Piggy The First Victim Of War?

Piggy is the eternal victim, overweight, asthmatic and tragically short-sighted. Used by students throughout time (even Hugh Edwards who played him to such perfection in the 1963 film, had to answer about him on his O-levels) to explain Golding’s view of society as needing to protect the weak but all too often falling short. His tragic arc laid out clearly from his first appearance. Leaving the bushes after succumbing to the temptation of the island’s ‘fruit’ to be greeted by a ‘witch-like’ cry of a starkly coloured bird. Foreshadowing at its finest and perhaps hinting at Piggy’s refusal to acknowledge Simon’s death as ‘murder’ ; as he also succumbs to the temptation of the island. ;From there his journey is well trodden, the use of nomenclature and nominative determinism all in one go, to establish his status at the bottom of the social ladder in some respects even though his wise counsel makes him seem important and  ;even if he thinks the ‘conch’ imbues him with some status.

But, is there another layer of tragedy to his story? Golding’s gift as a writer is clear, so why is Piggy the only character with such a pronounced accent? We presume as choristers and sons of Naval men or even living in a Vicarage the boys have RP accents and we that is the voice we hear as we read the novel imaging it inhabited by ;a lot of mini Cholmondley-Warners (one for the kids) however one character’s voice speaks loud, separate from the rest. Piggy’s ‘Ass-mar’ as well as producing titters from immature students also puts him not in the ‘home-counties’ the other boys pine for, but London or at least Essex. In the film (the 1963 one, the other one is atrocious and will never be mentioned again) one of the very few deviations from the novel is Piggy’s ‘Cam-ber-ley’ speech; which apocryphally  ;Golding was ok with stating it sounds just like him.

Piggy also lives with his auntie and is noticeably plumper than all the rest, quite a feat in a country still in the grip of or just out of rationing. Her spoiling of him and over-protective nature, seen in her almost Norman Bates like grip over his behaviour even when thousands of miles away obviously stem from his orphan state. But why is ;he an orphan? The novel is set ostensibly in a timeless world, no references to any specific events or dates. But with Golding writing in the 50’s Piggy is a child of the war and by placing him so obviously out-of-place to the other boys in terms of accent we have clues to his tragic back story. ;If his parents had died in the blitz or even whilst serving if we follow the Camberley link (being at the heart of the Aldershot, Farnborough military enclave. Then Piggy’s story takes on an even more poignant hue. He was the victim of the war that sought to defeat fascism and authoritarianism, orphaned by the war but also out of guilt, pity or love his auntie spoils him. Inadvertently ill preparing him for the savagery of the real world, a savagery that took his parents. ; ;With WWII ;ironically following the war to end all wars and ;in some eyes caused directly by the fallout ;from it, ;and Golding writing ;his book during a ;period of nuclear stand-off and increasing tensions, hope must have been in short supply. Piggy’s fate indicative of the helplessness felt and endured by ;all Peoples. An orphan of war killed by the new ;order that would inevitably lead to another war. If the boys can start a war on an uninhabited island. There is no hope for any of us.

Golding’s book is ;bursting with foreshadowing and symbolism but the few key clues about Piggy’s background hint at a tragic tale and fate not only illustrating the horror of war and the ;victims of savagery and dictatorship but also a macabre twist on the classic ;orphan character. As well as subverting ;Coral ;Island ;and ;Swallows and Amazons ;with a Boy’s Own Adventure gone awry reflecting the ‘darkness of man’s heart’ we also have the corruption of the stoic orphan character overcoming adversity and succeeding against all odds.

Would Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, Jane Eyre, The Jungle Book or Annie been as enjoyable if it had ended with a rock on their face? In one case definitely.

Piggy was already a victim before he boarded the plane. Golding just made him THE victim. A universal symbol of weakness and society’s failure to look after all its members.