A monster lurks in the forest; boys are fighting for power; and a war breaks out on a once-peaceful island. In this kind of situation, a hero is needed to calm things down. Heroes are normally perceived as many things: astonishingly smart, stupidly brave, or even with superhuman powers. But a true hero does not measure up to be the perfect being, but he is sometimes just another face in the crowd, such as Piggy, from William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Piggy, although very underrated, stands a strong and tall hero because of his smarts and ability to stay calm, his kindness and respect, and his very discreet bravery.
Piggy proved how smart he was at the beginning of the book, and from there, only continued to convince the reader of his cleverness. In the very beginning of Lord of the Flies, when he first met the book’s main protagonist of the story, Ralph, he not only figured out what the conch was and how to use it, but also realized how to put it to good use, (by using it to call a meeting) all in the matter of a few moments. Even Ralph, who kept trying to shake Piggy off, who seemed to not like Piggy, admitted to the fact that Piggy had wits as well. Not like Piggy…he could go step by step in that fat head of his…but Piggy…. had brains. ” Ralph thought (Golding 78). This thought is proven time and time again when Ralph has Piggy “think” for him. Piggy also knows what to do in a crisis. Near the end of the book, when everything was in chaos, he provided the safe, logical thing to do, such as relighting the fire so that they could get rescued, or confronting Jack in a calm, diplomatic way. Over and over throughout the novel, Piggy has proved his smartness, from the beginning of the book, all the way to his untimely end.
Piggy also shows mounts of kindness and respect throughout the book, from softening his voice when speaking to the little’uns to staying with Ralph until the very end. When there was an assembly, near the beginning of the book, a little boy stepped forward to speak of the Beast. Too shy to speak up loud enough to be heard, the boy grew more and more afraid of his audience, until Piggy stepped up to speak for him. He listened to what the boy had to say, and repeated it to the audience. Piggy also showed his respect to his aunt all the time. He always referred to her, “My auntie says…. Or “My auntie told me…. ” He would constantly say which goes to show his respect for his aunt, whether she was a million miles away, or right next to him. Piggy shows some more respect and kindness when he stuck to Ralph’s side. Even though the latter was shunned by the society he made, Piggy stayed with him, out of the kindness and respect in his heart. One would have to look for it, but Piggy does show immense amounts of kindness and respect through the novel by William Golding. Originally shown as weak and a coward, Piggy never really showed any bravery; until near the end of the novel.
Nearing his unexpected death, Piggy finally began to lose some of his coward-like tendencies. He finally began speaking his mind; such as when he finally spoke up against Ralph for the first time. ” I voted you chief. He’s the only one who ever got anything done. So now you speak, Ralph, and tell us what. ” He said (Golding 170). Piggy also showed some courage when he spoke of confronting Jack. The usually quiet boy spoke out, telling of what needed to be done. This would have been completely pointless, if not for the face that Piggy accompanied Ralph and Samneric to confront Jack.
In the end, Piggy, the scaredy-cat, did show quite a bit of bravery, measuring up to be a true hero. Ultimately, even though there are many, many hero like characters in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Piggy, in his discreet way, out shone them all. His intelligence, kindness, and bravery were not subdued by his chubby and unfit exterior. He taught readers a valuable lesson in life: “In the end, the shape and form don’t matter. It’s the soul that counts. ” And Piggy, round and soft, had the most heroic soul of all.
