Caralynn M. answered • 03/26/24
Undergraduate English Education Major
There are multiple different ways of looking at Piggy's glasses as a symbol specificically. One way could be as the risks and rewards of power. In the beginning, Piggy could be seen as weak, helpless, and overall useless (which adds to another symbol of the novel, brute strength vs leading) to society, but when the group realizes he can use his glasses to start fire, the power of the group immediately shifts to him, he literally holds the key to their survival. But power is two-sided, it can be used to better society or tear it down, like in the end of the novel, where Jack uses the fire to smoke out Ralph. “He was a chief now in truth; and made stabbing motions with his spear. From his left hand dangled Piggy’s broken glasses.” (Golding 168) This quote shows the shift in power from Ralph to Jack, through the stealing of Piggy's glasses.
Aanother symbol they could represent is rationality and intellect amidst the chaos on the island. We, as readers, already associate glasses with "nerds" or smart people due to societal biases and stereotypes, so its not a reach. His glasses embody the power of reason and clear vision in a world descending into savagery. As Piggy remarks, "I got the conch! Just you listen! The first thing we ought to have made was shelters down there by the beach." His reliance on logic and foresight contrasts sharply with the primal instincts driving the other boys, making his glasses a poignant emblem of civilization's fragile hold in the face of human nature's darker impulses.
