Thus far in the novel, there are been several statements/words/ quotes that can be categorized as the voices of reason. One I would like you to discuss is when Piggy says to Ralph about Jack "...he can't hurt you; but if you stand out of the way he'd hurt the next thing. And that's me." What theory is being expressed here symbolically through Ralph, Jack and Piggy and their roles on the island? What is Golding inferring about society? Give a specific example from history to support your comment. (The deadline to post a response is midnight, April 24, 2013.No credit will be given to plagiarized responses.)
3 comments:
This situation has been seen throughout history, especially in war time strategy. For instance during the war for Texas' Independence the gigantic Mexican Army was forced to focus on the Alamo before moving on to its main objective of conquering Texas. If the Alamo was not in the Mexican Army's way, they would have had a open road to attack Texas. The boys on the island are in a similar situation. If Ralph would stand down, Jack would have free rain to attack Piggy at will.
Piggy is referring to the fact that if Jack had the chance he would hurt piggy because it is the next beat thing to Ralph. He can not harm Ralph because Ralph is the chief and would fight back. Golding is showing that in society if people cannot cause harm to who they want or get what they want, they will hurt the person closest to them. This occurs all the time in history. For example, during the Civil War, the North could not get the South to surrender, so they set up a blockade, which prevented the South from selling cotton, which was their only means of an income.
In Lord of the Flies, Jack messes with Piggy because he knows he cannot mess with Ralph. Also, if Ralph would let Jack, Jack would destroy Piggy.. Throughout history, this happens all the time. For example, during the American Revolution, the colonists wanted to end taxation and the rule of the Bristish. However, England was not listening, so they emptied the tea and began fighting soldiers. Even though the colonists wanted to destroy the king and end taxes, they knew they could not, so they did the next best thing and destroyed the products that were taxed and the soldiers fighting for the king. The king did not allow his soldiers or the colonists to destroy each other because the colonies were needed for exports.
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