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Conch Shell In Lord Of The Flies Symbolism Essay

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The Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, is a story that has multiple symbolic objects throughout the book. Although the meaning or purpose of the symbols may not seem prominent, they play an important role in this story. Without these objects and their purpose, this story would lose a lot of its meaning. One symbol that provides significance and symbolism to this story is the conch shell. This shell represents safeness, authority, and crumple of power. First, the conch shell in this story represents safety. When the boys crash on the island, they are all separated and do not know where the other boys are at. Ralph and Piggy are the first to find each other after they are stranded on the island. While trying to determine where they are, Ralph goes swimming in a pool and spots the shell; Piggy immediately had an idea. Piggy tells Ralph to blow the shell to signal the other boys on the island of their whereabouts. “Ralph grasped the idea and hit the shell with air from his diaphragm (Golding 17).” Here the shell is being used to signal safety for the others. The booming sound lets the other boys know they are not alone on the island. It proves to work because the book states, “A child appeared among the palms, about a hundred yards along the beach. He was a boy of perhaps six years, sturdy and fair, his cloths torn, his face covered …show more content…

This brought about after the boys have elected leaders of the group. “Ralph smiled and held up the conch for silence. ‘Listen, everybody. I’ve got to have time to think things out.’ (Golding 23).” In this part of the story, Ralph exhibits his authority over the boys by lifting the shell to summon the others to be quiet. When the boys are silent, it shows they recognize Ralph’s authority over them. Ralph also has authority because the shell he possesses was the device used to gather all the boys on the beach. The boys now associate authority and power with Ralph and his

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