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Conch In Lord Of The Flies

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The Conch, Piggy’s glasses and Jack in the novel Lord of the Flies In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses several symbols to represent the transition of the characters from morally acceptable members of a society, into a more savage state of mind. The story reveals that only two boys remain connected to the moral codes of civilization and how the rest quickly turn and follow a leader, even though he was absent of goodness, which should be inherent to all people. So what are we human, animal, or savages? The conch shell is a symbol that shows the boys still have some form of authority, without it there would be anarchy. Piggy’s glasses are what is used to start the signal fire in the novel and a sense of civilization. Jack is …show more content…

When the other boys hear the conch, they gather” (Novel for Students 176-177). This critic is stating that even though the boys are stranded on an island they can still work together to survive. The novel states, “They obeyed the summons of the conch, partly because Ralph blew it, and he was big enough to be a link with the adult world of authority…” (Golding 59). This quote shows that the boys on the island saw the conch as a sign of authority and the meaning of being civilized. The conch shell also is a major symbol of power and respect in the novel. Novel for student’s state; “The conch becomes a symbol of authority: whoever has the conch has the right to speak” (Novel for Students 176-177). This shows that whoever has the conch has the right to speak and has the power over the boys as well as the person who had it in hand. Golding writes,” I got the conch…” (Golding 43) showing how each boy starting to talk whenever they had the shell. In the novel the conch starts to change from a strong symbol of authority and power to just an object that only a couple of the boys still respected and followed.” They forget about the conch and the system of rules they have just made” (Novel for students 176-177). This critic is saying that the conch was just forgotten as a symbol of civility and the boys began to move toward a more savage state of

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The conch represents democracy, respect, order, and power in the novel. Ralph and Piggy find the conch in the chapter one and Piggy said to use the conch to “call the others and have meetings”. Whenever the boys have a meeting around the campfire, the person holding the conch is the only one allowed to speak. This is shown in chapter one again when Ralph used the conch to control the crowd and it said “They obeyed the summons of the conch, partly because Ralph blew it, and he was big enough to be a link with the adult world of authority.” That created a mutual respect for everyone's ideas.

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The conch symbolizes the role of leadership showing they have some source of civilization, once the conch is broken a descent into savagery leads to a dangerous turn for the boys. The one thing that the boys all had that could bring them together was the conch. “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking.” Ralph says and later on says “We’ll have rules!”

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528 Words | 3 Pages

This demonstrates how the conch is a precious and fragile object, just like democracy, and is needed to maintain order. The children gather for a meeting and decide to, “... give the conch to the next person to speak” (33). This shows that the conch plays a role in remaining civilized, as it allows everybody to speak one at a time, without any commotion or chaos. Already, we see the conch helps maintain order by allowing the kids to share ideas peacefully.

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After the conch is broken it is spoken by Jack that the conch is gone in a wildly manner, he then proceeds to stab Ralph with a spear. The conch represents a certain jurisdiction for these boys and as soon as that's lost so is that line they don’t cross. The line gets blurred and they can no longer see it. However, there is more symbolism in this book; such as ‘the monster’ representing the lurking and growing evil in human nature. " ‘What I mean is...

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Lord of the Flies “What are we? Humans? or Animals? or Savages? (Golding 91). ” In this quote, Piggy is trying to explain how the lack of authority has turned the boys into unrecognizable people.

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This quote shows how the conch is used to bring the boys

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This shows how the power roles have changed throughout the novel, where at first the conch held the symbol of democracy, but now that the faith in it has dissolved, the conch is just a shell thrown around in the monarchy holding Jack as ruler. Throughout the novel, many items and people change as power rolls in between their hands. Consequently there comes a time when an object loses power completely, yet even in destruction it may

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882 Words | 4 Pages

Symbolism of the Conch in Lord of the Flies by William Golding represents civilization. The novel Lord of the Flies is about a group of boys from England who have been stranded on an island after an airplane crash. They are expected to fend for themselves and are slowly reverting back to their primal savage ways. The group is quickly split into two a savage side and a rational, civilized side. Throughout the novel a key symbol was the conch.

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1951 Words | 8 Pages

In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses items and people to symbolize many different things. These symbolic things include Piggy’s glasses, Simon’s epilepsy, the Lord of the Flies, and arguably the most important symbol, the conch shell. The conch shell was first found in the water by Piggy, who then comes up with the idea of using the conch as a blow horn to call for meetings. Throughout Lord of the Flies, the conch shell becomes not only associated with Ralph and his leadership, but with Piggy and his intuitive and wise ideas and Jack and his dictator-like, irresponsible authority. The conch shell, representing law and order, assisted in the election of Ralph as chief and ultimately determines the future of the island.

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1193 Words | 5 Pages

The conch is a part of his authority that is being shared with the boys when it is their chance to voice an opinion or idea. In addition, Ralph does not specify that the conch can only be used by a specific group of boys, rather the conch is available for any boy, therefore representing equality and respect for all boys. Furthermore, the conch represents civilization back in England with its rules and structure. When planning a rescue, the boys race off the build a fire. Upon the mention of fire, “half the boys were on their feet.

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1119 Words | 5 Pages

In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, the conch is a primary symbol, which represents civility and order. Throughout the book it served as a power tool that the boys highly respected, in fact, the symbolism of the conch begins before it is even blown. Ralph is the one who originally discovers and posses the shell, but it’s Piggy who explains it’s significance. Piggy has to teach Ralph how to blow it; this shows how from the beginning the conch is linked with both Piggy and Ralph.

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796 Words | 4 Pages

The conch and the sow’s head both wield a specific type of power over the juvenile boys in Lord of the Flies. The conch, used to call assemblies, represents progress and civilization while the sow’s head represents terror, barbarity, and malevolence and is partly to blame for Simon’s demise. Lord of the Flies is a novel about power because throughout the book Jack and Ralph quarrel over who should be the chieftain of the children and the novel uses the conch and the sow’s head to represent divergent forms of power and authority. Also, the book shows the reader the power of symbols such as the conch and the pig’s head and even the island that the children remain inevitably imprisoned on until their liberation at the conclusion of the novel. Just about everything within this novel is a representation of something that is considerably greater.

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1036 Words | 5 Pages

This is an example of how the conch symbolizes the rules within the boys society because the conch is what tells when the boys when they can talk. The rules created by the conch is what led to a lot of the boys disagreements which slowly drove them to become¨beasts¨. Overall the conch is the most symbolic piece in Lord of the Flies because it symbolizes the boys rules, their civilization, and power over the boys. This is important to the theme of the story because the conch helps the boys realize that they are the beast all along. The conch helps the boys to notice this because when it breaks they realize it was controlling them all along and making them the

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615 Words | 3 Pages

The conch is an important symbol because it helps the boys stay civilized and not chaotic. For example, Ralph says, “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking” (31). They will use the conch for when they are at meetings so that no one talks at the same time, and to make the society refined. In addition, William golding states, “The conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (164).

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2103 Words | 9 Pages

Quotes Analysis Further reflection “By the time Ralph finished blowing the conch the platform was crowded… before him small children squatted in the Grass. Silence now. Ralph lifted the cream and pink shell to his knees and a sudden breeze scattered light over the platform.” “‘we can't have everybody talking at once… He held the conch before his face and glanced round the mouth. '

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