Conch Vs Savagery

Within the Lord of the Flies written by William Golding, Golding addresses how man’s natural human instincts can take over and distort civilized minds while inhabiting a wild, secluded environment. As the book unfolds, Golding introduces the conch, a symbol meant to represent civilization and order. However, the use of the conch declines as the reader digs deeper within the book to the point that Jack takes the role of a “chief” in charge of “savages” and diverges from the main group to create a form of a primal tribe. Through these examples, Golding is attempting to portray how once individuals are free from the restraints of civil society, they turn to savagery and natural primal instincts.

The utilization of the conch, a symbol of civilization

The first inkling of the boys on the island testing the rules of civilization would be when Roger watches the three “littluns” on the beach and begins to throw rocks in proximity of Henry, one of the littluns. “Roger gathered a handful of rocks and began to throw them. Yet there was space around Henry…into which he dare not throw. Here, invisible yet strong was the taboo of the old life. Round the squatting child was the protection of parents and school and policemen and the law,” (62). Roger throwing stones at Henry portrays his desire to break the rules of the civilization he has been raised in and the civility he has been taught his whole life. He wants to essentially be “let free” and left to his own savage desires and instincts. However, the presence of parental influence is still lingering at this point on the island, as shown in the last few sentences of the passage, “…invisible yet strong was the taboo of the old life. Round the squatting child was the protection of parents and school and policemen and the law,” (62). As the reader digs deeper into the novel, it becomes more evident that the boys are descending into the “natural man”, or their natural primal instincts, so much so that Jack diverges from the main group and, with his followers, creates a type of primal tribe, as outlined in the following description, “The chief was sitting there, naked to the waist, his face blocked out in white and red. The tribe lay in a semicircle before him,” (160). This passage points out the point in the novel when Jack and his followers are referred to as “chief” and “savages” by Golding to represent the true and genuine savagery that the boys have succumbed to. Ralph addresses this in one of the final statements of the novel, “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy,” (202). This