What are Piggy's last words?

In Lord of the Flies, Piggy’s last words are his final appeal to reason: he insists that it is “better to be sensible than savage.”

He speaks these words at Castle Rock while holding the conch, trying one last time to remind the boys of rules, logic, and basic decency. Even as Jack’s tribe surrounds him and ignores the conch’s authority, Piggy frames the situation in simple moral terms—sense versus savagery—because he still believes the argument itself should matter. Moments later, Roger releases the boulder that kills him, shattering both Piggy and the conch at once.

Crucially, Piggy doesn’t argue for power, fear, or even survival. He argues for “sense,” a word tied to reason, order, and shared understanding. That word choice exposes how completely the island has shifted, because his language no longer has any force in a world now governed by violence. His death marks the point where reason isn’t just ignored but physically destroyed, leaving Ralph alone as the last fragile remnant of civilization.