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Conch Lord Of The Flies Research Paper

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Additionally, the conch shell symbolizes organization and authority, and when it gets smashed, so does the civilization left in the boys. They first elected their leader, Ralph, based solely on the fact that he was attractive and he had the conch. During the moments when it seemed the boys were contemplating their choice, they did an overview of each of the candidates including Ralph, “there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out. There was his size, attractive appearance and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch… the delicate thing balanced on his knees and set him apart.” (22). Because it had so much power, the conch got Ralph elected as leader. The mass of boys were so quick to judge and choose their leader based merely on a shell. The boys decided that the shell had power so therefore he who held the shell also had power. Additionally, it determined who had the right to speak, and brought the boys together in unison and created order. Whenever Ralph, wanted to …show more content…

The boys in The Lord of the Flies had driving factors portrayed as symbols like the beast, the dead paratrooper and the conch shell which progressed their downwards spiral in the direction of savagery. Golding created a novel which had many events similar to the real world today. For instance, many people have fears and suspicions which withhold them from uncovering new realizations and discoveries. In addition, when power gets into the wrong hands, and organization and order are no longer priorities, people tend to go crazy. The boys in Lord of the Flies are similar to the real world today, but on a much smaller scale. Golding probably wanted to portray the message that evil and potential savagery is within each human, that everyone is capable of becoming civilized with a few key

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First used to call the boys together, it’s later used to regulate the boys and their discussions during their beach assemblies. When “the pink lips of the shell” are portrayed, this suggests that the conch is a living thing. As such, it could also symbolically die. “ 'His specs–use

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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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The conch shell is used and obtained as a method to maintain order on the island despite the other boy’s rejection and retrogression into a savage-like behavior. Discovered by Piggy on the beach when he first meets Ralph, the boys use the shell to call all of the boys on the island to the beach and with it establish rules that they expect the boys to follow until the time of their rescue. Ralph is the one who cherishes the conch the most and the idea of orderly control that is held behind it. He automatically takes upon the leadership role given to him by the other boys in the group. Along by his side he takes upon Piggy, his righthand man,who becomes the moral compass and rational thought for all the boys on the island.

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William Golding uses a multitude of symbols in his book, Lord of the Flies. One of the many symbols Golding uses is a conch, which is described as a creamy pink color, and approximately eighteen inches across. “In color the shell was deep cream, touched here and there with fading pink…lay eighteen inches of shell…” (16). The conch is a private symbol that Golding created to represent different interpretations to different characters. Ralph’s interpretation of the conch is power and authority; Whoever is holding the conch gets to speak, and it is Ralph who declared this rule.

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Once the book begins, Piggy quickly meets Ralph, the oldest boy on the island, and starts to collaborate with him. While in the lagoon, Piggy points out a stone shaped object that turns out to be the conch that would bring everyone together; however, Ralph does not know how to use it in an effective way. He needs Piggy’s help to show him how to blow the shell in a sonorous way to attract the attention of the group. This theme of Ralph listening to the ideas and advice of Piggy can relate to Ralph’s use of the conch shell to unify and gather the people. Later in the story, we can see how these two symbols can be intertwined in nature.

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The Conch shell was first found by Simon. The conch shell was first spotted by Piggy and Ralph. They imposed a rule that you can only talk when you have the conch. The conch represented law and order.

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400 Words | 2 Pages

In his novel, Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the conch shell to represent structure and togetherness among the boys’ society. The boys’ are first brought together by Ralph blowing the conch. An it soon becomes a tool of power, even getting Ralph elected as chief just for being the one holding it “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” (16). Rules were created where the boys can only speak in the group while holding the conch. But this rule is quickly disregarded as the boys talk over each other as often as possible in their meetings.

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All the boys in lord of the flies always go back to their old behaviors and derive all their good behavior. Lord of the flies was written by William Golding, he wrote the book about young boys who find themselves alone on a deserted island and they start to develop systems but without adults to serve to watch them the children eventually become evil and savage. The boys are innately evil because when they are put into a situation where they can obviously take advantage of the situation they take it, no matter even if there is bad intentions. In the book they only care about one thing and that is themselves. In Lord of the Flies the boys are savage, take bad advantages and are cruel.

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The conch shell is first found by Piggy and Ralph who use it to call for survivors. The shell is then established as a symbol of democracy, as found in this quote, “... I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking,” (33). Allowing each boy to speak when in possession of the conch shows that, although Ralph is chief, all boys can have a say in the rulings of the island. This democratic system is a beginning representation of our world in which everyone knows their place and there is overall peace.

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The conch shell plays a big part in Ralph’s authority and order. His leadership skills, along with the conch by his side, is what made the other kids on the island listen and idolize him. Golding glorifies the power of Ralph and his conch shell in order to represent control, which is important to the ongoing order and regulation of the boys throughout their time on the island. Without the shell, there would be no order among the lives of the boys on the uninhabited island. In addition to Ralph promoting the power of the conch, Jack also agrees and emphasizes that in order to run a society, there must be a strong and rational set of rules that needs to be followed.

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Ralph notices the discord but resolves it by enforcing, “I 'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he 's speaking” (Golding 33). The conch represents the discipline of the boys and their civilization. Since Ralph thought to use the conch as a speaking system, the conch represents his leadership and authority over the boys. It also represents his authority because he is the only boy that does not need the conch to speak.

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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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The hidden savagery of humans that is dormant because of civilization is presented in Lord of the Flies through its symbolism, repetition and diction. The struggle for power and control on the island led to the exposure of savage nature that is present in the boys who were forced into a lawless place. Throughout the novel reason and logic are abandoned, causing the boys to act on whims and be controlled by their instincts rather than control themselves. Civilization has dampened human’s savage ways, but believing that there are no consequences could lead to the downfall of humanity and the return of the primitive ways society believes it has abandoned. Golding wrote Lord of the Flies to expose the hidden savagery that humans possess and how if humans aren’t careful they will become the savages

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Golding uses the conch shell as a symbol of order and civilization on the island of boys. In the beginning, the conch is a beautiful shell that holds power and respect, but in the end of the book, the shell no longer holds the power and it is not important to the more savage boys such as Jack and Roger. The shell is destroyed when Piggy is killed which represents the loss of order as they turn into savages and descend to hell. A subtheme that is portrayed by this is that the most beautiful and orderly things in life can be destroyed by evil. When the boys first arrive they all come to the call of the shell on the paradise island.

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¨Maybe there is a beast... maybe it 's only us¨. This quote was written by William Golding, the author of Lord of the Flies. This quote connects to the symbolism developed throughout the book Lord of the Flies because through the story the characters learn the beast is themselves all along. This connects to the symbolism of the conch because the conch is part of what makes the boys become the ¨beasts¨. In Lord of the Flies one major symbol is the conch. The conch is a shell that Piggy and Ralph, two of the main characters, find in the beginning of the story.

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