Lord of the Flies

In Lord of the Flies, Piggy refuses to blame any individual for Simon’s death and instead insists that it was “an accident.” The morning after the killing, when Ralph says plainly that “they murdered him,” Piggy immediately pushes back. He cannot accept that he—and the others—took part in a deliberate act of violence. By calling it an accident, he shifts responsibility away from human intention and onto circumstance: the storm, the darkness, the confusion of the dance. He also joins Ralph and Samneric in pretending they left the feast early, before the frenzy began, which further distances him from direct blame.

What Piggy is really doing is protecting his belief in civilization and rationality. If Simon’s death is acknowledged as murder, then the idea that the boys are still “civilized” collapses. Calling it an accident allows Piggy to maintain a version of order and innocence, even as the evidence points the other way. His reaction contrasts sharply with what actually happened: the boys, including Piggy, were swept into a mob that surrounded and brutally murdered Simon. 

Even Piggy, the character who stands most firmly for reason, cannot fully confront the violence within himself. By blaming the death on accident rather than human choice, he shows how fragile civilization is when it has to face the truth about its own capacity for savagery.