Piggy

Piggy, although often ridiculed by the other boys on the island, represents responsibility and reason throughout the novel. Despite being the only one of the boys with a sight impairment, which causes him to need glasses, Piggy is one of the only people on the island that can think rationally and see the bigger picture. This symbolic blindness is important, as Piggy's glasses become destroyed in the story and the boys' vision continues to falter.

Piggy first comes into the picture right at the beginning when he meets Ralph. An obese boy with very mature thoughts, Piggy was not looked upon fondly by Ralph. However, as the story progresses, it becomes clear that Piggy is the brains behind many of Ralph's operations, shown from the start with Piggy being the one to endorse blowing the conch to find all the plane crash survivors. Piggy again proves to be a vital member of the group when his glasses become the source for fire on the island.

As the story progresses, Piggy is one of the only boys that remembers their mission on the island: to get rescued. Although Ralph initially brought upon the idea of rescue, he often loses sight of the goal and needs Piggy there to remind him. Yet, Piggy's life was doomed from the moment he stepped foot on the island and he does not have the opportunity to see their safe recovery.

As the novel comes closer to the ending, Piggy's glasses are stolen by Jack's tribe of savage boys. In an effort to regain them, Piggy ends up being killed by an oncoming boulder that Roger pushes his way. Piggy's death signifies that savagery eventually takes over all forms of reason and intellect. After Piggy becomes deceases, Ralph is forced to fend for himself, no longer having Piggy's decision making to guide him.