The climax of Lord of the flies

The climax of this novel is when Piggy is killed by Roger in chapter 11. Ralph and Piggy go to Castle Rock to get Piggy’s stolen glasses back. They are stop by Roger and Jack who appeared from the jungle refuses to return the glasses. Piggy lifts the conch and says repeatedly ‘Which is better – to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?’ From the action of Piggy who still sticks to the old conch protocol, we can see that he is the kind of person who always respects the order or rule even though no one else would think that the rule is still effective. At that time Roger throws a rock to Piggy that strikes Piggy ‘a glancing blow from chin to knee’. Then the conch breaks and Piggy falls from the cliff and is killed with ‘his head opened and stuff come out and turned red’.

Piggy is the first who is killed by the savage on purpose. (The previous killing of Simon is somewhat accidental.) Piggy represents the orders or rules of our society, and therefore this killing symbolizes the complete destruction of civilized nature of the British children.

I was terrified by this chapter not only by the killing of Piggy itself, but also by the silent grave terrorist, Roger. Even Jack feels ‘the hangman’s horror clung round him’. Samneric cease yelling when ‘Roger advances upon them as one wielding a nameless authority, edging past the chief, only just avoiding pushing him with his shoulder’.