Friendship Theme From Lord Of The Flies

Essay, Research Paper

A friendship can be considered to be one of the most complex and ever changing concepts that the human race tries to comprehend. In Lord of the Flies : by William Golding, Piggy and Ralph, both as different in looks as they are in personality, are forced together by fate and to allie with one another for survival .Through the harsh experiences, that they battle through, an indestructible bond is formed. The friendship continuously develops from the reliance of Piggy upon Ralph at the beginning of the story, then to the alliance of both Piggy and Ralph as more tragedy struck, to their unbreakable bond which is formed, after the whole group falls apart.

Both Piggy and Ralph s personalities had a large amount of contrasts that determined their relationship at the beginning of the story. Piggy was the outcast, due to his large awkward body, his thick glasses and his know-it-all personality. While Ralph on the other hand was the stereotypical image of an ordinary boy. Piggy had no friends, besides those that he lived with. Thus was not used to being among other children. He quickly trusted, and latched onto Ralph, ignoring Ralph s constant teasing . Ralph was insecure as all boys his age are, he didn t really want to be caught liking the outcast so he teased him. I don t care what they call me, so long as they don t call me what they used to call me at school They used to call me Piggy (Golding: pg.11) Piggy confided to Ralph, asking him to be secretive, thinking that Ralph was his friend. When really he couldn t care less about Piggy s fate. Ralph betrayed Piggy by announcing to all the other boys Piggy s name, not really caring about the consequences it would have on Piggy and Ralph s friendship. Piggy is hurt but quickly forgives and forgets, thinking that him and Ralph are friends. Ralph doesn t really mind Piggy s dependence upon him, but finds Piggy to be a bore and does not consider him to be a friend. Piggy was a bore; his fat, his ass-mar and his matter of fact ideas were dull, but their was always a little pleasure to be got out of pulling his leg, even if one did this by accident (Golding: pg.65). Ralph joined the others in teasing him, especially about his asthma and his love and dependence upon his auntie. Piggy tagged along with Ralph following Ralph s rules to survive, always trying to get his two cents in without ever really succeeding, dodging all comments made by his peers. They both knew they were stuck together, but at this point no true bond had been formed. It was really just a one sided relationship. One side was for security and the other was simply just tolerance.

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As time passed on, more was endured by the two boys such as; the loss of one of the littl uns in the fire; Jack s vicious attitude and the fear of a beast, an alliance was formed between them. They both understood the problems the group of boys had to face, such as the struggle for power, and their neglect for the most important thing to worry about, getting rescued. The other boys placed more thought upon hunting then anything else. During this period Ralph began to realize Piggy s true values and started to treat him fairly. Ralph was slowly becoming a person of individual thought. He broke away from the barriers the other boys had set up of outcasting Piggy. Jack! Jack! You haven t got the conch. Let him speak (Golding: pg. 91) He didn t care what the other boys thought about Piggy being an outcast. Ralph stuck up for him so he would be treated equally and have the same opportunities as the other boys did. He knew that Piggy was a bit of a know it all yet he realized that some of his knowledge was useful and helpful, Ralph valued it as he did with others. Still Ralph would sometimes sit and watch Jack degrade Piggy without intervening. Piggy knows that he needs Ralph in order to survive, because of the others hate towards him. Ralph was his only sense of security on the island. If you give up what ud happen to me? (Golding: pg.93) Ralph realizes his responsibilities to Piggy and to the rest of the group s goals were unraveling. . Ralph no longer just had a tolerance towards Piggy, but a partnership or an alliance. Piggy also began to realize this although still really dependent upon Ralph. A strong foundation of trust and advise was built between them through all their experiences. They both began to finally realize that they needed each other to survive.

When Jack departed, the entire group following the democratic system began to fall apart. One by one all the boys left until eventually it was just Ralph , Piggy and a few other boys. Both Ralph and Piggy knew that they needed each other to survive both physically and emotionally. They needed to hear each other s words of encouragement, each others sane thoughts. After Simon s death they needed each other for emotional support and forgiveness for the horrid brutality that they had committed. When the last thing that had linked Piggy to civilization was stolen , his glasses, Ralph was there to console him for his losses and made a promise to get back what was rightfully his. They both guided each other through every treachery that they had to face until the very end, when Piggy had met his demise, because of the savages brutality, and hatred. Ralph felt the loss of his friend and would carry that loss forever , Piggy would not just be forgotten when Ralph had gotten of the island. Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man s heart, and the fall through the air of the true wise friend Piggy. (Golding : pg. 202). No other friend would be able to ever replace

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Piggy in Ralph s mind there were to many memories of him, of what they went through together. It took much suffering and experiences to bring these two apprehensive boys to realizing that to fight alone is impossible but to live and fight together makes the battle much more bearable.

To live a life without any friendships, is not to experience, nor to live life at all. The only way a strong friendship can be built is through experiences which test it, and allow one trust another. Piggy and Ralph as different as they both were, managed to build the ideal friendship while facing a struggle for survival. Many do not achieve this in a life time of searching. A friend cannot be found when one is expecting to find one. It is an accidental occurrence. A friendship is largely built on trust. This can only be done when both people are secure with themselves and each other. No judging is done; advice is given when needed; a worrisome mind is put to rest by words of encouragement; a person is changed by sharing their problems and experiences with another. When enough stress and pain was endured both Piggy and Ralph, found the true meaning of friendship. Ralph s memories of his friendship would never cease to exist, they were there for an eternity. Some people come into our lives and quietly go. Some stay for a while and leave footprints on our hearts and we are never the same (Unknown).

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