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