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Conch Symbolism Essay

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Ordinary objects can sybolize ideas and express meaning to a reader. William Golding uses a conch as the main symbol of civilization, organization, and a democracy-like process. A group of boys are plane wrecked on an island during WWII and throughout the book struggle to survive without adult influence. The main character Ralph tries to lead and attempt to get rescued while the antagonist, Jack, focuses on hunting in the novel. The boys on the island struggle to build a civilization while keeping the peace, gathering food, and trying to be rescued. The hardship of building civilization is expressed through the literary device of symbolism in Golding's novel. There is the hardship of building a civilization in the novel Lord of the Flies. …show more content…

The conch is a symbol of civilization, organization, and shared leadership. When Ralph first lands on the island, he picks up the conch and it is then used to indicate the speaker during the assemblies on the island. Ralph says after everyone tries to speak over each other at the first meeting, “We can’t have everybody talking at once. We’ll have to have ‘Hands up’ like at school.” . . . “Then I’ll give him the conch… He can hold it when he’s speaking” (Golding 33). This democracy-like strategy is crucial to a working civilization. Nothing would get done if the conch was not showing who could be speaking and who shouldn't be speaking. As Ralph made the rule of the conch, it also symbolizes his authorized ruling because he made a rule that benefited the group. When Piggy and Ralph confront Jack and his group, Roger is above them rolling boulders down in an attempt to hit them. As one of the boulders hits Piggy, the author states, “The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (Golding 181). Piggy is killed and the conch is gone with him. This symbolizes the end of order within the group. The boys had slowly been drifting away from sense and peace but after Piggy's murder, everything fell apart fully. There was no conch to bring the boys together anymore and it was the end of Ralphs's

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But some boys who would hold the conch did not get the authority to speak, and that symbolized how such a governed civilization can go downhill quickly. Throughout the novel, the conch symbolizes democracy but when it breaks it symbolizes destruction. The conch represented a democracy, and the boys were of order during the time it was in use. At the start of the story, Ralph and Piggy found the conch.

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The first time the reader realizes the power of the conch is in the beginning whenever the conch was found on the island. To illustrate Ralph says “ I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak, he can hold it when he’s speaking.”(33 ) This quote shows power and keeping everyone in line at the beginning of their journey on the island. For when someone raises the conch all the other boys are instructed to be quiet and listen to the speaker.

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One of his first rules applied, gives the person who had possession of the conch the right to express themselves without any interruptions. Golding shows how valuable rules can be, “I got the conch,” said Piggy, in a hurt voice. “I got the right to speak.” (44). Evidently the rules made by Ralph are relevant to others, but his decrease of interest when others have control of the conch shows otherwise.

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“The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist.” (Golding, 181). Jack was the first boy to challenge the power of the conch when he talked out of turn and Ralph scolded him for doing so. Roger pushed a huge rock from the top of Castle Rock onto Piggy and killed him along with the conch he was holding. Golding described the death of the conch as if it was never there to begin with to show that the conch was gone forever and there was nothing the boys could do about it.

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Ralph, in order to remain civilized while on the island, starts one of their meetings by making a couple rules. One of these rules is in order for the boys to be able to talk, they need to have the conch in their hands. "If I blow the conch and they don't come back; and another thing. We can't have everybody talking at once. We'll have to have 'Hands up' like at school" (33).

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The significance of the conch shell is first mentioned in the story as a symbol of law and order. In Chapter 2, Ralph blows the conch to summon the other boys back to the assembly and reports the findings of the excursion. Jack interrupts almost quickly to emphasize the need for an army for pig hunting. Ralph institutes, “‘ Another thing. We can’t have everybody talking at once.

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In the Lord of the Flies the conch symbolizes power and authority. In the novel the conch symbolizes a sign of authority when Ralph says, ¨I'll give the conch to the next person to speak.¨ He can hold it when he's speaking¨. This shows authority because the conch is symbolizing the power that resides within a judge’s gavel. The person who has the conch has the power to speak this is relatable to how the United States has nuclear weapons, they are in the position to speak. Another example of how the conch symbolizes is when Jack says, “We don’t need the conch anymore...

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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 destruction of the conch occurred when the boys had fully lost their innocence and had turned “Savage.” The destruction of the conch took place after Jack decided to leave Ralph and start his own tribe on the other side of the island and coerced many of Ralph’s followers to join him, and this is when the demise of civilized thoughts and order really occurred. “... The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (Golding 181). The destruction of the conch ment the boys had returned to their primitive stages, in which civilization and order didn’t exist, only savagery existed. The conch was proof of the boys being civilized, and on the opposite side of the spectrum, the conch breaking was showing how they had lost all sense of civilization and have become completely savage.

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Ralph never acknowledges that Piggy was the first to point out the conch shell and explained to Ralph what it was. Ralph, instead of giving credit to Piggy for the idea of the conch shell, blows through the conch and then takes charge. Ralph begins giving orders and proceeds to take on the role of chief. Ralph’s authority was made possible because “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.” (22).

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The symbol, the conch represents civilization and leadership at the beginning of the book. The novel argues, “But there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was

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1. Shortly after arriving on the island, Ralph and Piggy discover a conch in the water. Ralph blows the conch to announce his location so the boys can gather. From the first use of the conch, it signifies the unity of the boys because it is what brought them together. The conch is also used to maintain organization.

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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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This is an example of the rules the conch symbolizes because, when Ralph holds the conch up they all know they need to be quiet and do as he says. Another example that shows the conchs rules is when the author writes ¨He held the conch before his face and glanced around the mouth. ´ Then i 'll give him the conch. ´ ´

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The conch from the start brought all the boys together, being blown and signaling that there were more survivors. It represents the right to speak during meetings, where when you have the conch, you can speak. By the end of the book, there are two tribes with Ralph and Piggy together in one and Jack and the rest of the boys in the other. Jack’s tribe are filled with savage animals like boys with no rules and only the desire to hunt, while Ralph and Piggy are still fighting to be rescued and Piggy is still trying to keep the meaning of the conch alive.

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