Tuesday, January 7, 2014

How is Piggy's death different from the others in "Lord of the Flies"?

Piggy's death is different from the others because it is the first one that is the result of a completely intentional act.  The other two deaths did not involve the same clear evidence of "malice aforethought".

The little 'un with the mark on his face was the first to die.  His death was completely accidental; he was the victim of the fire that went out of control, and his demise was actually only assumed by the fact that the boys later could not find him.  The little 'un's death occurred soon after the boys arrived on the island, before they had had a chance to take count of how many of them had actually survived the plane crash.  No one had even known his name, and he was remembered by Piggy only because of the disfigurement on his face.

Simon, the second boy to die, was killed by mistake.  Caught up in acting out a ritualistic reenactment of killing a pig, the boys, in their frenzy, killed Simon without realizing it was him.  Although Simon's murder was more sinister than the little 'un's in that it was the direct result of the growing savagery of the boys, it was still unintentional.

Piggy was killed on purpose. Standing on a ledge above him while Piggy was trying to reason with the tribe, Roger, scornful of his words, dropped a huge boulder "with a sense of delirious abandonment" on Piggy, killing him (Chapter 11).

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