What Does The Conch Shell Represent In Lord Of The Flies

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Tylee Rieger 11th grade English Mrs. Sparks February 22, 2023 TITLE “The thing is- fear can't hurt you any more than a dream,” from William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Throughout the novel, we receive a taste of what life would be like without an adult. Not only were the boys without an adult, they were stranded on a deserted Eden-like island with nothing but each other. 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. For the boys, the shell symbolized the organization of the clan. The conch specialized in bringing everyone together and distinguishing who was talking. In some ways, it expressed democracy's power; the individual who had the conch shell communicated power. Throughout the novel, one may gather that the boy’s organization and civilization began to deconstruct. The band of boys split, leaving two groups: …show more content…

The Lord of the Flies, a pig’s head skewered by a stake that severed the ground, summarized the power of evil. From the time the boys first arrived on the island to when they encountered the Naval officer, savagery turned everything upside down. The sow’s head summoned the presence of evil; as well as the face paint they used to hide who they really had become. The head counted as an offering to the “beast”. Simon found the Lord of the Flies and began to discuss his feelings with the head. He presented that the beast was not a real object, but that it defined the evil in all the boys’ hearts. The adolescent’s innocence flagged and now they were all living like