relationship between R and P

Question 1

overview

Answer 1

At first, the reader gets the impression that Ralph and Piggy won’t be friends because of superficial differences. Ralph is very athletic whereas Piggy is lazy. However, when the fire is let out Ralph and Piggy realise that they have similar values like rescue and democracy. As Jack and Ralph fall out, Piggy and Ralph become closer friends. After Jack forms his own tribe Piggy becomes more confident without his fear of Jack bullying him and this leads to Ralph becoming reliant on Piggy for his support. At the end Ralph cries for the death of Piggy which tells the reader that their relationship was reciprocated whereas earlier in the novel it was one-sided as Piggy admired Ralph.

Question 2

beginning

Answer 2

• At the start Ralph is described to have ‘fair hair’ whereas Piggy is ‘very fat.’ They look like polar opposites which leads the reader to suspect that they wont be friends.
• Ralph considers Piggy an ‘irrelevance’ which suggests how he is indifferent to Piggy and has no strong feelings for him. This leads to Ralph telling all the boys ‘his real name’s Piggy’ after Piggy trusted him to keep it a secret. Piggy views this as a betrayal however Ralph doesn’t see it like that because their relationship is one-sided – Piggy cares more for Ralph than Ralph does about Piggy.
• When the fire is let out Jack takes his anger out on Piggy after being humiliated when Piggy yells ‘You and your blood, Jack Merridew!’ This shows how Piggy is supporting Ralph’s dislike of hunting. Jack punches Piggy and this leads to Ralph defending Piggy and saying ‘that was a dirty trick.’ This suggests how Ralph is offering Piggy physical protection from his bully.
• When the fire is rebuilt Ralph finds that that the link between him and Jack had ‘snapped and fastened elsewhere.’ Golding uses a metaphor to suggest how Ralph and Piggy have grown closer because of shared priorities.

Question 3

middle

Answer 3

• Ralph realises that Piggy is valuable and they become closer because the fire was let out. This allows Ralph to find out that they have the same priorities like being rescued and staying civilised. When Ralph begins to doubt his abilities, he says, ‘I can’t think. Not like Piggy.’ This suggests how he values Piggy because of how smart he is. Ralph has only realised this because he matured over time on the island.
• When Jack leaves the group, Ralph begins to lose his confidence because he has failed the other boys and everyone leaves the group. However, Piggy fees more confident because Jack has left the group and doesn’t fear being bullied. Ralph begins to rely on Piggy because of his lack of confidence and this leads to Piggy reassuring Ralph by giving him a feast to cheer him up after the boys leave.

Question 4

end

Answer 4

• After Simon’s death, Ralph has a mental breakdown which leads to him becoming almost completely dependant on Piggy. He forgets his priorities and this makes his speeches ‘lame’ to the other boys. Whereas, earlier in the novel Ralph had been elected as chief because he was charismatic. This suggests a change. This leads to Piggy telling the other boys in a meeting ‘Ralph’s told you often enough’ when talking about rescue. Piggy supports Ralph.
• When Piggy dies Ralph becomes lost without him because there was ‘no Piggy to talk sense.’ This suggests how he misses the support from Piggy because otherwise he cannot make decisions.
• At the very end of the novel Ralph ‘weeps for his true, wise friend.’ As this is one of the last mentions in the novel it suggests how Piggy was very important to Ralph and that by the end Ralph genuinely cared for Piggy so their relationship was reciprocated.