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Melissa Dittmann Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

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Violence is a strong force to take. You can always find yourself stuck in it. In the book Lord of the Flies, the author William Golding explores the brutality of civilization in contrast with responsibility and respect for others. Stranded on an island, Ralph and Piggy, two young boys, explore the wilderness and face conflicts with savagery from Jack’s tribe. The idea and the article “What makes good people do bad things” by Melissa Dittmann explores the effects an individual can have on the fear of becoming an outlier and uses the term deindividualization as becoming less self aware. Human behavior, including fear, savagery, and the struggle to take power, can pull society into chaos and violence is evident in the Lord of the Flies by William Golding and the article “What makes good people do bad things” by Melissa Dittmann. In the book Lord of the …show more content…

The conch shell slowly loses its meaning when Jack’s group develops savagery when Ralph notices that someone is throwing a rock but doesn't give them attention. Roger puts all of his weight on the boulder and throws it towards Piggy as Ralph escapes. Not only kills Piggy, but destroys the conch shell, which leads to Jack becoming the chief and threatening Ralph as he runs away. Which distinctly symbolizes that there is no civilized behavior and the loss of power. “The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knees, the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (Golding 171). The loss of the conch shell and piggy was clearly caused by the savagery and anger between both tribes, which shows that destruction is the only thing left on the island. Furthermore, Piggy develops a

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777 Words | 4 Pages

“The conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (Golding 181). It symbolized how savagery prevailed. The start of absolute chaos and destruction in the boy’s society was when the boulder crushed piggy and the conch shell. Piggy's death was the breaking point where all civility was lost. Towards the closing of the novel, Ralph is alone and on the run, hiding from Jack's tribe of savages who intend to kill him.

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206 Words | 1 Pages

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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The boys stop responding to the conch and say that the rules of the conch do not apply to them. "... And the conch doesn't count at this end of the island-"(150) Eventually Roger finally breaks the conch as he drops the boulder on Piggy. "The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist." (181)The conch symbolizes power, government, order, and civilization.

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1369 Words | 6 Pages

The conch shell is used and obtained as a method to maintain order on the island despite the other boy’s rejection and retrogression into a savage-like behavior. Discovered by Piggy on the beach when he first meets Ralph, the boys use the shell to call all of the boys on the island to the beach and with it establish rules that they expect the boys to follow until the time of their rescue. Ralph is the one who cherishes the conch the most and the idea of orderly control that is held behind it. He automatically takes upon the leadership role given to him by the other boys in the group. Along by his side he takes upon Piggy, his righthand man,who becomes the moral compass and rational thought for all the boys on the island.

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808 Words | 4 Pages

Alongside the beach, Piggy discovers a beautiful conch shell, “covered with a delicate, embossed pattern” (16). Being ever resourceful, Piggy tells Ralph to blow into the conch to alert any surviving boys on the island, which heavily symbolizes the conch as an emblem of communication and diplomacy, bringing the boys together under the same ideals. Gathering on “a great platform of pink granite” (12), the young boys commune together and decide to instill a set of rules, including an agreement to only allow the person holding the conch to speak during meetings. The boys also choose Ralph to be chief, solely off of the power he exudes with the conch in his grasp. Golding portrays a heavy sense of irony in Piggy’s discovery of the conch, as though much of the planning and Ralph’s new role as chief is because of Piggy.

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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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1498 Words | 6 Pages

Ralph and Piggy strongly support living a civil life and strictly follow the rules they gave the conch on their first day on the island. However, with hunger setting in and chances of survival slim, the boys who Jack leads choose to leave the conch shell and its purpose behind them and follow a more barbaric life. Furthermore, with the only sense of civilization remaining on the island lying with the conch shell, Jack and his hunters continue to act more and more savagely and threatening Ralph and Piggy’s sense of identity. Horrifyingly, as the boys continue to behave more savagely, the only source of civilization remaining lies within Ralph and Piggy’s strong belief in the power of the conch shell. However, as Piggy tragically falls to his death, “The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” obliterating the last bit of civilization left on the island (Golding 224).

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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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882 Words | 4 Pages

The destruction of the conch occurred when the boys had fully lost their innocence and had turned “Savage.” The destruction of the conch took place after Jack decided to leave Ralph and start his own tribe on the other side of the island and coerced many of Ralph’s followers to join him, and this is when the demise of civilized thoughts and order really occurred. “... 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). The destruction of the conch ment the boys had returned to their primitive stages, in which civilization and order didn’t exist, only savagery existed. The conch was proof of the boys being civilized, and on the opposite side of the spectrum, the conch breaking was showing how they had lost all sense of civilization and have become completely savage.

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1211 Words | 5 Pages

The conch is gone.” (201). The example shows that the conch led Ralph’s tribe together with its rules and now that it's gone all that is left is Jack’s tribe and his savage ways as the thing that was differentiating the two tribes was the conch symbolizing rules and civilization to them. The conch shattering was --for Jack-- the moment that all civilization left, showing that the conch represents the last bit of civilization for these boys. Later in the book, after Ralph ran away to a safe place because he was getting chased by Jack, Ralph tought, “The breaking of the conch and the deaths of Pigy and Simon lay over the island like a vapour.

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Chris Oshoro Mrs. Forbes Honors 9th Lit February 27, 2024 The Lord of the Flies People have the potential to turn into savages if a leader is abusing their power. William Golding's 1954 book "Lord of the Flies" is a grabbing read that discusses the darker sides of human nature by means of the tale of a group of British boys who become stranded on an unclaimed island. A real-life incident known as "The Real Lord of the Flies," which took place in 1965 when a group of Tongan boys were abandoned on an uninhabited island for 15 months, but they were able to survive and lead a peaceful life until they were rescued, is frequently used as a comparison point for Golding's writing.

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1197 Words | 5 Pages

The conch was a shell that was found by Ralph and Piggy in the first chapter of the novel. Since its first use, it brought together the group of boys. This seemed to be Golding’s symbol for order and civilization throughout the story. The first time that Ralph blew into the conch was to call the primary meeting of the boys, “ A deep harsh note

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1550 Words | 7 Pages

“Which is better, law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?”(11.200-207). As the boys start to turn savage, the conch however loses its influence among the boys. “ The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist. “ (11.209) This quote signifies the destruction of

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570 Words | 3 Pages

On a daily basis, does one think of him or herself to be cruel or violent? Many think that mankind has a nature of being savage. People believe that we acquired the trait of viciousness and that it is inside every one of us. One person that focuses on the savagery of humans is writer William Golding. In his novel Lord Of The Flies and article “Why Boys Become Vicious”, he tells of the production of savagery.

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At first, even Jack and Roger obeyed this turn based method of speech. This simple shell allows the boys to remain civilized just like their old lives where parents, teachers, and adults have authority over the immature children. The shell acts similar to the undeniable control of adults that provides tranquility to all. Secondly, the conch represents the order and the peace on the island so when the conch breaks, there is nothing left of civilization on the island so chaos begins to show its true form unrestricted from the norms of society. A prime example of this is when “the rock struck Piggy… the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (Golding 181).

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