How Does Golding Use The Conch In Lord Of The Flies

The Collapse of the Conch In Lord of the Flies, William Golding utilizes symbolism throughout the novel in order to distinguish between civilization and savagery. The novel uses various symbols to relate concrete objects to the deterioration of the boys’ society. The boys’ society on the island morphed from an orderly group of children communicating with each other into a group of immoral beings with no laws to govern their actions. Golding uses the symbolism of the conch as a representation of order to argue the regression from civilization into savagery on the island. Golding uses the conch shell throughout the novel in order to argue that its significance as the gradual loss of its power parallels the deterioration of order and civilization. The conch shell’s

The author uses the words “yet most powerfully” to convey that the boys’ society responds to the conch as a symbol of authority. The shell commands civilized behavior from the group of boys and grabs their attention immediately. The word “powerfully” itself argues the conch’s ability to instantly gain the respect of the little boys to elect a leader. It assists in keeping order and civilization intact on the island. Golding uses the word “obscurely” in order to symbolize that the conch has so much influence that it can subliminally sway the boys’ opinion of its beholder. In addition to using the conch to argue the presence of civilization, Golding uses the conch’s loss of power to argue that the conch is a symbol of the regression of civilization into utter savagery. As the boys descend into savagery, the conch loses its power because the boys no longer listen to the individual that uses it. Golding argues that Jack descends into complete savagery, but does not bring everyone else down as well when Jack says, “‘It’s time some people knew they’ve got to keep quiet and leave deciding things to rest of us’” (102). Golding uses Jack to argue that part of the group has regressed into