Symbols are objects, characters, colours or figures that are often used in literature to add a greater meaning to a text. One must comprehend the significance of symbols to fully understand a literary work. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the Conch and the Fire are both important symbols that are presented in the allegory. Nonetheless, it is evident that the Fire is more significant than the Conch when one considers the plot, character and theme.
To begin with, the Fire plays a more important role than the Conch because it continues to effectively develop the plot. Ralph becomes infuriated when he discovers that Jack and the other boys left the Fire unattended to hunt. After Jack comes back with a successful kill, Ralph immediately confronts him and says, "There was a ship out there. You said you 'd keep the fire going and you let it out" (74). Ralph expresses his disappointment in Jack and implies that they missed possibly their only chance to be rescued. The Fire causes Jack and Ralph to provoke tension between themselves, eventually leading to deeper conflicts that drives the plot continuously in the novel. By contrast, the Conch is only significantly used at the beginning of the novel to gather the boys. As Ralph and Piggy are wandering along the beach of the island, they come across an object in the water. Piggy recognizes that the object is a conch and tells Ralph that, "We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They 'll come when they hear us-"