In chapter one, we are introduced to 'Piggy.' We aren't told what his real name is -- we are only told that he is overweight, asthmatic, and he wears glasses. He is given the name 'Piggy' because he specifically asked Ralph not to call him that.
Like Melinda from 'Speak' and like David from 'The Chrysalids,' he is shunned, this time because of his asthma and his weight. However, does he really deserve this? He is the one with more knowledge and intelligence than all the others. It is easy to look at this and find fault with the other boys for their outright cruelty towards him. However, how many times do we do this? We look at people and find fault with their appearance before we even get to know them. We don't take the time to find their inner beauty before we form their opinions of them.
The boys hadn't been on the island together for very long before they appointed Ralph as their leader. This is because all of us, as human beings, need to be led. Even the leaders among us need someone to help them, whether that help is giving advice or leading them along when they are tired of leaving others.
Why did they chose Ralph? It wasn't like he had incredible intelligence or extraordinary leadership skills. He had 'a stillness' that attracted them, even though Piggy was much more intelligent. People do this all the time-- they chose the leader that makes them feel better over the one who would probably do the best job.
Those are the connections I have made in chapter one. Now the bell is going to ring. Keep smiling, everyone!
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2 comments:
That is completely true. Like thie cliché "don't judge a book by it's cover", we shouldn't judge people by their appearance. Somehow, however, we all do. We are more inclined to follow an attractive leader than an ugly one; we would rather hang out with good-looking people, not boring-looking ones. At least, in the beginning. Once you begin to know people, they might come across as artificial, and you realize how all they possess is their looks; you should have been looking at their inner beauty.
At the same time, however, not all beautiful or handsome people are shallow and stupid; some are quite nice. You can't negatively say that someone who is good-looking is mean and rude. That's a stereotype.
I agree; the boys chose Ralph as their leader party because of his looks.
Cheers.
That's also true. It's like the rich-people stereotype. People generally think that people with lots of money are snobs, whereas in many cases, that's not true at all.
Quite often, people remind each other not to only befriend those who are good-looking or rich because those qualities aren't what's really important. It's important to remember-- the only problem is that that makes the stereotype move the opposite way. I wish people would just accept people the way they are with no strings attached.
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