A New Leader

Can one imagine being stranded on an island with only a few other children? In Lord of the Flies, William Golding does an excellent job depicting how a bunch of English children can survive something that many people most likely would not be able to do. With a group of stranded children also comes the task of choosing a leader, one who will stand up above the rest and lead by perfect example. Piggy, wise but not physically fit, should be the leader. Because of his keen sense of rationality, abilities as a clear thinker, and intelligence Piggy clearly distinguishes himself from the rest, proving that he should be leader.

Piggy is the type of person that has a keen sense of rationality. Piggy knows when to stop and how far to go with any joke that the children play on each other. Also Piggy is a fair person and that is what counts. It does not matter if he is strong, in shape, or even if he is a nice person. What matters is that as a leader, he will judge anyone fairly, make no exceptions for everyone and be strong where it counts, within himself. As a leader one should be able to stand up for what he thinks, and Piggy does exactly that." Let him have the conch! Let him have it!" (35) A quote said by Piggy that depicts just this. Due to his keen sense of rationality, Piggy always knows what is going on and always see the bigger picture. He does not get caught up in something and get carried away with it but he is the adult that stands back and takes a step towards reality to remind everyone of what has to be done. " We can re-light the fire, it has only been out for an hour. Me must!" (70). These are exactly the qualifications of a leader. For Piggy will always know what is going on and always know what to do, a trait that must be represented in a leader.

Besides Piggy’s keen sense of rationality, Piggy also pertains the great trait of intelligence. He is the type of person that embodies reason with his intelligence. Piggy represents rationality, logic, science, and the ways of thinking that a civilized society depend on. He has a strong urge to create order and produce a manageable system. He insists on collecting the names of all the stranded children, using the conch to call assemblies and have meetings. Another example of Piggy’s intelligence is that he is the first one to suggest using the conch Ralph found to assemble the others. "We could use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us."(16). Also he knows how to use the conch shell, and he says, "A conch…he used to blow it… he kind of spat… you blew from down here." (16). He is the one who brings Ralph back to the topic at hand near the end of the novel when Ralph's reasoning starts to deteriorate under the constant pressure of trying to remain civilized and always reminding Ralph of the bigger picture. "We have bigger things. If we don’t get home, we’ll be barmy" (165). Piggy’s intelligence is what has kept the children in control and civilized at all times as he is the brains of the island. It can clearly be seen that he would be an excellent choice for a leader.

Piggy’s intelligence is only as good as his clear sense of thinking. Right off, we are able to see evidence of Piggy’s thinking ability. He realizes the boys’ situation and is thinking about how they are going to survive. He says, "We got to find the others, we got to do something"(8). At the end of chapter two Piggy, compares the fire on the mountain to the fires of hell. This is expression what he thinks and he is making explainable to everyone around him. Also he says the children are "acting like a crowd of kids," as he were the adult on the island trying to help the "kids." More proof of his clear thinking is the fact that Ralph relies on Piggy’s good advice to succeed. Without Piggy, Ralph would be lost. As the story progresses we see the boys drift apart. However, we are also able to see that Piggy is trying to keep order as an adult might do. When there is going to be a fight he says, "Come away. There’s going to be trouble. And we’ve had our meat"(151). Piggy protects the children though his clear thinking. Piggy also realizes the intensity of the situation and tries to stop any disputes that might occur. The boys continue to drift apart but Ralph and Piggy continue to be friends. In particular, after the killing of Simon, Piggy tries as best as he can to support Ralph although he realizes they were a party to the violent death. He says, "You stop it. What good are you doing talking like that" which demonstrates his ability to see clearly and help others as well. Although he is wise, no one seems to listen to him except for Ralph, and we can see how irony comes into this for the ones who didn’t respect him may wish they had. If he were the leader, everything would be different in a much more positive way.

Piggy’s role in the novel is very symbolic. He symbolizes the force of reason among the boys. To the boys what he says is almost a mimic of what their teacher or maybe their parents may have said back home. However due to his appearance they do not feel the need or desire to listen to him as they would have listened to their teacher at home. But as a leader, physical appearance should not be the judge. Mentally, Piggy is the best fit for leader and would ensure the success of everyone on the island. His keen sense of rationality, being a clear thinker, and his intelligence constitute as the qualifications of what should be required to be a leader. Piggy is the best for that job as one can now see.