Conch Lord Of The Flies Research Paper

The conch, that states whoever holds it is allowed to speak, possesses great authority. It also shows that the Island Boys are trying to maintain their humanity by having an organization system. The conch symbolizes brains and intelligence. It was Piggy’s idea to have this rule, and he was the main enforcer of it. When the conch shattered as Piggy died, it represented the loss of all hope. Their whole system had officially ended.

The conch is just a shell, But it does represents much more than that, the conch is power, order, respect and civility and when it's broken, It’s the loss of civilization. The conch is first found by Piggy and Ralph when they first get to the beach. Piggy who’s seen one before at someones house said “He used to blow it and then his mum would come. It’s ever so Valuable”(11). Then later Ralph used it to do the same thing by blowing in it to find all the boys on the island and to call meeting later. During one of the

The conch is well respected and gives meanings of authority, the boys decide that no one can speak unless he holds the conch, representing order from the old schoolyard society of strict limitations. Quote: "Ralph felt the conch lifted from his lap. Then Piggy was standing cradling the great cream shell and the shouting died down." In this quote, the conch is lifted as though it was as powerful as a crown, reminding the distracted group of rules; that

For example, Piggy says, "'We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They'll come when they hear us'" (Golding 16). Piggy's knowledge of blowing the conch shows the significance of it from the beginning of the book. The conch represents the authority on the island, therefore, when the authority is lost, the conch loses color. Ralph eventually understands the conch is losing power when he states, "'If I blow the conch and they don't come back; we've had it. We shan't keep the fire going. We'll be like animals. We'll never be rescued'" (Golding 92). Ralph is running out of options, and can no longer tame the other savage children. He does not intend for the conch to become useless to the other children. Ralph strongly believes the conch is the reason they all became a tribal unit, but when the conch loses power, the tribe loses civilization. Ralph and Piggy may consider the conch as the most influential piece of their civilization on the island, however, the other children regard the conch as a shell on the beach. The conch and other items on the island become neglected by the other

Jarod Kintz, an author who has said great ideas, once said, “Sometimes a symbol holds more power than the thing it represents.” In Lord of the Flies, the conch held the power and represented authority. Throughout the book, the conch signified power, authority, and civilization. However, the conch’s importance lessened as order was lost amongst the boys. In Lord of the Flies, Golding showed that power and authority were represented by the conch but slowly diminished as savagery peaked.

Lord of the Flies has a conch which symbolizes law. The rule of the group is that Ralph will “give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it while he's speaking” (William Golding 33). The rule applies to everybody in the group, so it is considered a law. This law, for some reason, applied to everybody except for Piggy. Whenever Piggy tried to talk with the conch, somebody would talk over him and nobody would tell the person that was talking over him to stop. They would let the other person talk right over Piggy, and he did not like it at all. People always disrespected Piggy, even when he was following the rules unlike the others talking over him. The conch is used just for this reason, as a symbol of law.

The conch symbolizes power and order for the boys and when the conch is destroyed the loss of civility turns the boys evil and the island is destroyed. The power of the conch is a symbol of order and civilization in the book. This is shown when Piggy says, He used to blow it and then his mum would come.

Throughout the story, the conch is used to call assemblies and keep order. When a group of boys crash and end up stranded on an unknown Island two characters - Piggy and Ralph find a conch. Ralph later uses the conch to develop a sense of democracy within assemblies. Rules have been made pertaining to the proper use. When holding the conch you are granted a right to speak without interruption. Upon hearing the call of the conch the boys gather together for a meeting. Golding writes, “He faced the place of assembly and put the conch to his lips [...] The others were waiting and came straight away” (Golding, 78). This quote proves the conch provides stability and power because the boys drop everything they are doing when hearing the call. Golding also writes, “The booing rose and died again as Piggy lifted the white, magic shell” (Goulding, 180). This quote shows how everybody is respectful towards the conch and the rules that follow.

He made the conch a symbol of order. The conch brings the boys together for meetings where they can talk and have order. Piggy also makes it so you cannot speak unless you have the conch. Piggy and the conch become very close, as if Piggy feels it as the only thing that has order, from being humiliated by all the other boys. An example of this is after all the boys run up the mountain to make a fire: “'Like kids!' he said scornfully, 'Acting like a crowd of kids!' Ralph looked at him doubtfully and laid the conch on a tree trunk...'What do they think they're going to do on that mountain?' He caressed the shell respectively, then stopped and looked up. 'Ralph! Hey! Where are you going?'” (37). This shows that the conch is a symbol of order because Ralph puts it down once order is lost and chaos begins when all the boys run up the mountain, but Piggy picks it up and starts caressing it, mourning the loss of order. Finally, he stops caressing it when Ralph decides to join the chaos and runs up the mountain after the other boys. Piggy is killed when Roger pushes a rock on Piggy which shatters the conch and sends Piggy flying out to sea to his death: “The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist.”(200). This shows that with the death of Piggy, the conch, a symbol of order on the island, also dies. Note how Golding describes it as “ceased to exist”. It shows that order ceased to exist with the death of the conch and Piggy, the only two things on the island that build or represent order, and how chaos ensues after they are gone. That is why Piggy's death on the island helps develop a theme of order versus

The conch symbolizes civilization and order throughout the boys as if they were in school, having the conch call meetings and only allowing the boy holding the conch to speak. As the story progresses, Jack and his tribe no longer respect the rules and power of the conch. After Piggy attempts to use the conch as enforcement to talk and call a meeting, Jack quickly says, "the conch doesn't count at this end of the island" (Golding 150). The boys now dismiss meetings and talk out of turn growing further apart from civilization they have in their earlier lives and are turning into savages disobeying rules. While Piggy is trying to get his glasses back from Jack, he is hit by a rock that kills him along with destroying the conch. All of the boys were gathered around and are witnesses of Piggy’s death, "[t]he rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist." (Golding 181). Now the boys have turned to full savagery destroying the only thing that kept order on the island. Also, the destroying of the

An inhabited and unknown island may seem like paradise, especially without any authority figures. Having no authority may result in freedom, and one may be free to do whatever they wish to do. If the island is habitable, it would practically seem like the Garden of Eden. The island would represent a thin line between Earth and heaven. One may keep their guard down thinking the island is just like paradise. But, just like in the Garden of Eden, there’s evilness lurking around which lets the island to completely blind you from seeing the rest of the good of humanity. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, leadership is twisted and flipped between 2 innocent and young kids. One may not be the strongest but if he’s able to demonstrate a better understanding of people’s needs, it may result in power over the others.

Piggy’s death was the outcome of Jack’s offense and the desire to complete authority. However, the authority that Jack experienced was different from that of Ralph’s. They both had different types of power; one could influence others through threat and force, while other through justice and equality. According to the book, Jack punished boys who didn’t obey, “He's going to beat Wilfred… He's been tied for hours, waiting––” (Golding 159), whereas Ralph maintained control through the assignment of equal responsibilities and allowance to express own opinions, “We ought to have more rules. Where the conch is, that's a meeting” (Golding 42). In this quote the conch also symbolizes democracy under Ralph's authority as it allows others to speak while they are holding it. Moreover, research shows that there are numerous types of power. The three different types are the “Power to”, “Power with” and “Power

A symbol stands for something in addition to its literal meaning. For example, in the “Lord of the Flies”, Golding uses the conch to represent social order among the group. When the conch explodes into a thousand white fragments and ceases to exist, the significance of the conch is destroyed. The shattered conch symbolizes the end of reason and a once known civilization with all of its structure and ideals pertaining to it.

In Lord Of The Flies power is the most important theme as the aspect of symbolism is shown continuously. The conch produced great power initially and the power of fire created hope in society, whereas, Jack began a dictatorship, striving for increasing power. The beast unlashed the power of fear, infecting everyone.

Because of this, the conch is no longer the thing that kept Ralph’s tribe together, but just a conch. Eventually, the conch gets smashed by a rock at Jack’s “territory.” It almost seems like as order fades away into chaos, the conch also “fades away.” The conch represents Ralphs good leadership, distinguishing it from Jacks bad leadership. “Leaders should develop empathy with their followers.