than before and breathless. “Perhaps they knew where we was going to; and perhaps not. But they don’t know where we are ’cos we never got there.” He gaped at them for a moment, then swayed and sat down.

Piggy's sense of rationality is clear here. He understands their grim situation and applies a scientific understanding of planes, flight schedules, communication, and probability to their likelihood of being rescued. But before he can utter those, words, Piggy must first put on his glasses, which presents him as a symbolically trustworthy form of knowledge on the subject.

The boys determine that they should use Piggy's glasses as a fire-starter, indicating the power of scientific reasoning to bring survival to this world of savage disorder:

“Here–let me go!” His voice rose to a shriek of terror as Jack snatched the glasses off his face. “Mind out! Give ’em back! I can hardly see!"

It is important to note that the glasses are stolen from Piggy, demonstrating the lack of respect that Jack holds for reasoning and knowledge. Instead, Jack acts in emotional passions, a contrast to Piggy's solid sense of steady reasoning.

Once Jack's tribe steals what remains of Piggy's glasses, Piggy is left virtually powerless against their efforts to annihilate what remains of Ralph's group. He becomes frightened, and his speech echoes a lack of reasoning. When Ralph and Piggy make one final attempt to reclaim Piggy's glasses and a sense of order, Piggy is killed by Jack's tribe. This demonstrates Jack's complete disconnect from civilization and societal order.

Piggy's glasses represent scientific knowledge.  It can be used to aid humanity or to destroy it. The fact that the glasses can be used to kindle a fire is a positive attribute; however, that same fire may turn into a destructive force when misused. Certainly, this has relevance in a world that has access to atomic energy, cloning and genetic engineering.

Jack's tribe successfully stealing Piggy's glasses is important because it is a turning point that symbolizes the ascendancy of Jack's side over Ralph's. After some of Jack's followers mount a raid on Ralph's camp and take the glasses, it becomes clear that the emotional and irrational power Jack wields has overwhelmed Ralph's attempts at rational control.

At Castle Rock, Ralph, Samneric, and Piggy attempt to retrieve the glasses but are unsuccessful. Ralph tries to appeal to the conch's power to persuade the boys to back him, but they are no longer interested. Even when Piggy appeals to their sense of morality, they still follow Jack's lead in not returning the glasses. At this point, the boulder Roger sends down the mountain crushes Piggy, kills him, and breaks the conch. Ralph's influence has ended, and his inability to retrieve the glasses makes the new power dynamic clear. Ralph has no option but to run for his life.

Furthermore, the glasses are key to being able to light a fire and that power now resides with Jack.

In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, Piggy's glasses were stolen so that Jack's boys could continue to make and control the fire. (They used the glasses in combination with the sun to start a small fire.) Since they had allowed the fire to go out before, they needed a way to restart it; the glasses proved more successful than rubbing sticks or stones together to create a spark. The theft of the glasses also reduced Piggy--the most intelligent boy on the island--to a nearly-blind boy who needed help to get around.

Unfortunately for him, Piggy is the character in Lord of the Flies by William Golding that everyone loves to hate. When Ralph first meets Piggy, he puts up with Piggy's chatter and questions, but as soon as he can, Ralph tries to get away from him. While the little ones answer Piggy's questions, they do not even consider voting for him as their leader--despite the fact that "what intelligence had been shown [on the island so far] was traceable to Piggy." Jack literally hates Piggy from the first moment Piggy opens his mouth to speak. From the beginning, Piggy is on the outside of the circle of boys. 

This is probably due to the fact that Piggy is such an unappealing physical presence. He is distinctly overweight, wears a windbreaker (a rather "sissy" thing to wear in this crowd, apparently), has asthma, and wears thick glasses. These are schoolboys, remember, and there is nothing much crueler than a bunch of kids who find something to pick on in a person they may not even know. This is what happens to Piggy with Ralph and the littluns; however, with Jack things are different. Jack clearly sees Piggy as a threat to his (Jack's) leadership and wants to shut him up from the outset. 

When the boys vote for thier leader, Piggy does not vote for either Jack or Ralph, seeming to understand that neither of them is a particularly good leader. Jack has already demonstrated that he is a poor leader by having to coerce his choir to vote for him. Ralph takes a cheap shot at Piggy by revealing his nickname, the one thing he asked Ralph not to do. In short, Piggy is the most intelligent boy on the island because he understands these things before anyone else does. 

So, no one wants Piggy on their team, so to speak. At meetings he tries to follow the rules of the conch but is shut down and stifled at every turn. When the boys decide to make a small fire on the mountain, everyone races off, leaving the asthmatic Piggy to makes his way alone and at his own pace. The boys amass a huge pile of wood and then stand there, embarrassed because they have no way to light the fire. They look around but see nothing to use.

A little air was moving over the mountain. Piggy came with it, in shorts and shirt, laboring cautiously out of the forest with the evening sunlight gleaming from his glasses. He held the conch under his arm.

Almost immediately he is mauled and his glasses ripped off of his face so they can make a fire. 

The great irony is that no one needs or wants Piggy's physical presence, his intellect, or his commitment to the rules (as demonstrated by his understanding of and care for the conch). Nevertheless, it is his glasses which hold the power of life and death on this island, for fire has the power to save and destroy. Piggy, the boy everyone loves to hate, has the absolute key to life and death on the island: not intelligence, not order and discipline, but fire. 

Glasses have long been a stereotypical accessory of the "nerd" figure in stories. In the first 15 pages of text, I count 5 times when I can find Piggy cleaning his glasses. At each time that he is cleaning them, he seems to either be thinking about what he is going to say next, or dealing with the nervous apprehension he has in dealing with Ralph's teasing. It seems an almost obsessive habit, but for some people repeating a certain act helps them think.

Another perspective to consider when thinking about the glasses is that they reveal truths. For Piggy, when his glasses are clean and he places them squarely back on his nose, he can see the situation clearly. These glasses also reveal truths about Piggy. For example, when he gets sad and tears start to form the glasses fog up.

As far as intelligence goes, Piggy has it, and it is often revealed through an action with his glasses, but most people with glasses look scholarly.

Read the SYMBOLISM section of the attached link for more info.

If you are researching for a paper, look in the first 15 pages for quotes.

In one word, it can be said that Piggy's glasses represent clarity.  Piggy has a clear view of what was expected of a civilized society. Piggy is the only character that never tangles with savagery.  He is the only character that does not experience the symbolic hair growth that the other boys exhibit.  He does not take off his school clothing in a symbolic shedding of his old life, as the other boys do.

Piggy would often take off his glasses and clean them; symbolically regaining his sense of clarity.  In Chapter Two, when Piggy is trying to ascertain the names of the boys that are beginning to assemble on the platform, the representation of clarity by his glasses is again shown.  

"Piggy bent his flashing glasses to them and could be heard between the blasts, repeating their names."

It is Piggy's actions that are bringing order to the boys.  While Ralph is uncertain and unfocused, Piggy is clear on the goal; establish and maintain order.

This is further proven when Jack smacks Piggy and his glasses break.  Jack rejects Piggy's clarity and enjoys the descent into savagery that he is experiencing.  Breaking Piggy's glasses allows his behavior to go on without the glare of civilized judgment. 

The character of Piggy symbolizes intellect, science, innovation, rationality, and civility throughout the novel Lord of the Flies. Despite Piggy's physical weaknesses, he is by far the most intelligent boy on the island. He is the first to identify the conch and attempts to gather the names of all the boys. He is Ralph's advisor and is continually reminding Ralph about the importance of maintaining the signal fire and being rescued. He is also the voice of reason throughout the novel. Piggy is continually arguing against Jack's tyrannical ideas and offers unyielding support for Ralph despite his unpopularity. Piggy attempts to build a sundial and makes the suggestion to build the fire on the lower platform. These two innovations represent aspects of civilization, which Piggy clearly favors. Piggy attempts to deal with the identity of the beast pragmatically by searching for a scientific explanation. He concludes that the only thing the boys should fear is each other. Despite Piggy's support for civility, he becomes a victim of the savage nature of the boys when he is brutally murdered.

Simon symbolizes existential understanding and the inherent positive qualities humans possess. Simon displays selflessness, courage, and sympathy for others throughout the novel. He cares for the littluns by building them shelters and picking fruit for them. Simon even walks through the forest alone to let them know the status of the boys' expedition because no one else will go. He is the only boy on the island who truly understands the nature of the beast. He realizes that the beast is inside each individual and is the wickedness present in all human beings. Simon transcends rational thinking by concluding that the beast is an inherent quality that cannot be destroyed. He is portrayed as the "Christ-figure" throughout the novel, and his meeting with the Lord of Flies parallels Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. Before he can share the truth about the beast he is brutally beaten to death by the group of boys.

The specs symbolize one thing at the beginning of the story and another by the end. At the outset, Piggy is the one boy who understands or sees what is really happening to them. The specs are the symbol of that "vision" or understanding. He sees that they are not going to be able to expect a rescue, that no one knows where they are, that the world they've left has been destroyed or at least severely damaged.

The specs then take on another symbol, that of the boys' power over fire. They need the specs to start a fire and eventually there are several conflicts over who gets to use Piggy's specs. 

Near the end of the story, Piggy goes with Ralph to confront Jack on castle rock and Roger takes advantage of the opportunity to push a huge boulder off the cliff, killing Piggy. His glasses are also smashed and in this state serve to represent the fact that the boys have completely separated themselves from whatever vestiges of civilization that remained.

As such they now represent the theme of that loss of civilization, of the way that savagery and violence have taken the place of order and rules.

Figurative language used in conjunction with Piggy's glasses in Lord of the Flies includes imagery, symbolism, and alliteration.

Imagery is used to convey the significance of Piggy's glasses. Several times, they are described as "flashing":

Piggy shook his head, put on his flashing glasses and looked down at Ralph.

"Flashing" conjures images of light, which is often symbolic of knowledge. Piggy seems most capable of providing insightful wisdom when his glasses are on, almost as if they are a window through which he accesses rational thinking.

Without his glasses, Piggy struggles with insight. This is symbolized here:

"My dad’s dead," he said quickly, "and my mum—"

He took off his glasses and looked vainly for something with which to clean them.

Without his glasses, Piggy looks around vainly, unable to maintain his typical capabilities of analytical thought.

Also consider the alliteration in this example:

A little air was moving over the mountain. Piggy came with it, in shorts and shirt, laboring cautiously out of the forest with the evening sunlight gleaming from his glasses.

The repeated s sound in this sentence mimics the wind which is now blowing over the mountain. Wind often symbolizes change, and in this scene, Piggy's glasses are about to bring a change in circumstances to their environment.

Another example of alliteration is found in this sentence:

Instantly the fire was alight, Piggy held out his hands and grabbed the glasses back.

The quick repetition of the g sound here is harsh and rather explosive. This foreshadows the cruelty which will follow; though Piggy's glasses have allowed fire for the boys' meal, Jack will forcefully exclude Piggy from access to the meat.

Piggy's specs are symbolic in several ways. First, they set Piggy apart. Piggy can "see" things the other boys can't. Piggy looks at the world in a logical and scientific way. He represents wisdom and learning, and is able to set up the Conch as a symbol of order and leadership. The specs also show how Piggy is able to "see" the truth about Jacks hatred of Ralph. Finally, the specs are symboic of the fire and rescue. Piggy's specs help start the fire which will help the boys to be "seen" and thus rescued. Without his specs, Piggy is blind to what is around him. This is what ultimately brings about his death.

In the novel "Lord of the Flies" the author,William Golding, seems to pick a stereotypical image of an unpopular boy for us to observe with particular detail. He has all the usual attributes of the fat kid that nobody likes including speccy glasses - then William Golding turns this image on it's head to show us what lies underneath - the diamond in the coal of Pigg's character. His glasses represent 'vision' and clear-thinking - today we might call that insight. Even Ralph (who foolishly declines Piggy's true friendship) wishes for Piggy's thinking abilities. Today we could do with more influential people who could see through the false boom times and warn of prudent budgeting to keep us all on track.

In my opinion, Piggy's spectacles do have a symbolic significance in this book.  I believe that they symbolize science and technology and the power that those things carry.

In the story, Piggy's spectacles are really the only piece of technology on the island.  They are powerful because they are the best way of starting a fire.

The spectacles are also connected to science because they belong to Piggy.  Piggy is the smartest boy on the island -- he is the one who is closest of any of them to being an intellectual.

The fighting over the spectacles can be seen as a symbol of the ways in which countries fight over things that give them technological power.

Piggy's glasses are a symbol of his intelligence and insight. At the beginning of Lord of the Flies, he is proud of them, telling Ralph, "I've been wearing specs since I was three." Piggy is constantly cleaning his glasses, wiping and polishing them on any piece of cloth that comes to hand. This illustrates the difficulty of maintaining civilized standards on the island. These standards are abandoned when Piggy's glasses are first broken, then stolen, leaving him handicapped and unable to do his part in supporting Ralph and maintaining order.

The power of the glasses is most dramatically demonstrated in their ability to create fire. This power, which rightfully belongs to the intelligent, thoughtful Piggy, is the subject of bitter wrangling between the two contenders for leadership, Jack and Ralph. Golding shows how the glasses spark violence as well as fire when they become the focus of a power struggle. It is Piggy, however, who articulates the moral point when he asserts that his claim to the glasses goes beyond mere strength and cunning. They are rightfully his, and he intends to claim this right regardless of the danger involved. He resolves to confront Jack:

"I'm going to him with this conch in my hands. I'm going to hold it out. Look, I'm goin' to say, you're stronger than I am and you haven't got asthma. You can see, I'm goin' to say, and with both eyes. But I don't ask for my glasses back, not as a favor. I don't ask you to be a sport, I'll say, not because you're strong, but because what's right's right. Give me my glasses, I'm going to say--you got to!"

When Ralph actually does claim the glasses on Piggy's behalf, however, he is more aggressive, not only asserting Piggy's right, but abusing Jack and calling him a thief:

"You could have had fire whenever you wanted. But you didn't. You came sneaking up like a thief and stole Piggy's glasses!"

"Say that again!"

"Thief! Thief!"

Although he is a better leader than Jack, Ralph is incapable of being as temperate and thoughtful as Piggy, and is lost without the wisdom and power symbolized by the glasses.