Ralph's Conch Essay

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

From Lord of the Flies, there were many things like Conch and Fire that symbolized something. One of the most important symbols was the Conch. The Conch, which is a big shell that can be seen at the beach symbolizes many things in the Lord of the Flies. The Conch represents power because it once was able to control the boys with it, and it also symbolizes democracy because of anyone who has their ideas and can speak their thoughts. The Conch represents unity because it was used to call an assembly and was used to put the boys and keep the peace between the boys so nobody would fight with each other. So, the conch is an important symbol in the novel, because it represents power, democracy, and unity.

The conch is a symbol of democratic power at the beginning of the story. First, it is used to gather the boys. Ralph blows the conch to assemble them

Piggy urges Ralph to use what power he has left by calling a meeting: “’What’s grown-ups going to say?’ cried Piggy again…The sound of mock hunting, hysterical laughter, and real terror came from the beach. ‘Blow the conch, Ralph...You got to be tough now. Make ‘em do what you want.’ Ralph answered in the cautious voice of one who rehearses a theorem. ‘If I blow the conch and they don’t come back; then we’ve had it. We shan’t keep the fire going. We’ll be like animals. We’ll never be rescued.’” In this situation, Piggy is still worried about the punishment of his previous life. He is the closest thing to an adult on the island, and Ralph is the only one who advocates listening to him, illustrating Ralph’s connection to the rules of traditional civilization, which the other boys despise and want to escape through the island. After showing blatant disregard to their “chief’s” rules, they decide to escape the constraints of Ralph’s assemblies and embrace their inner savagery with Jack. Piggy urges Ralph to blow the conch, the symbol of his power throughout the book, but Ralph understands that his form of leadership is becoming the less desirable option to the boys: if he calls an assembly and the other boys do not respond, its power, and his civilization, will have completely disintegrated. Ralph constantly emphasizes their responsibilities on the island—specifically, tending to the signal fire.

For a few days the boys run wild over the island. Ralph steps up and tries to set up things to try and bring civilization back into the group. “If we have a signal going, they’ll come and take us off. And another thing we thought to have more rules. Where the conch is, that’s where we're meeting. The same up here as down here”(Golding 42). Ralph know that there a lot of chaos going on right now and he needs to make rules faster before it gets out of hand. One of the first one’s was the conch. Ralph made this item important to the whole group, giving it significant value. Where the conch is at, that’s where the meeting will be held because he will blow the shell really loud so everyone can hear it. To add on to this idea, I have another quote that is similar to the lasts idea about the conch. “Whoever holds the conch gets to speak”(Golding ). This shows that Ralph wants others to have their opinion too, but not all at the same time screaming at each other. This alouds everyone to have it say because if you have the conch everyone must listen and wait to say everything until they get the conch. Ralph is trying his best to try and get the boy’s civilized again by setting up rules that everyone must

Ralph and Piggy believe that Jack and his tribe are after the conch, and leave it behind when they go to see what is going on at the other side of the island. Jack then begins to signal to the audience and the boys that the conch is now useless. It is has no meaning to anyone on the island, specifically his tribe. He indicates this statement by saying, “ You left it behind… and the conch doesn’t count on this side of the island-”(150).This passage from the novel exemplifies how the boys have lost their sense of command and order within one another. The message from the statement made by Jack is guiding the reader to see how each boy is transforming into a more ruthless individual, not caring about any rules or individuals in their lives. With author, William Golding, having the conch’s purpose be lost and forgotten begins to exhibit the children’s loss of reason within one another.

Ralph and Jack both have very different opinions about the conch. By showing these opinions, they illustrate the struggle between good and evil. From the very beginning, a conch is used to summon the boys and it quickly becomes clear that the conch symbolizes the constraints of

The conch symbolizes civilization, authority, order and a vessel of democratic power in the novel. Early in the novel, the boys rigorously abide by the rules of the conch. The boys first gather together when Ralph blows the conch. Since, the conch had the power to bring them together, they assume that it will unite them forever. The boys use the conch to take turns speaking, granting the speaker power. From this moment, the conch becomes a symbol of civilization, control and order. “‘[...] I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he is speaking. [...] We’ll have rules!’ [...] Lot’s of rules!’”(Golding, 33).

One of the most important symbols in Lord of the Flies is the conch shell. It represents law, order and power. The shell was the only way to gather everybody from their scattered places on the island. When the conch was blown the boys knew that the chief had something important to say. Once everyone was gathered at the meeting, the holder of the shell was the only person allowed to speak. In the novel, Golding compared the conch shell to its opposite; the pig’s head. The head contradicted the shell because it characterized chaos and terror. The shell also emphasized that power is fake. A flag is no more meaningful than the conch that Ralph had. It’s the meaning behind it and the meaning that people give it that makes it important. Rules are only powerful if everyone agrees on them. Ralph realized this once Jack left and took most of the group with him. If he blew the conch and no one came, the shell would lose all of its power. “If I blow the conch and they don’t come back; then we’ve had it. We shan’t keep the fire going. We’ll be like animals. We’ll never be rescued.” (Golding 124) When the conch breaks, so does Ralph’s power and Jack takes his spot as chief.

The conch to the boys is like the crown to a king. Whoever blows the conch is the one who leads the group. The boys decided on civilization over savagery when they chose Ralph to be their leader instead of Jack. Ralph wants a happy civilized way of surviving, but Jack on the other hand believes hunting and savaging to be the best way to survive on the island. Even the choir dreadfully raised their hands for Jack to lead, they were outnumbered by the people outside the choir who chose Ralph as the leader. From the beginning Ralph tries to establish a peaceful place on the island for the boys.

The conch is seen as one of the major symbols of the novel. The conch can symbolize a democratic government. The conch has brought the boys together, formed their society. The conch has made their rules and regulations. In the book no one was suppose to talk unless they had the conch. Halfway through the book the conch starts losing its power. The boys split up into two different tribes. The conch symbolizes the rise and the fall of society’s rules, order, and regulation. It made people understand how much rules and regulations are important in a world’s society. Therefore, the conch mad the “Lord of the Flies” a smaller version of what our society is today.

The conch is a symbol in the novel and represents civilized authority and democracy. When the group of boys are stranded on the island, they choose Ralph as the

The conch a significance a powerful symbol of civilization.The shell governs the boys meetings and the respect they have with each other.For example as the novel progress the conch, “we can use this to call the others. Have a meeting, they'll come when they hear this.”(Golding 22)Piggy tells ralph that blowing the conch anyone else on the island will come when they hear it. It symbolizes the forces that brought the boys together.Later the conch becomes disrespected and cannot hold everyone together anymore. The boys become savages and lose every resource they have to survive in the island.Jack and Ralph feud “I’m chief and i've got the conch ralph says, Jack responds you don’t have it with you and the conch doesn't count at this end of the

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

The conch shell is the opening symbol in the novel and lasts roughly to the very end of the story. The conch is found by Ralph and Piggy, which they use to summon the boys together after the crash. “We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us—" (Golding 16). The conch represents civilization and order on the island. In the start the conch is given to a boy