ipl-logo

What Does The Conch Shell Symbolize In Lord Of The Flies

750 Words3 Pages

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you were stuck on an island with just a bunch of kids? Would things stay organized and civilized, or would primal instincts take over? The book Lord of the Flies by William Golding explores this idea; as the boys in the book interact, a strong symbol in a conch shell emerges. The boys start to use the shell to call meetings but, in the end, the shell is destroyed during a disagreement between the two groups that emerge on the island, the savages and Ralph's civilized group. The conch shell is an important symbol that represents authority, order, and civilization. It reveals the theme of civilization versus savagery through its rise and fall in influence that culminated in its eventual destruction. The conch shell in Lord of the Flies represents authority and civilization through the way the boys use it to call order to their meetings …show more content…

This is shown in the way that it is used as well as in the timeline of the book. The conch shell is used to call meetings to order and at the beginning, it keeps order at those meetings. Another way that order can be associated with the conch shell is by looking at the timeline of the book; in the beginning, when the conch shell is still prominent and respected the group of boys is very orderly. Jack stated, “’We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages. We’re English, and the English are best at everything’” (Golding 42). When the conch shell is prominent and respected the boys are orderly but when the conch shell is not prominent and not respected the boys stray away from order and into savagery, this is illustrated by the morbid chant created by the boys “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” (138). This timeline shows that the prominence of the conch shell is strongly correlated with order on the island, additionally this timeline illustrates a transition from orderly civilization to savagery throughout the

Show More
Related

Dialectical Journal For Lord Of The Flies

3277 Words | 14 Pages

In the Lord of the Flies, Ralph and Piggy discover a conch shell on the beach. The Conch is used to summon the boys altogether after the crash that separates them. The conch shell becomes a powerful symbol of civilization and order in the novel. I think the Conch symbolizes as the last reminder of civilization or the holder of conch is powerful because the Conch is a difficult tool to use/ activate. The reason that Ralph was the leader of the group was because he could activate the conch and that conch is seen as power and authority towards the boys.

Read More

Conch Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

497 Words | 2 Pages

In "Lord Of The Flies,"by William Golding, the conch shell is a powerful symbol that represents order, democracy, and civilization on the island. The conch plays a significant role in the novel, and its symbolism evolves as the boys' society as the island changes. "The shell was no longer a thing seen but not to be touched, Ralph too was fighting to get near, to get a handful of that brown, vulnerable flesh. The desire to squeeze and hurt was over-mastering"(104). This quote illustrates the initial power and respect that the boys have for the conch.

Read More

Conch Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

553 Words | 3 Pages

In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies the Conch represents power and order. The Power of the Conch is characterized when the boys have to hold the conch in order to speak in power. Order is shown in when the person has ownership of the conch there is a meeting held and everyone must tune in to the shell holder. “‘Him with the shell.”

Read More

What Does The Conch Shell Represent In Lord Of The Flies

567 Words | 3 Pages

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:

Read More

How Does The Conch Shell Use The Power In Lord Of The Flies

661 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel there are two main symbols that wield the most power and are the most influential on the characters. These two symbols are the conch shell and the sow’s head. On many occasions, not only do these objects have a certain power of their own, but characters in the novel use them to obtain power for themselves. The conch shell is a very influential symbol and in the novel, and it possesses a considerable amount of power.

Read More

Lord Of The Flies Essay

762 Words | 4 Pages

" Lord of the Flies" is a novel about a group of young boys who find themselves alone on a barren island. They build norms and organizational systems, but in the absence of adults to serve as a civilizing impetus, the children inevitably become violent and vicious. Through the emblem of the conch shell, William Golding shows how the loss of order/civilization and law leads to the emergence of barbaric behavior triumphing over society.

Read More

Power Corrupt In Lord Of The Flies

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.

Read More

Lord Of The Flies Conch Symbolism

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.

Read More

Essay On The Conch Shell In Lord Of The Flies

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

Power In Lord Of The Flies Conch Essay

477 Words | 2 Pages

In the book Lord of The Flies by William Golding, the conch symbolizes order, civilization and power. In the book, there are school aged boys from England who are deserted on an uninhabited island, and the protagonist, Ralph, becomes leader. He uses the conch as the object that represents his leadership and power. As the book continues, the conch is broken and Ralph loses his power as the civilization crumbles. In the book Lord of The Flies, the conch symbolizes order, civilization and power.

Read More

Conch Lord Of The Flies Essay

1119 Words | 5 Pages

In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, the conch is a primary symbol, which represents civility and order. Throughout the book it served as a power tool that the boys highly respected, in fact, the symbolism of the conch begins before it is even blown. Ralph is the one who originally discovers and posses the shell, but it’s Piggy who explains it’s significance. Piggy has to teach Ralph how to blow it; this shows how from the beginning the conch is linked with both Piggy and Ralph.

Read More

The Conch And The Sow's Head In The Lord Of The Flies Analysis

796 Words | 4 Pages

The conch and the sow’s head both wield a specific type of power over the juvenile boys in Lord of the Flies. The conch, used to call assemblies, represents progress and civilization while the sow’s head represents terror, barbarity, and malevolence and is partly to blame for Simon’s demise. Lord of the Flies is a novel about power because throughout the book Jack and Ralph quarrel over who should be the chieftain of the children and the novel uses the conch and the sow’s head to represent divergent forms of power and authority. Also, the book shows the reader the power of symbols such as the conch and the pig’s head and even the island that the children remain inevitably imprisoned on until their liberation at the conclusion of the novel. Just about everything within this novel is a representation of something that is considerably greater.

Read More

Shell Of Sides In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

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

Literary Devices Used In Lord Of The Flies Essay

709 Words | 3 Pages

Golding uses the conch shell as a symbol of order and civilization on the island of boys. In the beginning, the conch is a beautiful shell that holds power and respect, but in the end of the book, the shell no longer holds the power and it is not important to the more savage boys such as Jack and Roger. The shell is destroyed when Piggy is killed which represents the loss of order as they turn into savages and descend to hell. A subtheme that is portrayed by this is that the most beautiful and orderly things in life can be destroyed by evil. When the boys first arrive they all come to the call of the shell on the paradise island.

Read More

Conch Symbolism In Lord Of The Flies

1036 Words | 5 Pages

This is an example of how the conch symbolizes the rules within the boys society because the conch is what tells when the boys when they can talk. The rules created by the conch is what led to a lot of the boys disagreements which slowly drove them to become¨beasts¨. Overall the conch is the most symbolic piece in Lord of the Flies because it symbolizes the boys rules, their civilization, and power over the boys. This is important to the theme of the story because the conch helps the boys realize that they are the beast all along. The conch helps the boys to notice this because when it breaks they realize it was controlling them all along and making them the

Read More

More about What Does The Conch Shell Symbolize In Lord Of The Flies

Related Topics

Open Document