Lord of the Flies Double Entry Journal #1 Conch “But there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out; there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely there, yet most powerfully there was the conch” (22). While voting for a leader, Ralph is singled out and chosen due to the presence of the conch. The conch is a symbol of power—as well as a representation of law and democracy. When Ralph is found blowing the conch by the other boys, he is seen as the most capable and right leader. Although blowing the conch was Piggy’s idea, Piggy is not credited due to the boys not seeing him hold the conch and Ralph not stating that it was Piggy’s idea. The boys naturally gravitate towards power, and this is shown throughout …show more content…
Piggy’s glasses represent intellect and the reckless way the boys handle them show how little they value intelligence. From the beginning, intelligence is not valued. Ralph does not respect Piggy nor his intelligence, and the rest of the would rather follow Ralph with his charisma and power and Jack with his aggressive nature. The boys see power and aggression as a way to succeed and ignore how intelligence can improve their society. The boys choose Ralph as their leader because of the power the conch gives him and pay no mind to Piggy, who is going out of his way to be logical and kind. This shows how humans cast off intelligence during a desperate situation. For example, the people of Russia were desperate to be freed from the Tsar, which led them throwing away all intellect and mindlessly following …show more content…
This results in one of the lenses breaking. The glasses represent intellect and civility, and the glasses breaking represents intellect and civility eroding on the island. Jack breaking the glasses marks the beginning of the end for intelligence and civility. The brute force used foreshadows how human savagery will soon overtake any semblance of advanced society. Humans are always quick to resort back to their savage ways, and this is shown even today. For example, people walk home from Black Friday with bruises due to consumers getting into full on fights in stores. This of course is a flaw. Savagery a defect in human nature that is a tough obstacle to overcome. Savagery can overtake intellect; however, it cannot sustain a thriving society or last