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Lord Of The Flies Figurative Language

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Ryan Moron English Honors 10 Mr. Ferguson May 24th 2023 The Fragility of Democracy Who could’ve thought a small object could have brought rule and order to a group of boys stranded on an island? The conch, a typical shell you would find on the beach, aided the boys on the island to create a democracy with rule and order. However, throughout the story, the boys’ primal desires caused them to overlook the significance of the conch. In Lord of the Flies, Golding uses figurative language and imagery to show how the conch symbolizes order and rule in an abstract idea of government. In this political allegory, Golding uses the conch to show the fragility of Democracy. At first, Golding used imagery to symbolize the conch with democracy, and how …show more content…

When the boys went to the top of the mountain to light the fire, Jack disregarded the rules of the democracy that they put in place and told Piggy not to speak. “Piggy opened his mouth to speak, caught Jack’s eye , and shut it again. Jack held out his hands for the conch and stood up, holding the delicate thing carefully in his sooty hands” (Golding 42). Just before this, Jack tells Piggy that the conch “doesn’t count on top of the mountain” and tells him to shut up (Golding 42). Jack completely disregards the rules that were put in place for the conch. Golding uses the words “delicate” to describe the conch, and Jack to show that all it takes is one person to start ignoring the rules (Golding 42). If one person starts to ignore the rules, the “delicate” democracy they have put in place will slowly go away and eventually be destroyed (Golding 42). When Ralph went over to Jack’s side of the island, they got in a fight. Jack stabbed Ralph with his spear. Another boy, Roger, then pushed a boulder causing it to come loose and start tumbling down towards Piggy. The boulder struck Piggy, and “The conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (Golding 181). Golding uses the imagery “exploding into a thousand white fragments” to show just how fragile and easy it was to destroy a democracy (Golding 181). The conch, a symbol of order and rule in the abstract idea of government, has “ceased to exist” just like that (Golding 181). Even though what destroyed the conch was a huge boulder, it still shows how fragile a democracy is and how fast it can be completely

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Civilization turned Savage In Lord of the Flies, Golding makes use of multiple symbols to represent his view on human nature. And yet, the most common motif/symbol was the Conch. The conch symbolizes a democratic process, and a civilization and it has a magnificent effect on the readers. The boy who holds the conch has the right to speak at meetings, which is why the conch essentially controls them.

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The conch was the only object that could bring the boys together and was the boy’s one rule they had to follow. As the rivalry between Ralph and Jack became greater the conch and the idea of civilization became so insignificant that they vanish. This is the point in the book where the conch shatters and piggy dies. As a character Piggy represents the real world. He understands how things work and is always questioning the way things happen.

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