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What Does The Conch Symbolize Democracy

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William Golding’s Lord of The Flies illustrates a group of boys that crash on an uninhabited island and fight for survival. A conch is found in the sand and the boys use it as a democratic guide. The conch is an extremely powerful symbol of democracy. We see the conch symbolizes democracy when early in the novel the main character, Ralph, blows the conch. The boys are attracted to the sound while being completely oblivious to what is making the sound
“‘I bet you can hear that for miles.” Ralph found his breath and blew a series of short blasts. Piggy exclaimed: ‘There’s one!’ A child had appeared among the palms, about a hundred yards along the beach. He was a boy of perhaps six years, sturdy and fair, his clothes torn, his face covered with a sticky mess of fruit”(Golding 16).

The unidentifiable attraction comes over the boys. It’s …show more content…

When the boys are arguing about what to do and then piggy declared he has the conch and control. “‘I got the conch,’ said Piggy bleakly. He turned to Ralph. ‘I got the conch, ain’t I Ralph?’”(Golding 44). This shows the sovereign power of the conch over the children. Just like the government system has control over the people in government. All government is based off of a set of rules, and the boys have established a primitive sort of government. Their minds swirling, the boys are very loyal to their government system in the beginning and also in most of the book. Also like formal government, the person with the right to speak their mind shall not be interrupted. Not only but also like in government, there can be rebellion and riots. Later in the book the boys, under Jack’s tyrannic rule, rebel against Ralph and his democratic ways. They turn to the dark side violently. They kill Ralph’s friends Simon and Piggy later in the novel. They ultimately break the conch into millions of pieces, symbolizing a abolished

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