ipl-logo

The Conch Shell In The Lord Of Flies By William Golding

785 Words4 Pages

Throughout The Lord of Flies, symbolism used frequently allows the reader to form a strong connection between objects and their symbols. William Golding represents simple objects in a complex way by giving them many real world symbolic meanings. The conch shell became one of the most important symbols because it called the boys together and was a prized possession amongst the island. The lord of flies was an important symbol because it led Simon to a grave but crucial discovery about the evil present on the island(Golding,137). Small but significant symbols such as glasses were utilized frequently amongst the group, to ensure their survival. Not only were these items used for survival, but they prove to be dominant symbols. The conch is one …show more content…

Jack, killing a pig for survival, led him to create the lord of flies; after dispatching the pig, Jack and his hunters impaled its head upon a sharpened stake skewered into the ground(Golding,136). The hunters then departed from the head, leaving it as an offering to the ominous beast that supposedly stalks the island. After the brutal killing of the pig, Jack showed signs of being slightly savage and starting to stray from normal civilization. This was an immense turning point for Jack, who later became a feared savage. The pigs head showed savagery amongst the group, but also reinforced what Simon came to understand. While engaging in a conversation with the head, Simon discovered that the real evil on the island is disguised amongst themselves(Golding, 138). Simon's knowledgeable hypothesis was accurate, with the evil later taking his …show more content…

Piggy's glasses, small and simple, represent their main needs and their survival. The lenses magnification allows them to pinpoint the sunlight precisely, granting them an effective fire starter. A fire was kept alive at all times that illuminated the island, in hopes of drawing attention to get rescued. The deceased parachutist symbolizes their situation on the island compared to the real world conflicts occurring away from the island. The boat shaped island represents a microcosm of real world events. Overtime, groups of boys stray apart, their disagreements being strikingly similar to the war. This creates an intense situation similar to the Cold War; Jack and his group of hunters took over castle rock, while Ralph and his small group remained on the beach. Jack's demeanor becomes fully savage and will not allow anyone near his cave, and tensions remain high between the groups until the

Show More
Related
689 Words | 3 Pages

These glasses serve as not only a fire starter, but as a reminder of who they were and the life they lived before the crash. It helps them keep in touch with their roots to insure that their past didnt burn up in the plane. Piggy finds a conch on the island and teaches Ralph how to use it. Piggy, because of his asthma, is unable to use the conch. The conch represents law.

Read More
567 Words | 3 Pages

In addition, Golding introduces various symbols as a microcosm to the real world outside of the island. Examples of these symbols include a conch shell, a pig’s head on stake, fire, and a pair of glasses. For the juveniles, these symbols paralleled their new life on the island. One of the most important symbols that is presented in the novel, the conch shell. When the boys first arrived on the island, the conch shell designed their civilization.

Read More
649 Words | 3 Pages

Jack and his hunters hunted down a pig and killed it brutally and then he put the pig’s head on the stick. He claimed that it was a sacrifice to the beast on the island. The beast was imaginary, but Jack used the fear of the beast as a tool to keep control of the boys on the island. Simon started to hallucinate and started to have conversations with the head. For example, the head started to talk to Simon“I’m warning you I’m going to get angry.

Read More
700 Words | 3 Pages

The boys have separated into different groups. The Lord of the Flies is a dead sow’s head that Jack told the others to put on a sharp stick that they rammed in the earth. Jack shouted, “This head is for the beast. It’s a gift.” Hopefully this gift would keep the beast that Sam, Eric, and Simon believe they saw away from them.

Read More
1383 Words | 6 Pages

As the boys’ discipline fades, the color of the conch also fades, thus showing the fade of order and structure. When the conch breaks at the end of chapter 11, all order is gone and complete chaos arises. Piggy’s glasses are another crucial political symbol in Lord of the Flies. The glasses represent technology as they relate to starting the fire, but since they belong to Piggy, they tend to represent intellectualism as well. Piggy is almost completely blind and is not able to do or see without his glasses.

Read More
1951 Words | 8 Pages

In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses items and people to symbolize many different things. These symbolic things include Piggy’s glasses, Simon’s epilepsy, the Lord of the Flies, and arguably the most important symbol, the conch shell. The conch shell was first found in the water by Piggy, who then comes up with the idea of using the conch as a blow horn to call for meetings. Throughout Lord of the Flies, the conch shell becomes not only associated with Ralph and his leadership, but with Piggy and his intuitive and wise ideas and Jack and his dictator-like, irresponsible authority. The conch shell, representing law and order, assisted in the election of Ralph as chief and ultimately determines the future of the island.

Read More
787 Words | 4 Pages

We first meet Piggy when Ralph finds the conch, during this we learn about Piggy’s ass-mar and his auntie. Piggy is known for his maturity and his knowledge however the other boys make fun of him because of his physical appearance. Piggy’s glasses are a sign of hope for the boys to begin with as they are the only way the boys can produce fire; however Piggy is not happy with them taking his specs. Piggy has one of the most unfortunate and undeserved deaths in the novel. Piggy and Ralph had approached the savage boys at Castle Rock to get Piggy’s glasses back, but it wasn’t long before a boulder was pushed off the top and struck Piggy throwing him through the air landing on his back across the red rock in the sea.

Read More
206 Words | 1 Pages

By creating fire, Piggy's glasses are a symbol of science and technology. This action shows how to make the environment work for you. The ocean symbolizes a barrier that isolates the boys from civilization.

Read More
928 Words | 4 Pages

The conch is more than just a pretty shell; The conch symbolizes many things. Some examples are unity, order, law and power. From the very beginning of the book, the conch was used as a power tool and to create a sense of order. The boys could only talk in meetings if they were in possession of the conch. The conch is the sole reason why Ralph became leader, even though Piggy found the conch.

Read More
519 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel, Lord of the Flies, William Golding includes a Large selection of symbols to represent the boys' struggle on the island. Throughout the use of the conch shell and Piggy's glasses, the reader can see the theme of when power structures erode, man dissolves into savagery. The conch shell starts a desire for power, that then divides the group of boys and their civilization. When Jack said " We don't need the conch anymore.

Read More
765 Words | 4 Pages

(“Immaterial: Shells”). This article implies that conch shells are extremely important in history as conch shells have a use as instruments for bringing civilizations together and establishing societal beliefs and values through music, such as folk songs and chants to regulate some sort of creativity for fun or out of boredom, this can describe most things attributed to the bored and impatient boys on the island such as there own chanting after a kill and a sense of culture. In The Lord of the Flies the conch is a symbol of

Read More
566 Words | 3 Pages

This explains that they use Piggy’s glasses to helped them survive and build a fire. If it wasn’t for piggy’s glasses, the boys would have a hard time surviving on the island. Technology helped them survived even when they had little to no technology.

Read More
748 Words | 3 Pages

A conch is found on the island at the beginning of the book, serving as a symbol about the structure of civilization. The conch starts by representing rules, structure, and order, but as time goes on, it starts to show the increase of savagery and evil resulting from violence and

Read More
1036 Words | 5 Pages

The conch has more than one symbolic meaning to it which helps the reader to better understand the theme of power, civilization, and rules. In the story the author uses the conch as a symbol

Read More
881 Words | 4 Pages

Piggy’s glasses represented a new sense of innovation and technology as well. His glasses were used in order to light the fire. Along with that, the glasses helped Piggy who was a character of high intelligence and to interact with the world that is around him. The technological advance became lower and lower as Piggy’s glasses were damaged and stolen some time in the novel. The glasses also symbolize vision.

Read More

More about The Conch Shell In The Lord Of Flies By William Golding

Related Topics

Open Document