The shattering of Piggy's glasses and the subsequent rolling of the conch down the mountain represent more than just the destruction of tools and symbols; they mark the irreversible descent of the boys on the island into savagery. Piggy, the voice of reason, intellect, and civilization, becomes the ultimate victim of this descent. While the physical act of killing Piggy is attributed to Roger, the true responsibility for his death is a more complex, distributed guilt, implicating the collective savagery that has taken root amongst the boys, particularly the transformation of Jack's followers into a bloodthirsty mob.
Roger, armed with a sharpened stick and a primal urge to inflict pain, is the direct instrument of Piggy's demise. His action is depicted with chilling finality: "the rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist." This moment is the culmination of Roger's own descent, a descent fueled by the newfound freedom from societal constraints and encouraged by Jack's leadership. However, to solely blame Roger is to ignore the pervasive atmosphere of violence and the psychological manipulation that paved the way for such an atrocity. The boys have been systematically desensitized to violence, first through the hunt for pigs and then through the increasingly aggressive rituals and chants. Piggy, with his glasses stolen and his pleas for order ignored, is already an outcast. Roger's act, therefore, is not an isolated incident but a horrifying manifestation of the group's collective dehumanization.
Jack's role in Piggy's death is equally significant, though indirect. He cultivates an environment where savagery is not only tolerated but celebrated. By prioritizing hunting and warfare over rescue and order, Jack systematically erodes any semblance of civilized behavior. He actively undermines Ralph's authority and mocks Piggy's intelligence, creating a social dynamic where brute force and primal instincts triumph. The 'hunters,' under his command, become a unified entity driven by a shared bloodlust. When Roger acts, he does so in alignment with the group's ethos, an ethos Jack has meticulously crafted. The approval and even tacit encouragement from Jack and the other hunters present at the time of Piggy's death transform Roger's solitary act into a group endorsement of murder. The boys are no longer individuals making choices but a mob acting in unison, their minds clouded by the fever of savagery.
Furthermore, the passive complicity of the other boys, including Ralph himself, cannot be overlooked. While Ralph is horrified by Piggy's death, his own inability to maintain control and prevent the escalating violence contributes to the tragic outcome. The boys have succumbed to the allure of primal freedom, a freedom that ultimately leads to destruction. They are so caught up in the hunt for Ralph, a symbol of their lost innocence and the order they have abandoned, that they are willing to sacrifice the last vestiges of their humanity. Piggy's death is a consequence of their collective abandonment of reason and their embrace of a darker, more instinctual existence. It is the island, in its isolation and stripping away of societal structures, that provides the fertile ground for this savagery, but it is the boys' choices, their succumbing to fear and primal urges, that allow it to flourish.
In conclusion, while Roger wields the stone that kills Piggy, the responsibility for his death is a shared burden. It lies with Jack's manipulative leadership, the collective descent of the boys into mob mentality, and the passive acceptance of escalating violence. Piggy's murder is not just the end of a character; it is the symbolic death of reason and civilization on the island, a stark reminder of the fragility of social order when confronted by primal instincts. The true culprit is the savagery that has infected them all.