Symbol of the Conch in Lord of the Flies Essay

The Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, is thought-provoking, profound, and symbolic. Many symbols in this novel are extremely important to the plot; for instance, the conch shell. On the one hand, the conch shell in this novel is just that, a shell. On the other hand, it holds a great deal of importance for the boys in this novel and the readers of this story.

Upon arriving at the island, Piggy and Ralph discovered the conch. Thanks to Piggy’s intelligence, they found a purpose for it when Piggy said, “‘Ralph!’ .... ‘We can use this to call others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us’”(16).

Symbol Paper: Ralph Symbol #1: The conch Chapter 1: Piggy and Ralph encounter one another after the plane crash. While walking, both of them come upon a conch shell. Ralph blows into it and a bellowing sound emits across the island. Golding illustrates the conch as a symbol of authority by saying that it catches the attention of all the kids.

In the book, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the conch is a motif for the boys stuck on the island. It plays the role or power and civilization. The conch shell goes from being the most important thing on the island to nothing. As the book progresses the conch loses its power.

In William Golding’s novel, The Lord of the Flies, the conch symbolizes a form of government, but as this symbol’s physical appearance fades, so does the humanity of the characters inhabited on the island. The conch is first found by Ralph and Piggy who are swimming and see it in the clear water. The boys fish out the conch and marvel at its’ beauty. Later on, they figure out how to blow the conch to make a trumpet-like sound. While doing this, all the other schoolboys stranded on the island hear it and come running. The conch is what brought all the boys together and unified them. Also, the conch is introduced and talked about as an item of value. All the boys honor and respect the conch. The conch shows a sense of government because

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 shell is a very important symbol in the book Lord of the Flies. The shell symbolizes order, civilization, and power. The conch shell was an attempt at keeping everything in order and making a civilized program to run the island. The rule of the conch was that when they had meetings, whoever was holding the shell was the only one that could speak. This makes whoever was holding the conch powerful. The conch was well respected by everyone and worked for a while. Soon as time past all the boys became far too savage to be controlled by a conch shell. All the civilization that they ever had was gone. Another symbol in the Lord of the Flies was the face paint. It was first brought up when Jack wanted to hunt for pigs but they could see his pink face in-between the trees. He had a good idea of painting his face so he could camouflage. Once he puts on the paint he doesn’t just look different, he begins to act different. It’s almost as if the face paint brought out his inner savage.

The conch, although we see it as an object it has much power. It is used to summon the boys for meetings and whoever holds it has the power to speak. The conch symbolizes power and Ralph who is leader mostly has possession of it. “Immediately the thing sounded. A deep, harsh note boomed under the palms, spread through the intricacies of the forest…”(pg.17). That was the moment Ralph blew the conch and brought all the boys together, making him leader of all the boys. It was a very important part of the story, but there are much more things to discuss.

The biggest, and one of the most influential symbols in the book, the conch, plays a major role in showing the boys decline into savagery. When Lord of the Flies begins the first characters we see are Ralph and Piggy, Piggy being the first to discover a conch shell, that he gives to Ralph who says, “Seems to me we need to have a chief to decide things” (22). This marks the first

"A conch he called it. He used to blow it and his mum would come. It's ever so valuable" – Piggy, Lord of the Flies. The conch is a sea creature, its shell is revered in many cultures such as Hinduism and Buddhism for its beauty and the sound it makes. The conch is also that shell in Lord of the Flies which is blown into to gather the boys. The author, William Golding, uses the conch to show that democracy will succumb to rule by force in the face of serious trouble or need. In the book, it is a symbol of democratic power but it is not without its enemies who eventually overrule it.

1. The conch symbolizes respect and order in the Lord of the Flies. Whoever holds the conch is to be heard and respected. The fire, however, is a symbol of hope. If you keep the fire going, you have your opportunity to be rescued.

Some actions made my individuals not only has an effect on the people around them, but the objects close by as well. This important object or sign, can all be based upon the people using it, and also be in relation to its environment and surroundings. In the novel, The Lord of the Flies, the author, William Golding uses a conch shell to represent different meanings throughout his novel. The message in each of the different meanings of the conch, show how a group of young, British boys are changing their behavior and personality deeper into the novel. The conch in the Lord of the Flies, begins as a sign of authority, becomes a symbol of disorganization, and concludes to transform into a weapon of death.

We all know Lord of the Flies doesn’t end well nor has an happy ending, but if you followed an object as simple as the conch, you will realize that something so simple can cause an uproar in these kids expedition. These kids were stranded and left with all the resources they had, which was the whole island. To keep everyone in peace, the boys used the conch to let everyone know who is the boss, which is anyone that is holding the conch. The conch is powerful to the story because it symbolized something different to each character, leadership, power, a simple object, and a way to take advantage. The kids, Ralph, Jack, and Piggy played a big part of the story and is the reason why the story turned out the way is it.

Ralph is a character whose actions make him represent democracy. In chapter 2, Ralph establishes a rule that whoever holds the conch may speak at the assembly. “That’s what this shell's called. I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking”(31). By establishing this rule, Ralph planted the foundation of democracy for the boys. Later in the story, even though Jack draws most of the boys into savagery, Ralph still held onto the belief

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