Dean Urschel

Dean Urschel H Freshman Lit and Comp Mrs. Klosterman 10/23/2018 Piggy’s Specs Academic writing project Introduction: The book The Lord Of The Flies by William Golding is without any doubt a classic. Part of what made the book so special was the depth of the story, almost every item of significant value in the book is a symbol for something greater. A prominent example of this symbolism is piggy’s specs. In general, the glasses represent society and what separates humans from your ordinary animal. Quote 1:” And I’ve been wearing specs since I was three.”, “He took off his glasses and held them out to Ralph blinking and smiling, and then started to wipe them against his grubby wind-breaker. An Expression of pain and inward concentration altered the pale contours of his face.” (Golding 9). Explanation: The quote above is the first mention of Piggy’s specs that we get in the book, Piggy explains that he needs his specs to see. It is also revealed that Piggy has had these specs since he was three, Piggy’s specs are a product of the civilization in which he came. Piggy’s glasses are a symbol for society innovation, and civilization. Later on, in the book Piggy’s glasses are cracked, representing the downward spiral of the group of boys over time. In this case the glasses are just being introduced and shown to be important. Quote 2: “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. (Golding 13). Explanation: Piggy seams to use his glasses as a nervous crutch, he is constantly cleaning them. It is evident that the condition of the lenses of the specs is deteriorating, it is said that Piggy looked at something to clean his specs with, however he does not find anything. All Piggy has to use is his clothes, the boy’s clothes represent the sense of society and the rules that the boys had to adhere to in their old lives. As the boy’s clothes get dirtier and start to rip it becomes harder to clean Peggie’s glasses. As the boys human characteristics fade and they become more animal like(Jack becoming consumed with hunting a pig instead of getting rescued) the civilization and order that they have within themselves begins to fade. Quote 3:” Jack smacked Piggy’s head. Piggy’s glasses flew off and tinkled on the rocks> Piggy cried out in terror: “My specs!” He went crouching and feeling over the rocks but Simon, who got there first found them from him. Passions beat about Simon on the mountaintop with awful wings. “One side broken.” Piggy grabbed and put on the glasses. (Golding 71) Explanation: This moment is in many ways the turning point for the boys, they are becoming more animal like and savage. When Jack hits Piggy he cracks his glasses on one of the lenses the other remains intact. This shows the while the boys are certainly more animal like they still have a slight shred of civilization and humanity int eh back of their minds. Roger wants to throw rocks directly at the little boy by the water, but he refrains because of the looming threat of authority from his past life. The boys are slowly descending into animal like chaos but there is still some humanity left in them at this point.