How Did Lord Of The Flies Change Piggy's Behavior

Imagine a group of young British boys within the ages of six to twelve who have just crash-landed on a deserted tropical island with no adults or supervision to help guide them and keep things under control. William Golding connected the symbols to the natures of the boys, as the significance of the symbols changed so did the behavior of the boys. The symbols evolved in a way that destroyed the original meaning of them. The conch shell was the first discovered by Piggy and was used as a symbol of order and law, but throughout the novel the idea of order and law changed. Piggy’s specs were used as a source of fire by using science and intellect, but when the specs broke everything became blurry just like Piggy’s vision. The signal fire was

Ralph had used the conch that Piggy found and called an assembly and discussed their roles on the island. The conch was used to allow the person holding the conch to speak, and all the boys agreed with that idea. This rule was introduced to the boys by Ralph, but Piggy was the one who suggested it to him since no one listened to him. The boys had decided that they needed a chief to help make decisions and there was something about Ralph that made him stand out, “there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch.” (Golding, 22). Even though Ralph did not make a big deal about wanting to be chief, the conch was one of the main things that convinced the others to elect Ralph as their leader. At the beginning of the Lord of the Flies, the conch was known to be very powerful and represented, law, order, democracy, gave them a freedom of speech and it was something that attached the boys to

“‘The rules!’ shouted Ralph. ‘You’re breaking the rules!’… ‘Ballocks to the rules!’” (Golding, 91). As Piggy died so did the conch and everything the both of them symbolized. “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. The conch was the last thing that held onto democracy, and after the conch had been destroyed, everything that Piggy and Ralph had fought for had been demolished and disappeared forever on the island. Overall, the conch symbolized order, law and democracy in the beginning of the Lord of the Flies. It was mainly used to call assemblies and allowed the person that held it to share their thoughts without being interrupted by another. As the novel advanced, the boys grew more savage which lead to the diminishing of the conch and Piggy. Along with the conch, the civil instinct of the boys had