...101 5 December 2011 The Almighty Civilizing Conch Visualize being stranded on a deserted island. There is no way to escape and no rules to abide by except what you decide upon. What is most necessary to survive with everyone you are trapped with? Civilization is an important part of who we are as a country. This is what happened in Sir William Golding's The Lord of the Flies when a group of boys, none of which have yet to reach their teen years, have been stranded on a deserted island during a time of war. This book symbolizes how humans can decline from civilized people to savages. At the beginning of the book Ralph, the protagonist, discovers a conch lying in the water and uses it to call all the boys together. The conch's power is effective and is revered by the boys as a symbol of order, discipline, and civilization. As the boys begin to ignore the conch they start to become more like savages. There is a direct correlation between the conch and their declining morals and behavior. Golding uses the symbol of the conch to demonstrate the theme that civilization is necessary to keep the dark side of human nature within and in control. The conch's power in the beginning of this book represents the structure the boys try to hold. Ralph and Piggy use the conch to “Call the others” to a meeting (16). Calling everyone together to have a meeting is a civilized, grown-up thing to do. The fact that the boys respect the power of the conch shows they were raised civilized and they...
Words: 1381 - Pages: 6
... In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the conch is similar to a crown. The conch shows power and law over the boys on the island, he who held the conch is in charge. Lines began to blur and the boys began to lose this power and control around the same time the conch was deteriorating. This deterioration represents the loss of authority and rule on the island, resulting in conflict, anarchy, and death. The conch is...
Words: 762 - Pages: 4
...In the book, “ Lord of the Flies”, by William Golding school kids were disoriented on an island after a scandalous plane crash. Ingeniously, Ralph and Piggy dug a sea shell out of the ocean and used it has a horn, trying to call the other kids. Furthermore, the rest of the kids voted to make Ralph the chief. Moreover, Jack the leader of the hunters hesitated right before he was impelling to annihilate the tangled pig. Ingeniously, Ralph and Piggy dug a sea shell out of the ocean and used it has a horn, trying to call the other kids. Without a doubt, this idea was genius. Obviously, not very many people would even think to use a shell to signal someone. Hence, the conch actually worked, it was louder than an air horn. Without the conch the...
Words: 377 - Pages: 2
...In the book Lord Of The Flies by William Golding, the conch is used many times for certain things. The conch symbolizes a sense of power. It is used to call the boys for a meeting, it's used as a horn. During the meeting called Ralph, the conch is used to determine who has the right to speak. The one holding the conch is the one holding the power to speak in which the other boys must obey and listen, except for Ralph. Not only does the conch symbolize power, it also symbolizes order. It brings order to the boys in which they must follow. Mentioned in page 16, quote "We can use this to call the others. Have me meeting. They'll come when they hear us--" said by Piggy, tells us that they wanted to use this conch is call others. This conch brought...
Words: 307 - Pages: 2
...Lord of the Flies Double Entry Journal 5-8 Conch: "Exposure to the sun had bleached the yellow and pink to near-white, and transparency." (78). The conch symbolizes law and democracy, and gives power to whoever has possession of it. However, throughout Lord of the Flies, the conch gradually loses its power and hold over the boys. The boys disregard the rules set during the first meeting by speaking without the conch and interrupting those who have the conch. As the conch loses power, democracy and law on the island fade. The boys no longer listen to rules, such as taking care of business on the rocks because the tide washes it away, and feel there is no true leader (this is indicated by the boys not giving Ralph the respect he deserves and not listening to his commands). The boy’s disregard for law is a flaw. It is natural for humans to rebel against the law because it is authority; however, law is needed because it keeps the savage nature...
Words: 1198 - Pages: 5
...30 boys, ages 6 - 12, trapped on an island in the middle of the sea with no adults around for miles. What would happen? That is what happened to Ralph, Piggy, Jack, and the others. During WWII they were being transported from their boarding school to a safe location, then their plane got shot down. In his novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the conch (civilization) and Ralph (leadership) to create symbolism in the novel in order to prove that humans must have rules in order to create a safe environment. In his novel, Golding uses items, like the conch, to symbolize things like order. To show that order must be established, Golding first establishes the conch as a symbol for order. When the boys have all gathered together for their...
Words: 639 - Pages: 3
...people who act mature. In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, the boys don’t like having rules and start acting like crazy animals. They also start killing other boys because they’re full of evil. If the conch was still around and some of the boys did care about it, they would have they’re own opinion on what they should do to survive. Golding uses the conch to symbolize order, it’s important because they use it to create an effective meetings to speak what they want when it’s their turn. The conch is symbolized order to grab the boy’s the attention. Piggy and Ralph had the idea to use the conch to lure the rest of the young boys to them so they can talk about what had happened to them when they got on the island “You try, Ralph. You’ll call the others!”(16) When Ralph blew the conch everyone came and they had started their first meeting to decide what's going to happen...
Words: 476 - Pages: 2
...The theme that all humans are born savages and through society are taught to be sociable, but with the loss of civilization, slowly revert back to their savage ways is used in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies to describe the primitive nature of man. Golding uses many symbols to further explain this theme including the conch, Piggy, and the Beast. The conch symbolizes the order that can be found on the Island when the boys first arrive. Golding explains the conch bring comfort to the littluns and gives them “reassurance of something purposeful being done.” In addition to the conch comforting the littluns, it also keeps the older boys sane. Ralph is found in chapter 10, “cradling the conch” to keep himself from panicking too much. Further,...
Words: 289 - Pages: 2
...A gleaming white shell was held high above a crowd of power-hungry boys. It became a beacon, shining as the face of the newly found government. Man is always fighting for recognition and reverence from others. Ironically, this is often what causes chaos in civilizations. Humanity’s desire for power leads to their own destruction. In the novel Lord of the Flies, Golding uses the conch as a symbol of power and civilization. Arguably portraying the conch as the face of the government. The “conch” is “most power[full]” and gives authority to whoever holds it (22). When the boys create a social organization on the island the conch is what holds them together. Otherwise the leaders of society would have no authority of the civilians and order...
Words: 302 - Pages: 2
...Lord of the Fearsome: Symbolism in the Conch Shell Fear: an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. In the novel “Lord of the Flies” fear drives the boys on the island to a state of survival mode and they lose all civilization. The conch, is a symbol used through the book representing order, power, and humanity. The conch portrays a tool for organization and power in the opening of the novel. The conch shell is found on the beach and the first tool that the boys used that they hadn't from their earlier lives. The blown shell caused the boys choir to raise from the jungle and the tribe was born. For example, on page 19 “This toy of voting was almost as pleasing as the conch. Jack started to protest but the clamor changed from the general wish for a chief to an election by acclaim of Ralph himself.” This passage waxes on the conch is equal to control. Referring to the conch as a toy rather than a tool sets the mood of how the boys respect this system of organization. “They obeyed the summons of the conch, partly because Ralph blew it, and...
Words: 655 - Pages: 3
...In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, the conch shell is a symbol that represents power and authority. To begin, the boy who holds the shell holds the right to speak. This is illustrated when Ralph says, “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking.” The speaker with the conch is supposed to be respected by the group and heard, however, many times the person with the conch is not respected and the other boys all talk over the person in authority. This shows how the conch is simply a shell and has no real power. To continue, the conch represents the ultimate power that all of the boys are striving to obtain. In the book it says, “But there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out:...
Words: 296 - Pages: 2
...In the lord of the flies, the conch represents power and order. Power is represented by the fact that you have to be holding it to speak. While order is shown by the meetings and gatherings in which it is used to call and hold. The conch is powerful. The conch is power is first shown on page 22 as the children vote for ralph to be chief of the boys has he was the one to discover the conch. “him with the shelf, Ralph! Ralph!”, let him be chief with the trumpet thing”. This quote shows that all the boys believe this conch holds some sort of power, responsibility and leadership. The conch is used many times in the begging of the book, it is the conch that can only call boys to meetings. No other tool possesses such great power throughout the...
Words: 458 - Pages: 2
...As humans we pride ourselves on being civil and intelligent beings, but what happens when that is taken away? According to William Golding author of The Lord of the Flies we become cruel and savage. A conch shell is the boys way of settling law and order, so they don't de-evolve to this state. With this shell they are ready to start a society doomed to fail because of the conch.When Piggy and Ralph find the conch shell it is empty meaning the creature inside it has passed on. The conch, which was created by death,helped lead a group of boys into a doomed society. To them death is now a symbol of power. They chose the leader based on who controlled the conch, who controlled death. When the boys are picking their leader they make a point of saying "'Let him be the chief with the trumpet thing' Ralph raised a hand for silence." (Golding,William 22). Already he showing the qualities of a leader and they are following because he has the conch, he wields death. They are following death. Not only are they following death, but they are following the person who controls it. This foreshadows the failure and loss their society will...
Words: 782 - Pages: 4
...In WIlliam Golding’s book Lord of the Flies, there is a very popular shell known as “ the conch”. This conch symbolizes communication because it not only alerts everyone that there’s going to be an assembly on the platform, it also allows people to talk in a meeting. For example, in the first chapter when the boys were deciding what to do first, Ralph decided to make the first rule. He proclaimed, “ I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak.” (Page 33) So, Ralph was the only one allowed to speak, unless someone else had the conch. This rule allowed Ralph and the others to listen to one another. This would also let people consider certain ideas in an orderly manner. This was especially helpful when the kids started to talk about the “beastie”....
Words: 278 - Pages: 2
...Prize-winning English author William Golding and his novel, Lord of the Flies depicts a group of boys stranded on an uninhabited island after their plane got shot down with the pilot dead. Stranded with no parental supervision, Ralph and Piggy, two school boys bump into each other and attempt contact the other boys using the conch which they found glistening in the sand. When the boys finally gather together as a whole, they attempt to create an organized society using the conch as a symbol of leadership. Because Ralph called them with the conch, he was thought to be heroic and noble which led to him being voted chief much to Jack’s dismay. While the conch initially appears to represent law and order, Jack’s rise to power ultimately reveals...
Words: 939 - Pages: 4
