole and says his father, who's in the Navy, will come rescue them. But Piggy is fairly certain that no one knows where they landed. Piggy says they have to... (full context)

...of the meeting. One of the boys in the choir, Simon, faints. Jack soon tells Piggy to shut up, and calls him "Fatty." Ralph gleefully reveals that Piggy's name is "Piggy."... (full context)

...boys must explore their island. He and Jack will both go, of course. Ralph ignores Piggy's whining pleas to be included, and picks Simon to be the third explorer. Ralph, Jack,... (full context)

Piggy takes the conch and says no one knows they're on the island. Ralph agrees, but... (full context)

...birthmark that covers half his face steps forward. After some prodding, the boy whispers to Piggy, and Piggy tells everyone what the boy said. He saw a "beastie," a "snake-thing," the... (full context)

...boys jump up and run to collect wood and bring it to the mountain top. Piggy, left alone at the meeting place, disgustedly says that the other boys are acting like... (full context)

...mountain. They can't figure out how start the fire until Jack grabs the glasses off Piggy's face. Ralph uses the glasses to focus the sun's rays on the wood. Piggy is... (full context)

The fire burns out because the wood is so dry. Piggy starts to criticize the boys, but Jack shouts him down. Simon points out that Piggy's... (full context)

Piggy notices that sparks from their signal fire have set the trees below them on fire.... (full context)

On the beach, a bunch of biguns, including Ralph and Piggy, rest and talk. Soon Piggy comes up with a plan for them to build sundials... (full context)

Piggy and even some of the hunters start yelling at Jack. Jack, humiliated and angry, hits... (full context)

Eventually Jack apologizes for letting the fire die. Ralph asks Piggy's permission to use his glasses to light the fire. Ralph realizes he and Piggy have... (full context)

They cook the pig, but Jack refuses to give Piggy any meat. Simon shares with Piggy. (full context)

...planning what he'll say at the meeting and wishing he could think as well as Piggy can. Finally, he blows the conch. (full context)

...the littleun's crybabies. He says he's been all over the island, and there's no beast. Piggy agrees with Jack. (full context)

Simon takes the conch. He says maybe the boys themselves are the beast. Piggy thinks this idea is crazy. Many of the boys think Simon's saying the beast is... (full context)

Piggy grabs the conch and shouts that ghosts don't exist. He asks the boys if they're... (full context)

...the beast and kill it. He starts a chant on the beach. Everyone but Ralph, Piggy, and Simon join him. (full context)

Piggy tells Ralph to blow the conch, but Ralph refuses. What if no one responded? Ralph... (full context)

Ralph calls a meeting that quickly becomes heated. Jack questions Ralph's decisions and leadership, mocks Piggy, and claims the conch no longer matters. For an instant it seems as if Jack... (full context)

Ralph and the biguns agree to search the island. Piggy stays behind to look after the littleuns. At the far tip of the island, the... (full context)

...before they reach the mountain. Ralph realizes that they need to send someone to tell Piggy they won't be back that night. Everyone's too frightened to volunteer, except Simon. (full context)

Jack mocks Ralph's concern for Piggy. Ralph asks Jack why he hates him. The question makes all the boys nervous. (full context)

Back on the beach, Piggy can't believe the beast is real. He asks what they should do. Ralph isn't sure.... (full context)

Next Jack accuses Ralph of belittling the hunters. He says Ralph is like Piggy and isn't a proper chief. Jack calls for a vote to remove Ralph and make... (full context)

...the forest. Everyone is stunned, but the meeting continues. Simon suggests they climb the mountain. Piggy considers the suggestion insane. He says they should just build a signal fire on the... (full context)

...dance and sing. After the fire, Ralph realizes that all the biguns but Samneric and Piggy have disappeared. Most have gone to join Jack. (full context)

...The beast warns Simon that if he tries to interfere Jack, Roger, Maurice, Robert, Bill, Piggy, and Ralph will "do" him. (full context)

Meanwhile, everyone but a few littleuns and Ralph and Piggy have gone to Jack's feast. Ralph mocks the feast as a bunch of boys "pretending"... (full context)

...be a pig at the center of the circle, but eventually stops. Even Ralph and Piggy press forward. The circle of boys becomes a frenzied mob. (full context)

The next morning, Piggy and Ralph discover that every bigun except them and Samneric has joined Jack's tribe. Ralph... (full context)

...hunting tomorrow and have a feast. To cook the meat, they'll raid Ralph's group for Piggy's glasses. Meanwhile, Ralph, Piggy, and Samneric discover four people aren't enough to keep the fire... (full context)

Though only Piggy, Ralph, and Samneric remain in their group, Piggy tells Ralph to blow the conch to... (full context)

Ralph demands that Jack return Piggy's glasses. He mentions again the importance of the signal fire. Jack's tribe has only a... (full context)

Ralph and Jack start to fight again, but Piggy asks to speak and Ralph relents. Piggy raises the conch and once more calls them... (full context)

Roger pushes a boulder from the fort. Ralph dives out of the way, but Piggy can't see without his glasses: the boulder hits him head on, and the conch explodes.... (full context)

...says he would have expected more from British boys. Ralph begins to cry, thinking of Piggy. All of the other boys begin to cry as well. (full context)

Ralph

Jack