Since the beginning of time humans have treated those who are diverse differently from all others. From the Romans hating Jesus, Hitler hating the Jews, and to present time racism, humans have and continue to be cruel to those who are weak or different. In William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies this philosophy is shown through Golding's characters Piggy, Simon and Ralph. Piggy is one of the biggest out of all of the other boys. His obesity is one of the reasons he is treated differently. Simon sees things in a different way then the other boys, this way of seeing things differently gives the other boys the impression that he is insane. The strongest of all the boys is Ralph. He is treated differently since his morals and thoughts on society are different then the others. Through the struggles of these characters Golding demonstrates that humans are cruel to those who are weak or different.
Piggy is treated with cruelty because he is weaker than the other boys, he is over weight, he has asthma, and is more intelligent. His weight prevents his real name to ever be known. From the beginning of the book he is known as Fatty, then later as his nick name Piggy. Piggy's nickname is first revealed when he tries to befriend Ralph by telling him a secret about what he is called at school. Ralph gives the secret away to all of the other boys. "He's not fatty," cried Ralph, "his real name's Piggy!" Page 21. His nickname is one of the struggles Piggy has to deal with. Piggy's differences in intelligence cause him to often be ignored by the others. "I was with him when he found the conch. I was with him before anyone else". Jack and the others paid no attention. Page 24. Piggy gets an ingenious idea to build a sundial so the boys can work more efficiently and know the time. Ralph quickly dismisses this idea, because of his ignorance. "You have to have a lot of metal things for that." Page 65. Piggy tries to explain his idea, but it's no use.
