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Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

Decent Essays

Have you ever been on a beach and seen a conch shell and wondered if someone in time used this for civilization? Or even to show leadership? Well if you haven’t, then for sure you will be amazed! In the novel Lord of the Flies, the author William Golding specifically focuses on how a group of children ends up on an unknown island without rules and order in which they become savages and nearly act similarly to animals in one way or another. One symbol in this novel is the conch shell. The conch shell in Lord of the Flies represents leadership and civilization, in which allows Ralph, the leader of the group, to call meetings to order and gives the chance for others to speak; however, it becomes worthless and loses its importance as the story progresses and is shattered at the end, showing how without respect and authority things can lead to savagery. At the beginning of the story, the conch shell signifies the importance of civilization and democracy. As Golding describes in the story, “ I tried to get over that hill to see if there was water all around. But your shell called us” (Golding 23). This quote gestures how the children followed the conch shell as their main source of order. It displays the assurance of life on the island in which Ralph and Piggy were unsure of. Another quote that shows the significance of the shell is, “But there was stillness about Ralph… attractive appearance… yet most powerfully, there was the conch” (what page is this?). The conch is a

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