Conch Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

Changes of Symbols

A symbol is defined as something used for or regarded as representing something else; a material object representing something, often something immaterial like a token, emblem, or sign according to Dictionary.com. Ralph, Jack, and Piggy are important characters in the book Lord of the Flies, by William Golding. The protagonist is Ralph, a rational boy who is elected to be the leader by others, while the antagonist is Jack, Ralph’s rival. Piggy is an intelligent boy and also acts as Ralph’s advisor. These boys, plus others, get stranded on an island, with no adults, after their plane crashes. Throughout the story the boys start to become savage-like and turning on one another. In the duration of the book some symbols are mentioned,

Ralph states about the conch, “‘I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking’” (Golding 33). In the beginning of the book, the conch symbolizes government and power. Ralph states that the conch will give the right of a person to talk which shows how the conch is keeping order around for the boys like a government. However, the conch’s meaning changes towards the end of the book. Golding describes the end of the conch in a detailed manner after the conch is dropped down a cliff: “...the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (Golding 181). Golding describes the destruction of the conch when it falls off a cliff. As this happens it shows how the boys have lost their civilization, which means they lost their government and they go more towards their savage sides. The conch symbolizes government and power and then loss of civilization, while the fire represents hope and then

The fire is described as, “ The flame, nearly invisible at first in that bright sunlight, enveloped a small twig, grew, was enriched with color and reached up to a branch which exploded a sharp crack. The flame flapped higher and the boys broke into a cheer” (Golding 41). The boys are all really happy that they are able to get a flame going so they will not freeze that night and so they could cook for nights to come. All the boys are filled with hope that they would survive and that they would be able to leave the island safely. Their hope, unfortunately, would later on disappear. Jack has set fire to the forest just to find Ralph, disregarding all the bad outcomes of doing this: “ All at once the lights flickering ahead of him merged together, the roar of the forest rose to thunder and a tall bush directly in his path burst into a great fan-shaped flame” (Golding 199). Jack sets fire to the forest just to find Ralph, not thinking of any consequences that come with burning down the forest. The fire has lost its symbol of hope, but has now become the symbol of destruction as Jack has used it for. The fire symbolizes hope and then destruction while the boys’ hair and clothing represent how they are civilized but then go