Conch In Lord Of The Flies Symbolism Essay

William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is a very compelling novel. Golding’s use of symbolism, along with the characters personalities, played a huge role in the mood of the story line. Three out of the many, however, seemed to stand out ; the conch, the fire, and Piggy himself. Each of the items and/or characters used by Golding to aid his use of symbolism had its own unique meaning to the story. The conch was a shell that was found by Ralph and Piggy in the first chapter of the novel. Since its first use, it brought together the group of boys. This seemed to be Golding’s symbol for order and civilization throughout the story. The first time that Ralph blew into the conch was to call the primary meeting of the boys, “ A deep harsh note

He was always thinking about things that the other boys weren’t and had many bright ideas that the others never heard because they did not want to listen to him. Golding portrayed Piggy as being older and wiser than his average age group, causing many to believe him to be the symbol of wisdom throughout the story. Piggy was often trying to be heard by the boys and wanted desperately to fit in, but his asthma and short, chubby figure didn’t provide him with a very respectable image in the other boys eyes. Piggy was the only boy who understood that no one in the outside world knew where they were, “The plain was shot down in flames. Nobody knows where we are. We may be here a long time.” (32). But everytime Piggy tried to put in a good word with the boys he usually got the response of, “Oh, shut up!” (41). Later in the story, however, Ralph begins to listen to Piggy a bit more and learns a thing or two by doing so. He learns that Piggy is a true friend and very knowledgeable. Piggy was always helping Ralph keep things in order, “ Ralph tried indignantly to remember. There was something good about a fire. … ‘Ralph’s told you often enough, how else are we going to be rescued?’” (148). He even had ideas that saved the boys fuel and time, “Nobody ain’t going to see smoke in the dark.” (149). After Piggy died, Ralph found it hard to think straight, longing for his friend to be there with him, “There was no Piggy to talk sense…” (179). This seemed to be the author’s way of showing the death of all civilization among the boys, seeing as how the conch was destroyed during the same instance of Piggy’s