William Golding's Lord of the Flies is set on a deserted island, and the characters are all British schoolboys who have been stranded there after a plane crash. In the first chapter, the boys all finally meet and hold a meeting. One of the older boys, Ralph, is elected to be chief; another of the older boys, thinks he should have been elected chief. Ralph lets Jack keep his choir boys as hunters and then invites Jack to explore the island with him.

It is clear from the beginning that no one really wants to spend any time with Piggy, a fat, asthmatic boy who wears thick glasses. He is physically unappealing, which is enough for all the boys to want to distance themselves from him. Despite his physical appearance, Piggy is intelligent and tries to keep order on the island. The symbol of order, the conch, was discovered by Ralph, but Piggy is the one who taught him how to blow it. Piggy is the first person Ralph meets; while Piggy feels connected to Ralph, it is evident from the beginning that Ralph wants to distance himself from the fat boy.

When it is time for Ralph to choose boys to go exploring with him, he studiously avoids selecting Piggy, but Piggy wants to go.

Piggy stirred.
“I’ll come.”
Ralph turned to him.
“You’re no good on a job like this.”
“All the same—”
“We don’t want you,” said Jack, flatly. “Three’s enough.”
Piggy’s glasses flashed.
“I was with him when he found the conch. I was with him before anyone else was.”

Piggy tries to make the case that he should go, pleading with Ralph to take him along. Ralph does not want Piggy, so Piggy must stay behind. Piggy's desperate plea to go with Ralph indicates his intuitive understanding that Ralph will be the only protection Piggy will have from the mean and cruel Jack, and he feels the need to stay with Ralph for protection. When he is forced to remain behind, Piggy feels vulnerable and exposed. Piggy's sense of things will prove to be right.

What is the significance of Piggy's plea to join the expedition?

After the boys have crash landed on the desert island, they need to set about exploring their new surroundings to get the lie of the land. So Ralph forms a group to go on an expedition. Piggy begs Ralph to let him tag along. And why not? Piggy's by far and away the smartest boy on the island. His intelligence and capacity for logical reasoning could prove very useful on the expedition.

But Ralph tells a dejected Piggy that he won't be needed; this just isn't the right kind of job for him. As we might expect, Jack's even more blunt, telling Piggy right out that he isn't wanted. The thinking behind the decision to leave out Piggy is that he's likely to slow the other boys down on account of his excess weight. Piggy's deeply disappointed at being left behind to collect the names of the other boys, but there's really not much he can do about it.

There is ominous significance in this episode. Piggy, the voice of reason on the island, is simply not respected. It's only the first chapter in the story, and yet already it's clear that the values of reason and civilization that Piggy represents have no place in this savage, brutal environment.

What is the significance of Piggy's plea to join the expedition?

What is the significance of Piggy's plea to join the expedition?

If this refers to the initial plea to join the group of boys, in the first chapter, it sets up themes for the entire novel: the idea that Piggy is a bit of an outsider, has to ask permission, is the (rejected) voice of reason, provides glasses that can be used to produce fire, etc.

If this refers to his request to join the visit to the other boys in Chapter 9, the meaning is related, but more focused; it shows him supporting Ralph's residual authority and sets up the final ruptures in civilization by pushing an accidental confrontation.

Greg

What is the significance of Piggy's plea to join the expedition in Lord of the Flies?

In chapter 1 we learn that the boys were on a plane that was shot down and crashed onto a deserted, jungle island. The first two boys we meet are Ralph and Piggy. Piggy is clearly different than the other boys: he's bigger, smarter, and wears glasses. He's the one who finds the conch shell and suggests to Ralph to use it to locate the other boys from the plane. But once Ralph is elected as the leader and Jack's group of boys are determined to be group's hunters, Piggy is ignored. Ralph, Jack, and Simon head off to explore the island. Piggy begs to go with them, but since he's overweight they don't think they can keep up and leave him behind. Ralph tries to give a consolation assignment and leaves him behind to get the names of the rest of the boys.

Piggy is not happy about his assignment, but he respects the position to which Ralph has been elected, and so he listens to Ralph's orders.

What is the significance of Piggy's plea to join the expedition in Lord of the Flies?

In the first chapter, when Ralph, the newly appointed chief says they need to see if they are indeed, on an island, and therefore they need to explore, Piggy says he wants to go with Ralph, Jack, and Simon.  Ralph tells Piggy that he's no good on a job like this; Jack just says, "We don't want you." The significance is that Piggy is the voice of reason and intellect - a voice needed among the boys.  Piggy does not get any respect from Jack and even Ralph is slow to show him much, but Piggy wants and deserves respect.  Piggy even tries another tactic by telling Ralph that he was hurt that Ralph told the boys his nickname was "Piggy".  Ralph makes Piggy feel a little better by telling him it could be worse, and that it was Piggy's job to get the names of all the other boys.  This shows that Ralph has empathy for Piggy, the sign of the civility which the reader sees in Ralph throughout the story.