Conch Shell Lord Of The Flies Symbolism Essay

Throughout history and literature, symbols have been used to represent the bigger picture or main ideas. This allows the reader to illustrate the symbol in their head and have a much better overall understanding of the book. A number of times during Golding’s Lord of the Flies, he uses symbols to illustrate the boys’ destruction and fall from order into savagery. The regression of the boys’ civilization is evident through Golding’s symbolic use of the conch shell, the signal fire and the beastie. All are critical for expressing Golding’s overall message.

In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses items and people to symbolize many different things. These symbolic things include Piggy’s glasses, Simon’s epilepsy, the Lord of the Flies, and arguably the most important symbol, the conch shell. The conch shell was first found in the water by Piggy, who then comes up with the idea of using the conch as a blow horn to call for meetings. Throughout Lord of the Flies, the conch shell becomes not only associated with Ralph and his leadership, but with Piggy and his intuitive and wise ideas and Jack and his dictator-like, irresponsible authority. The conch shell, representing law and order, assisted in the election of Ralph as chief and ultimately determines the future of the island. However, as time

Golding uses a number of literary devices to create the prodigious novel, Lord of the Flies. One of the most recognizable of the many devices is symbolism. The most prominent symbol is the conch shell. Ralph finds the shell in the beginning of the book. Used but the boys, mainly Ralph, the conch shell is to institute meetings and establish order among them.

In the Lord of the Flies, Golding describes the gradual decline of a group of young kids stranded on an island. Without a strong leadership and a society for them to fall back upon, the group of kids begin to fall in disarray. Thus, Golding uses Sigmund’s-Frond three aspects of the human mind to explain how the kids decline. Additionally, he uses the conch to symbolize the society. Humans are inherently evil and a ruling body must be made in order to control the masses.

The conch shell is first found by Piggy and Ralph who use it to call for survivors. The shell is then established as a symbol of democracy, as found in this quote, “... I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking,” (33). Allowing each boy to speak when in possession of the conch shows that, although Ralph is chief, all boys can have a say in the rulings of the island. This democratic system is a beginning representation of our world in which everyone knows their place and there is overall peace.

Symbolism of the Conch in Lord of the Flies by William Golding represents civilization. The novel Lord of the Flies is about a group of boys from England who have been stranded on an island after an airplane crash. They are expected to fend for themselves and are slowly reverting back to their primal savage ways. The group is quickly split into two a savage side and a rational, civilized side. Throughout the novel a key symbol was the conch. The conch starts off as a symbol for civilization, however as the book progresses it is also a symbol for the loss of civilized manners and maintaining order, and this is shown through the ability to start meetings, granting the ability to talk, and the destruction of the conch.

¨Maybe there is a beast...maybe it 's only us¨. This quote was written by William Golding, the author of Lord of the Flies. This quote connects to the symbolism developed throughout the book Lord of the Flies because through the story the characters learn the beast is themselves all along. This connects to the symbolism of the conch because the conch is part of what makes the boys become the ¨beasts¨. In Lord of the Flies one major symbol is the conch. The conch is a shell that Piggy and Ralph, two of the main characters, find in the beginning of the story. The conch has more than one symbolic meaning to it which helps the reader to better understand the theme of power, civilization, and rules.

The conch symbolizes the role of leadership showing they have some source of civilization, once the conch is broken a descent into savagery leads to a dangerous turn for the boys. The one thing that the boys all had that could bring them together was the conch. “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking.” Ralph says and later on says “We’ll have rules!”

1. Shortly after arriving on the island, Ralph and Piggy discover a conch in the water. Ralph blows the conch to announce his location so the boys can gather. From the first use of the conch, it signifies the unity of the boys because it is what brought them together. The conch is also used to maintain organization. Ralph notices the discord but resolves it by enforcing, “I 'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he 's speaking” (Golding 33). The conch represents the discipline of the boys and their civilization. Since Ralph thought to use the conch as a speaking system, the conch represents his leadership and authority over the boys. It also represents his authority because he is the only boy that does not need the conch to speak. The conch is a part of his authority that is being shared with the boys when it is their chance to voice an opinion or idea. In addition, Ralph does not specify that the conch can only be used by a specific group of boys, rather the conch is available for any boy, therefore representing equality and respect for all boys. Furthermore, the conch represents civilization back in England with its rules and structure. When planning a rescue, the boys race off the build a fire. Upon the mention of fire, “half the boys were on their feet. Jack clamored among them, the conch forgotten” (Golding 38). Building the fire represents the adventure on the island and the conch represents the old ways of English Civilization.

Represents humanity and their civilization. The blowing the conch is a test to see how far gone Jack's group are from humanity. If they do not come back then all hope of being rescued is gone. Some of the boys like Jack have already been taken over by their savage natures and they can't be rescued from that.

In William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies, the reader comprehends symbols that go throughout the book. These symbols are key factors which determine the importance of the novel. The symbols are a very important part of the literary content. In order to really follow along and understand the story, the reader must understand these symbols for what they mean as well as how they are used. Some of the symbols include the conch, the island itself, and fire. Two of the main characters, Jack and Simon, represent other figures.

The boys were pushed to this level of savagery by the need for power. In chapter nine of Lord of the Flies, William Golding employs symbolism, repetition, and animal imagery to convey the theme that the need for power can cause people to become savages. Golding uses the rhetorical strategy symbolism to convey the theme that the need for power can cause people to become savages. In this story they use a conch shell to symbolize order within the group.

Throughout William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, he proves that human nature is savage. In this novel, a group of young boys survive a plane crash and land on a deserted island where they attempt to create a society from scratch, but ultimately fall into chaos and barbarity. In Lord of the Flies, Golding portrays the theme that one’s primitive nature is revealed when civilization is destroyed through symbolism, diction, and characterization. The boys immediately recognized the conch’s significance when they found it.

QUOTE (PG. #) SYMBOL COMMENTARIES “In color the shell was deep cream, touched here and there with a fading pink. Between the point, worn away into a little hole, and the pink lips of the mouth, lay eighteen Inches of shell with a slight spiral twist and covered with the delicate embossed pattern” (16). conch The conch represents civilization.

Lord of the Flies dates back to 1954 when a famous novelist, William Golding decided to write a book which could show an unusual version of the human beings. Born into an environment where his mother was a suffragette and later experiencing World War II where human ruthlessness was at its peak, made him better inclined in to writing a piece where he could explain his readers how human beings react in different situations. The setting of the novel depicts a situation where the human behavior is rational. The novel hence persuades the readers to realize the importance of ethics and civilization and how their absence can disrupt the society .Furthermore, the novel shows a negative aspect of the mankind and explains the reason it develops savagery