Lord of the Flies: Chapter 2

"You got your small fire all right."

In this chapter, we finally see Piggy stand up for himself, and I think this is my favourite part. During the first chapter, the other boys constantly put him down and dismiss him, and although I love Ralph, he's kind of an arse to Piggy. The boys don't allow him to go on their exploring expedition, and when he tries to help come up with ideas, he doesn't ever get the credit. It infuriates me because he's already painted as the underdog when, in reality, he might be the most clever one on the island. However, this cleverness and intelligence is overlooked because of his size and his glasses and because he lacks the ability to make people listen to him.

In this chapter, however, all of that changes. Piggy soon realizes that Ralph might not be the best leader for the group, and he finally tries taking some sort of charge. Of course, he's told to shut up, and at first, he relents. Piggy seems to be a character that doesn't have the strongest backbone, but in the space of a few pages, he quickly becomes a character I have found myself rooting for. He keeps the conch and fights against Ralph, saying he was the one who came up with the idea for the meeting and was told to shut up. It's obvious he doesn't want to spend their time on the island letting the other boys walk over him.

I think the moment when he truly fights back is when he realizes the boys have essentially set the island on fire, and he tells Ralph, "You got your small fire all right." It's something you wouldn't expect Piggy to say -- up until now, he's gone along with what the other boys have said and he's tried to help, although he's never risen his voice. Here is where he takes a stand, and when Ralph tells him to shut up, he won't take it. He sprouts some sense, then, and tells the boys what they should do: let the fire burn out, build huts on the beach, take care of the younger ones.

And the boys begin to listen. Piggy refuses to give up, even when the others try to talk over him or dismiss his ideas -- Piggy knows he's sensible, knows he has the right ideas, and he's not going to let the entire group fall into poor hands. 

The greatest moment of this chapter, however, is when Piggy realizes the small boy with the birthmark is missing. Earlier in the chapter, everyone had dismissed this boy and his concerns about the snake that had tried to eat him. Piggy is the only one who doesn't laugh. Piggy is the only one who cares, and now, when he realizes that little boy is missing, he very nearly goes into hysterics. I think this shows a lot about Piggy's character -- he's compassionate and caring, and I think he knows what it's like to be the underdog. He knows what it's like to not be cared about and what it's like to have the other children dismiss him. He cares about the small boy because he understands what it's like to be him, and I think that makes Piggy a very admirable character.