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How Does Golding Present The Conch Shell In Lord Of The Flies

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Written in the symbolistic era of writing, William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, contains many symbols meant to express an overarching theme: the nature of human instincts. Being stranded on an island by a plane crash, a British group of boys have to survive on their own without any connections to the adult world. Described as having a weight problem, poor eyesight, and asthma, Piggy is not your prototypical leader; instead, he is more of an advisor with wisdom and knowledge to help the boys keep order. Similarly, the conch shell represents what civil order was left on the island once man’s essential illness took over. Although there are many symbols and relationships that are shown throughout the book, Piggy’s connected nature to the …show more content…

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. One reason for this interconnectedness is the actions of Ralph. His ability to blow the conch and have the “platform crowded”(32) almost instantly showed the respect that the children had for civilization in the beginning of the story. In this quote the conch is a unifier and allows for the island to be run in a smoother fashion. Although at the start, Ralph puts Piggy down, later, he realizes the true benefit of having Piggy on the island. As mentioned before, Piggy wore glasses, making him extremely valuable to the entire group because of the need for a rescue fire. Ralph uses Piggy and the conch in seperate ways, but they are both used in benefit of the

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Nearing the end of the book, when Jacks tribe raids ralph for Piggy’s glasses, Piggy runs for the conch and protects it while their being attacked. This shows just how much the conch matters to Piggy and being an adult- like person, it makes the island feel like

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235 Words | 1 Pages

Have a meeting. They'll come when they hear us--’ He beamed at Ralph.(16)” Without the presence of the conch and the idea of how to use it, Ralph and Piggy would most likely have been alone and would not have found the other boys. Therefore, it is justifiable to say that Piggy is the cause of the evolution of the society. The conch to them signifies society and civilization and the absence of Piggy’s idea, would have resulted in further loss of civilization.

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488 Words | 2 Pages

He always wants to help Ralph lead the group as chief, in Chapter 1, Piggy finds “a shell” that they use “to call the others… [to] a meeting” (Golding 16). His idea to use the conch helps him with his aesthetics need for order throughout the island because he “understand[s] and appreciate[s] beauty, balance, and form” (Maslow 6). Although, he has trouble succeeding with this because he is missing many of the lower levels on the pyramid. According to Maslow we “must meet [the] needs in order...and cannot be concerned with needs higher on the pyramid until” we meet the lower levels, and Piggy fails to receive the support required for his love and belonging desires.

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622 Words | 3 Pages

Piggy is very intelligent, he comes up with ideas on how to help the boys survive on the island from the moment they crashed on it. Ralph starts begins to admire him for this clear focus on their rescue off the island. “ we can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They'll come when they hear us” (Pg 16)

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196 Words | 1 Pages

The shift from the boy’s civilized society to chaos run by savages is symbolized through the fading health status of the conch. While touring the island, Ralph and Piggy stumble upon the conch: “In color the shell was deep cream, touched here and there with fading pink” (Golding 16). The fresh, new, and healthy appearance of the shell is similar to the beginning stages of their society. The conch not only maintained the necessary order but also induced power and a sense of community into the society. As the days creep by the order is quickly replaced by savagery: “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).

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1511 Words | 7 Pages

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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534 Words | 3 Pages

In “Lord of the Flies,” Piggy is the mature one and doesn’t really enjoy what they are going through. He is the one who comes up with the idea that whoever has the conch shell should be the only one talking; so this demonstrates that he believes the conch shell represents responsibility. The conch shell

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658 Words | 3 Pages

At the start of the novel, Piggy finds a conch shell. He tells Ralph about a time when he was in a society built on consensus and order, “A conch he called it. He used to blow it, and then his mother would come. It's ever so valuable” (LOTF pg. 11).

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477 Words | 2 Pages

In the book Lord of The Flies by William Golding, the conch symbolizes order, civilization and power. In the book, there are school aged boys from England who are deserted on an uninhabited island, and the protagonist, Ralph, becomes leader. He uses the conch as the object that represents his leadership and power. As the book continues, the conch is broken and Ralph loses his power as the civilization crumbles. In the book Lord of The Flies, the conch symbolizes order, civilization and power.

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1217 Words | 5 Pages

Powerful or Powerless The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding is an interesting novel that shows many different circumstances that happen to civilization, for better or for worse, through the actions of children. Ralph, the main character, opens the novel up with Piggy. The two boys are strolling through the woods on this island that they have been stranded on. They had survived a horrible plane crash, fleeing the land that they came from, hoping to find somewhere safer to stay.

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656 Words | 3 Pages

Although he finds the conch, Ralph retrieves it, therefore seizing control of the valuable resource. Piggy’s discovery of the conch proves the importance he places on civilization and control. The conch is a strategic method for communication and becomes the first type of rule for the uncivilized boys on the island. Piggy’s intelligence leads to discoveries, civilization, and rules on the island which seem to always go unnoticed by the

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671 Words | 3 Pages

The time when they first found the conch shell was an important thing and this novel and helped to keep the civilization running longer then it would have without it. Piggy looked into the glimmering water and saw it laying there and the ocean floor. He picked it up and showed Ralph and ever since they found the conch shell it has been what they use for manny thing. For example they use it to have one person talk at one time. They are only aloud to talk when they are holding the conch and this only happens in the group meetings.

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796 Words | 4 Pages

The conch and the sow’s head both wield a specific type of power over the juvenile boys in Lord of the Flies. The conch, used to call assemblies, represents progress and civilization while the sow’s head represents terror, barbarity, and malevolence and is partly to blame for Simon’s demise. Lord of the Flies is a novel about power because throughout the book Jack and Ralph quarrel over who should be the chieftain of the children and the novel uses the conch and the sow’s head to represent divergent forms of power and authority. Also, the book shows the reader the power of symbols such as the conch and the pig’s head and even the island that the children remain inevitably imprisoned on until their liberation at the conclusion of the novel. Just about everything within this novel is a representation of something that is considerably greater.

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835 Words | 4 Pages

“Power is dangerous. It attracts the worst and corrupts the best.” When the young boys first gathered after the crash, they were civil, mostly well behaved boys until the need for power took advantage of them. Two crucial symbols from the novel are the sow’s head and the conch shell. Each of these symbols represent power however, their powers have different meanings.

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860 Words | 4 Pages

Homo sapiens when unfettered from humanity’s procedures and interdicts, permit their innate competence for malevolence to govern their actuality. In William Golding 's Lord of the Flies, the boys who are marooned on the isle come across several distinctive entities that symbolize ideas or concepts. Through the use of icons such as the conch, Piggy’s glasses, and the beast, Golding adds in layers of meaning to the surface text. The conch, which had a high priority during the formation of a society, degrades as the story progresses into a ruthful situation.

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