Conch Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

In the novel Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, the conch symbolizes a government. This shell, that Ralph and Piggy have found, gives order and authority. It also shows how fragile the government is. The first day on the island, when Ralph has been voted as chief, he sets up his ideal government, which is a some sort of a democratic union. The rules set are based on all of the boys agreement, but as time passes by, their “government” starts corrupting. The boys start making up their own rules and no longer following the rules they had set up their first day on the island, as the boys fight, they slowly start breaking their group apart. Until finally, the conch breaks into little pieces. And both the conch and their government, fails to exist after this incident.

When the boys first got on the island, they hear a noise. A noise that came from the conch shell. Interested, the boys meet up where it was sounded. Ralph, the boy who blew the conch and gets voted as chief, and sets up rules regarding the conch, “give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking” (Golding 33). Ralph doesn’t want more than one person talking at a time, so he sets up a system using the conch, the person who is holding the opaque shell, has the authority to speak and give their opinions when they are all assembled. This conch is keeping the boys organized. Carefully, the boys have to be around the shell, knowing it is fragile, “[h]e caressed the shell respectfully” (38). Some boys, like Piggy, know how valuable the conch is. So, they act wary around shell because they respect it and don’t want anything happening to