Piggy Flashcards
paragraph 1 simon
simons has a sense of optimism towards the island, he is the only character who sees the good in the situation and believes in rescue even when Ralph doubts this. Simon represents humanity and light but also individuality and creativity which cant strive in jacks tribe therefore he is later sacrificed when jack comes into power. Simons death foreshadows Ralph being hunted by Jack with the tribe intending to kill him at the end of the novel as Simon became the ‘beast’ and was murdered.
para 2
simons encounters the lord of the flies and hallucinates as the sows head begins speaking to him, the sows head reveals the dark nature of human kind and Simons realises the beast is not an external force but a darkness deep within mankind which can only prevail when civilisation isn’t present. Simon does foreshadow this earlier in the novel but the boys dismiss his comment and Simon is further conveyed as being omniscient compared to the others on the island. This proves as effective characterisation as we see the hold society’s rules once had over the boys when they first arrived has been loosened.
para 3
Simons death marks the end of humanity and a light going out allowing darkness to overtake the other boys. He is one of the few boys who don’t turn savage showing a clear contrast between jacks tribe and Ralph, Piggy and Simon at this stage in the novel. Simons death is foreshadowed by the killing of the pigs leading them to kill one of their own, once they kill Simon they have fully become savage. Simons death is christ like and inhuman, he is conveyed as a christ-like figure who has been killed by a senseless mob.Simons death conveys Golding’s main theme of savagery vs civilisation while showing the direct consequences of his death through the boys loss of humanity
para 4
piggys death is ultimately symbolic of the end of civilisation. Piggy is this intelligent, calm and civil character and roger who is the embodiment of ultimate evil/the devil within the novel kills him with a rock, the rock symbolises power and strength which roger feels he has over piggy motivating him to finally murder piggy, this is also foreshadowed earlier in the novel when Roger throws stones at the littleuns on the beach. His death is overall senseless and meaningless and roger killing piggy displays the idea of civilisation and order vs chaos and civilisation effectively.
para 5
piggys death means Ralph is on his own now to contend with jack and his barbaric tribe and overall piggys death would have marked the end of the boys, had they not been rescued. His death is also gruesome and the splattering of his brains symbolise the end of intellect and science on the island. He clings onto the conch in his very last moments showing his sheer loyalty and commitment to the system both him and Ralph put in place on the island. Both piggy and the conch cease to exist and the key symbols of civilisation are lost sending the final message of the novel, without civilisation savagery triumphs.
quote for meeting
we can use this to call the others. have a meeting
