Who Is The Conch In Lord Of The Flies

Humans are social creatures, but have a tendency to forget their moral responsibilities and become violent towards one another to achieve their goals. Lord Of the Flies by William Golding shows the transformation of young-innocent children into blood thirsty savages whilst they are stranded on a remote island in the pacific ocean. The children’s social morals degrade due to their inability to sustain order; suppressed primal instincts; and their deteriorating psychological state.
Upon their arrival, the children were scared and shocked from an unwelcome landing on the island. In an attempt to bring order, one of the boys decides to use a conch’s sound-resonance property to call a meeting with the surviving children; acting as a beacon of structure

Ralph also creates rules to enforce order. For example: in meetings to avoid “everybody talking at once” (Golding, 44) he proposes to “have ’Hands up’ like at school” (44), and use the conch as a way of showing they “won’t be interrupted” (44). Ralphs new government system is a replica of the society he was grown in --democracy and equality. Some members have difficulty following Ralphs rules and priorities, for example; Jack Merridew, who is the second-most dominant boy in the tribe, has different priorities and beliefs. Jack wants to focus the tribe's efforts to “hunt and get meat” (232). He takes boys from his choir group to hunt and catch a pig; during their endeavour, a ship passes by the island; but the fire on top of the mountain (which was supposed to be tended to by choir members) was extinguished. When Ralph accuses Jack, he attempts to justify himself by claiming “The job was too much. We needed everyone. . . . We needed meat.” (100) Jack used his authority and power over the choir to promote his own, personal ideology rather than respecting those of his chief. Jack is not the only one