Lord of the Flies Group

Topic: Is it fitting that the conch and Piggy should share a common fate? How is the third death on the island different from the others?

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1

soda-pop

Explain what power and desire have finally been liberated in the children.

1

Piggy is one of the last holdouts against Jack and he was the one who suggested Ralph blow the conch to summon the boys at the beginning of the novel. He is the brains behind Ralph and Ralph's attempt at governing the boys. It is fitting that both he and the conch should therefore share the same end. Piggy's death is different from the two other boys whose deaths are mentioned in the book. Both of those deaths, the boy with the mulberry birthmark and Simon, appear to have been an accident. Evidently, he boy with the birthmark was burned when the first fire became too large to control. Simon's death resulted from the frenzy of the dance when the boys mistook Simon for the beast. However, Piggy's death is coldly calculated. While Piggy demands he glasses back from Jack, Ralph intentionally takes a bolder and pushes it off the cliff, directly at Piggy. He knows Piggy will not see what is coming because his eyesight is so poor without his glasses. This is an obvious sign that the boys, especially Ralph, have finally become true savages who have given in to the thirst for evil and savagery they have faced since the beginning of the novel. Ralph recognizes this also and runs away before he, too, is killed.

2

sampiper22

I echo the previous answer - the symbolism of the conch's authority and Piggy's intelligence and foresight and understanding being destroyed together is clearly important.

I'd question whether Simon's death was an accident - it is deliberately ambiguous in the novel -

And be very careful not to confuse Ralph and Roger - Ralph is the decent leader; Roger the psychopath!

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