Ralph Lord Of The Flies Conch Essay

In the novel Lord of The Flies, author William Golding portrays three aspects about human nature: bad leadership can disembody a group’s oneness, lack of authority and civilization causes decrease in moral value, and a savage mentality influences unlawful acts. Since Ralph is voted leader, he gives off the impression that he has areas of weakness and there was an abundance of improvement to be made. His lacking of leadership skills is eventually revealed and creates a thought of doubt for the boys and himself. In his reign as leader his most prized possession became the conch, which represented the most powerful and authoritative individual within the group. Though the conch stands for authority and gives a sense of organization, individuals

One of his first rules applied, gives the person who had possession of the conch the right to express themselves without any interruptions. Golding shows how valuable rules can be, “I got the conch,” said Piggy, in a hurt voice. “I got the right to speak.” (44). Evidently the rules made by Ralph are relevant to others, but his decrease of interest when others have control of the conch shows otherwise. Along with his hypocritical actions, Ralph also lacks intelligence and the critical thinking skills needed to make the best decisions for the group as a whole. Compared to other characters, “what intelligence had been shown was traceable to Piggy” (22). This not only reveals how doubtful Ralph is of himself, but also how unqualified he is for the position of a

The conch symbolizes the authority held within the group, keeping in mind that whoever has possession is responsible for speaking. Likewise, Golding demonstrates how authority only has power when society agrees that it does, “They looked at him with eyes that lacked interest in what they saw...” (44). The boys seem to give Piggy no type of attention when he expresses his thoughts and point of view on how to improve their lifestyle on the island. Despite the fact that Piggy is very smart, the others just notice his weight and insecurities which they often take advantage of. Even though it is very well taken care of, the conch begins to decrease in value as the lack of civilization is shown. Among useful objects such as the conch, “They didn’t come for the conch. They came for something else” (168). This leads the reader to believe that Piggy’s specs are much more important than the conch, just as well as a survival is more essential than authority and