The Symbolism of the Conch Shell in Lord of the Flies by William Golding

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

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

In the beginning of the novel, when Piggy and Ralph spot the conch, they use it to call the meeting, soon the boys impose a “rule of the conch”. This rule made sure to keep order by stating that no one could speak during meeting or serious talks without holding a conch. This object represents law, power, peace, and control. As soon as the conch is destroyed all of that disappears, disaster begins, boys start fighting for the title of chief. The conch is essential to the development of the story because as soon as it was gone the obliteration of order on the island began, the island was in

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.

Second, of the many symbolic objects in the Lord of the Flies is the conch shell. The white conch shell represents the state of civilization on the island, the slow deterioration of this civilization, and finally the extinction of all of the civilization on the island. With the discovery of the conch shell it comes to symbolize the rise of civilization on the island. When Piggy exclaims to Ralph “Careful! You’ll break it—“(15) as he goes to pick up the shell, it shows the fragility of civilization and how one wrong move can shatter it. After that, Piggy then goes on to explain how valuable the conch is and how much it would cost to purchase in a shop. He informs “—a conch; ever so expensive. I bet if you wanted to buy one, you’d have to pay pounds and pounds and pounds—“(16). This discussion over the value of the conch symbolically displays just how precious civilization is to humans and the expense that the shell would bring in a shop displays the price that many are willing to pay for civilization. Ralph and Piggy then decide to use the shell to summon any other boys who are on the island. The shell is used to bring together a group of diversity and appeases their differences to create order. The conch shell also represents the creation of a key factor to its civilization. Once the group has been gathered, they begin to take the steps to organize themselves and assign duties. The organization and assignment of duties are both key roles into forming and maintaining

In Lord Of The Flies by William Golding the conch has hidden meanings. There are so many others that could be talked about, but there is not enough time in this essay. I chose three that are major here they are Power, authority,and worthless. These are only a few examples of the conch.

First, the conch in the Lord of the Flies resembles civilization and order on the island. As the novel progresses the conch’s color and condition change, which mirrors the status of the island’s society. For example, the boys use the conch to decide who has the right

The conch is a seashell, cream in color, which is used as a tool to call people. Symbols in The Lord of the Flies is very important because it helps with communication and identification of ideas. The conch in The Lord of the Flies by William Golding represents power, responsibility and leadership.When the boys hold meetings around the camp fire, only the speaker who is holding the conch may address the crowd.. At times the conch was disobeyed, you can see that in Chapter 1 the conch was powerful but later on in the book some of the boys started to talk over it. The boys in the novel start to develop a relationship with the conch which states Golding’s theme that humans, when

The Conch shell was a symbol that changed throughout the the story by showing how the boys became savages. The way they treated the Conch Shell changed from the beginning of the story to the end of the story changed. In the story, when the boys assemble for the first time, “‘I tried to get over that hill to see if there was water all around but your shell called us.’ Ralph smiled and held up the conch for silence” (Golding 23). This shows that at the beginning of the story that the Conch Shell was respected by the boys and that when it was raised in the air Ralph knew that the Jack and the boys would quiet down. While at

"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.

At the start of the novel Ralph and Piggy, who are stranded on the island find a conch shell. From the very start of chapter one the conch was a powerful symbol of civilization. It is odd for such a concrete object to be a symbol of something so important throughout this novel. As soon as Piggy finds the conch shell he instructs Ralph to blow into it to assemble the other boys that were separated after the plane crashed on the island. This is the very first sign of civilization on the island. It shows how the boys are willing to follow instruction and for the most part they are in civilized order. Throughout the first part of the novel, whoever holds the conch has the right to speak. This shows how the conch is a very important factor to sustain civilization and order on the island. Although the conch brings civilization throughout the first few chapters of the novel, it slowly loses its significance to the boys as they

In the novel, Lord of the flies the conch shell represents power or in other words law and order. This novel carries out a civilization vs savagery theme. In Lord of the flies the characters are very dynamic and use the conch shell to overpower one another. The conch shell may show corruption or it may show alignment

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.

Thesis: In the Lord of the Flies, the conch shell reflects important values which show the conflict of Ralph and Jack throughout the novel. The conch shell represents authority, order and civilization.

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.