In the story Lord of Flies, by William Golding, there are many conflicts between the characters and the island, but some of the more important come between Piggy and the group. Piggy is seen to the group as the outsider, the member who doesn’t fit in. Although they treat him as an outcast, Piggy’s smart wits and his ideas are used by the group in reluctance, but end up playing a big part in the story. For example, it was Piggy's idea to use his glasses to start the fire. Jack, the leader of the choirboys, right from the start, reveals a deep dislike for Piggy. During the very first meeting when Piggy is asking the boys for their names Jack says, "Shut up fatty you talk too much." But when the fire is allowed to go out and they miss the possible chance of getting rescued Piggy says to Jack, "You didn't ought to have let that fire out, you said you'd keep the smoke going...." And Jack punches him in the stomach. Perhaps Piggy was right when he later told Ralph that Jack hated Ralph but he knew that Ralph would hit him back so he vented his anger on Piggy, who couldn't fight back.
Piggy’s outer appearance serves as a vessel for the boys to make fun of him. Little do they know that his thoughts and ideas would help better the group and create a better chance of arriving back home. At the beginning of the story, we see Piggy following Ralph everywhere he goes, babbling off ideas and thoughts in his head. After his encounters with Jack and the group members, he begins to tone down his thoughts and ideas soon after realizing they don’t care. Piggy’s death near the end of the book is very symbolic to his cause. When piggy dies, the conch is smashed, signifying all the order and control and civilization in the story. Also, it marks the end of rational thinking and the beginning of savagery. Piggy was the rational, smart, and calm, one of the calmest in the group, but his death marks the end of civilized calm thinking and rationalization, with the marking of savagery. Piggy helps reveal the theme that we are all naturally wicked and evil, to an extent. Piggy’s role in the story, other than to be made fun of, was to be the protection line between evil and good, and when he the boundary was broken, all the evil pored through to the boys. Whether Piggy or any of the members knew, he was the saving point of the group.
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