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 was chief in the story as he was voted to be one from the kids. His job was to keep everyone in tact and let everyone know that the conch is going to play an enormous part of the civilization. As Ralph has his assembly, he
…show more content…
Ralph begins to lose faith for his tribe as no one is following the rules and is keeping up with the civilization. In the excerpt ““When the meeting was over they’d work for five minutes, then wander off or go hunting.”” ( Golding 70) Ralph notices that the conch isn't really being treated well as no one is being involved in the civilization that everyone agreed. Since this is where everyone is starting to follow Jack, I think the kids have been doing their own thing as Jack has previously mentioned that he doesn't think that the conch is nothing to him. In Ralph’s speech, he says ““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.”” (130) The conch symbolizes as an object at this point as he realizes that the conch has no power at this point. From this, we can say that Ralph’s dynamic about the conch as he sees the conch differently throughout the
This carelessness for the conch was shown when Jack raided Ralph’s area of the island. Piggy later expressed that “‘they didn’t come for the conch’”(168). This showed that the conch clearly meant nothing to the boys and their savage leader, who only cared about killing and eating. The conch barely meant anything to Ralph as well, because his only followers were the twins and Piggy. Not a lot of power was needed over them.
“And what about the fire? And I’ve got the conch -” Ralph had to be respected and listened to because he was the one chosen, so none of them couldn’t complain. This interprets the conch destruction because Ralph was the boys weren't listening to ralph anymore with or without the conch. They weren’t respecting Ralph or the conch. The fact that they weren’t listening made Ralph mad because This explores the idea that instinct destroy innocence because the fact that Ralph had the most power since he had been chosen when this happened he automatically thought to himself that he was chief and that they all have to listen to what he says.
In his book “ Lord of the Flies”, Golding uses the conch as a symbol of power and order. For example, the boys use the conch to have an order in the right to speak; whoever has the conch has the turn to speak. When Ralph mentions the rules he explains “ We can’t have everybody talking at once”... “I'll give the conch to the next person” (Golding 33). This quote illustrates how the conch is used for control to ensure a civil relationship. This helped them stay organized when they were talking in meetings. The conch was also the only way to gather everyone together and speak one at a time.
After Simon dies, Jack and his tribe start to gain control, and Ralph’s power and his innocence start to decline. Ralph knows that the conch is losing its meaning and he no longer is chief, the position of control. His youthful motivation, which was part of his driving leading forces is deteriorating, because of the creation of Jack’s new tribe, most of the boys have already gone over to his side, rather than staying with Ralph. However, his friend Piggy stays with him and reminds him that he is “still the chief” but “Ralph laughed again” in spite of that (156). Ralph knows that he is no longer the chief, he can see it in the amount of boys who have left to follow Jack.
“ ‘And another thing. We can't have everybody talking at once. We'll have to have 'hands up' like at school’ ”(33). Ralph tried to stay civilized like they did outside of the islands, so he made a rule that everyone can speak for themselves and they could discuss about their ideas, but as the time went, Jack started to break the rules what Ralph made. If they didn’t broke the rules, there wouldn’t be fights against each other and everything would have gone alright. At the first few chapters of the book, Ralph tries to hear every one's voice and thoughts like civilized people, and not doing dictatorship. “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking”(33). This quote proves that Ralph really tried to stay the same like before, and for few chapters, he was able to keep peace. Ralph unlike Jack, was a democratic leader who tried to rule fairly by using Conch, which was used communicating with others and anybody could speak if they want to and other boys had to listen to him and don’t interrupt him.
This action made by Ralph identifies the central idea to the power of the conch because the littluns and the rest of the boys listen to Ralph due to the fact that they see Ralph being a link to the adult world and of the power he withholds against them as a chief. Overall it may be said that the conch in the beginning of the novel represents peace, order and balance of society by the actions the boys portray with the use of the conch. At the end of the novel, the conch becomes a useless, powerless and worthless symbol to the boys due to the release of chaos and disorder on the
Ralph in “The Lord Of The Flies’ is elected leader of the group of boys and it's the best choice for the group because he is smart and more productive than others. Ralph and the boys all were supposed to be evacuated from england. They were put on a plane to be evacuated. The plane ended up getting hit and landed on the island. The boys were all split up on the island without any adults to supervise or protect them. Ralph was stranded with his friend piggy. Piggy and ralph were walking on the island and found a conch. They picked it up and blew into the conch and it caught the attention of other kids. All the other kids followed the sound and all the kids united. Finding the conch was the most important part in the beginning because if they didn't unite the
"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.
The next reason for humanity to be pushed over is the fact that the boys were living on an island with no rules to be followed unless they were their own. In the first chapter on page. 16, Ralph proclaims this to piggy, “We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us.” The conch represents power, and whoever had possession of it received this gift. This caused drama because everyone was “power hungry animals”, and they caused fights over who got to use the conch to make a statement. An example of one of these people is Jack. Who wanted the conch because with it, you could do and say anything. All in all, “Lord of the Flies,” can show readers that humanity can be covered up and turn rotten by selfishness, struggle, and envy.
Havoc starts to wreak throughout the boys and they slowly start disobeying the rules and authority of the conch. After an argument transpired during an assembly, Ralph and Simon talk, “If I blow the conch and they don't come back, then we've had it.” (92). The other boys are slowly distancing themselves from the rules and responsibilities associated with the conch. By saying that they’ll never come back, Ralph is implying that the other boys might quit listening to him if he keeps trying to enforce the
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.
Freed from the conditions of a regulated society, Jack gradually became more violent and the rules and proper behaviour by which he was brought up were forgotten. The freedom given to him unveiled his true self under the clothing worn by civilized people to hide his darker characteristics.<br><br>Ralph was introduced as a fair and likeable boy whose self-assured mad him feel secure even on the island without any adults. His interaction with Piggy demonstrated his pleasant nature as he did not call him names with hateful intent as Jack had. His good physique allowed him to be well accepted among his peers, and this gave him enough confidence to speak out readily in public. His handsome features and the conch as a symbol of power and order pointed him out from the crowd of boys and proclaimed him Chief. "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 powerful, there was the conch." (p. 24) From the quick decisions he made as Chief near the beginning of the novel, it could be seen that Ralph was well-organized. But even so, Ralph began repeatedly to long and daydream of his civilized and regular past. Gradually, Ralph became confused and began to lose clarity in his thoughts and speeches. "Ralph was puzzled by the shutter that flickered in his brain. There was something he wanted to say; then the shutter had come
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 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.
When everyone is more settled down, Ralph suggests that they elect a leader and chief. All the kids elect Ralph as the leader, mainly because he is the one who found the conch and the one who is holding it. We at once see how Jack greatly disapproves of the decision taken by the kids. He