Use of Symbolism in Golding's Lord of the Flies Essay

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

It connects back to piggy because he also cared dearly for the conch. Throughout the whole book until his death, he always wanted it to be used because he thought it was the proper way of handling things. He wanted the boys to have power when they held the conch.

This also shows that the conch symbolizes order because Ralph mentions school, where people are civilized and raise their hands to have a chance to speak, which he includes in the island to maintain control. Similarly, after Ralph had lost most of his people to Jack’s tribe and Jack had stolen the glasses of Piggy, Piggy says in anger about Jack, “‘You let me carry the conch, Ralph. I’ll show him the one thing he hasn’t got,” (171). In this quote, Piggy was not talking about the simple conch, but the symbol of the conch. What Jack didn’t have was control or order for his tribe, which made his tribe seem more like savages than civilized people.

Firstly, the Conch which is arguably the most important object of symbolism is representative of law, power and order. This is backed up by the quote “But there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch. The being that had blown that, had sat waiting for them on the platform with the delicate thing balanced on

confide in the conch and when the conch is held up, it is a sign of

"His head opened and stuff came out and turned red. Piggy's arms and legs twitched a bit like a pig after it has been killed" (217). This is what can happen to someone when all signs of civilization, order and power disappear and have no more meaning to members of a group or society. In the writing of William Golding's Lord of the Flies (1954), the symbol of power and civilization is the conch. Once that is lost, all bets are off. When the novel begins, two boys are talking about what has happened and why they are on this island. While walking on the beach, the main character Ralph then proceeds to find a shell which the two boys call the conch. Blowing on this shell Ralph calls a

In WIlliam Golding's Lord of the Flies, the symbol of the conch is used throughout the book to show the movement of power and connection to the civilized world. The reader first sees this depicted at the beginning of the book, Ralph is the perfect candidate for a leader, "yet most powerfully, there was the conch" (22). Simply possessing the conch gives Ralph the supreme aspect of authority over the other, still civilized, boys of the island. In addition, as time drags on the conch becomes more powerful. Piggy was holding "the conch. [He's] got the right to speak" - and only he could speak (45). It gains the power to end things also, "Ralph laid the conch on the trunk beside him as a sign the speech was over" (82). Then, suddenly, the conch

One of the symbols that hold a symbolic meaning but also changes is the conch. The conch represents the ‘the high hand of authority’ but defiantly changes over time.as the reader can see when Ralph blows the conch the first time all of the others on the island came to the spot where Ralph blew it. It was a signal of sorts and it gave the beholder a certain authority.

In Chapter Two, Golding introduces more symbols that will recur throughout the novel and which highlight important developments in the dramatic action. The tropical island, with its bountiful food, symbolizes paradise. It is like a Garden of Eden in which the boys can try to recreate the perfect society. The conch shell symbolizes authority and civil discussion. “By the time Ralph finished blowing the conch the platform was crowded.” It's used to call meetings and it used as a microphone that grants people to speak. “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking.” The boys' fears changes into the shape of the Beastie; it becomes the tally of the things that frighten them about the island: the unknown, the

From personal experience, Piggy knew that the loud sound of the conch would attract other people and because of this, the blowing of the conch helped create the island society. Piggy’s suggestion was a catalyst in forming civilization on the island through the establishment of a symbol of authority- the conch. Throughout the majority of the novel, the conch represents the law and order of their “society.” Piggy, who gave value to the conch, is directly responsible for the establishment of rules on the island.

Due to the variation of meanings that the conch had brought to Piggy, Ralph, and Jack, Golding showed the possible outcome of a civilization that was corrupted by power. All of the detail that Golding provided about the conch showed that it was an exceptionally important symbol that was related to power. Without the conch, Piggy wouldn’t have had any say in their civilization, Ralph wouldn’t have been chief, and Jack would have been a savage since the very beginning of the book. The conch made it easier for the readers to perceive the intended meaning of power brought out through the conch when civilization had failed to exist.

At the beginning of the novel the conch represents law and order. As the boys split apart the conch becomes less important and is eventually destroyed. After all this happens Ralph's small tribe is also destroyed. The conch is used to represent law, order and society in the same way that Piggy's glasses are used.

Piggy still serves an important role in trying to balance society. The conch is just a shell, but it helps to keep the boy’s society functioning somewhat properly. It serves as a totem of power; whoever has gets the right to speak and it calls all the boys together for an assembly when it is sounded. On the other hand, there are several aspects of their society that cause dysfunction. For example, Jack creates a violent atmosphere on the island; he conducts several criminal acts that disrupt the sanctity of their island.

In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, many different aspects of symbolism are presented well into the novel. From themes of democracy to the evil of mankind, almost every moral issue of society is compacted within the novel. The novel starts out as a group of little boys are stranded on an island without any adult survivors. When the boys first arrive on the island they are a very civilized lot,"The creature was a party of boys, dressed in strange eccentric clothing. Shorts, shirts, and different garments they carried in their hands; but each boy wore a square black cap with a silver badge on it.

First, The conch is one way Golding displays symbolism throughout the book. "The conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist." (87%) The conch is a symbol of unity and organization. When the boys first arrive on the island, it unites them into one organized group. (Mannori) When the conch is broken, it typifies that there is no longer amalgamation or structure present on the island. This is a crucial part of development in the plot because at this point, the characters lose all the humanity they have left.