ipl-logo

Essay On The Conch Shell In Lord Of The Flies

1951 Words8 Pages

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 …show more content…

Ralph never acknowledges that Piggy was the first to point out the conch shell and explained to Ralph what it was. Ralph, instead of giving credit to Piggy for the idea of the conch shell, blows through the conch and then takes charge. Ralph begins giving orders and proceeds to take on the role of chief. Ralph’s authority was made possible because “there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch.” (22). The conch shell plays a big part in Ralph’s authority and order. His leadership skills, along with the conch by his side, is what made the other kids on the island listen and idolize him. Golding glorifies the power of Ralph and his conch shell in order to represent control, which is important to the ongoing order and regulation of the boys throughout their time on the island. Without the shell, there would be no order among the lives of the boys on the uninhabited island. In addition to Ralph promoting the power of the conch, Jack also agrees and emphasizes that in order to run a society, there must be a strong and rational set of rules that needs to be followed. When the boys made a fire with Piggy’s specs,

Show More
Related

  • How Did Lord Of The Flies Change Piggy's Behavior

    822 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ralph had used the conch that Piggy found and called an assembly and discussed their roles on the island. The conch was used to allow the person holding the conch to speak, and all the boys agreed with that idea. This rule was introduced to the boys by Ralph, but Piggy was the one who suggested it to him since no one listened to him. The boys had decided that they needed a chief to help make decisions and there was something about Ralph that made him stand out, “there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch.” (Golding, 22).

    Read More

  • Double Entry For Lord Of The Flies Dialectical Journal Essay

    1016 Words  | 5 Pages

    Lord of the Flies Double Entry Journal #1 Conch “But there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out; there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely there, yet most powerfully there was the conch” (22). While voting for a leader, Ralph is singled out and chosen due to the presence of the conch. The conch is a symbol of power—as well as a representation of law and democracy. When Ralph is found blowing the conch by the other boys, he is seen as the most capable and right leader.

    Read More

  • A Symbolic Moment In Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

    636 Words  | 3 Pages

    A Symbolic Moment Arguably, the conch shell is one of the most symbolic items in the novel; the moment Ralph blows into it, the boys are brought together. It is this pivotal moment that makes Ralph appear to be the clear choice for a leader. It is easy to understand why the boys gravitated towards him, their first sight of Ralph was of him sitting, "the conch trailing from one hand, his head bowed on his knees;" (Golding, 19) a clear image of confidence and strength. The boys are easily swayed by his symbolic power and when it comes time to choose between Ralph and Jack, the majority of the boys rush to support Ralph as their leader. Why did they choose Ralph?

    Read More

  • Dialectical Journal For Lord Of The Flies

    3277 Words  | 14 Pages

    In the Lord of the Flies, Ralph and Piggy discover a conch shell on the beach. The Conch is used to summon the boys altogether after the crash that separates them. The conch shell becomes a powerful symbol of civilization and order in the novel. I think the Conch symbolizes as the last reminder of civilization or the holder of conch is powerful because the Conch is a difficult tool to use/ activate. The reason that Ralph was the leader of the group was because he could activate the conch and that conch is seen as power and authority towards the boys.

    Read More

  • What Does The Conch Shell Symbolize

    112 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Lord Of The Flies Conch Symbolism

    882 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • How Does Golding Present The Conch Shell In Lord Of The Flies

    999 Words  | 4 Pages

    What sets him apart is the shell sitting on his lap, the powerful tool that he used to gather all the boys in the first place. While the conch shell in this sentence uses its power to elect a leader, it is also used to call every meeting on the island. Being able to gather an entire group of people effortlessly is a difficult task that requires order and a tool. “By the time Ralph had finished blowing the conch the platform was crowded.” (pg.

    Read More

  • Literary Devices Used In Lord Of The Flies Essay

    709 Words  | 3 Pages

    Golding uses the conch shell as a symbol of order and civilization on the island of boys. In the beginning, the conch is a beautiful shell that holds power and respect, but in the end of the book, the shell no longer holds the power and it is not important to the more savage boys such as Jack and Roger. The shell is destroyed when Piggy is killed which represents the loss of order as they turn into savages and descend to hell. A subtheme that is portrayed by this is that the most beautiful and orderly things in life can be destroyed by evil. When the boys first arrive they all come to the call of the shell on the paradise island.

    Read More

  • Power Corrupt In Lord Of The Flies

    1511 Words  | 7 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • What Does The Conch Represent In Lord Of The Flies

    653 Words  | 3 Pages

    Two of the main characters, Jack and Simon, represent other figures. One of the symbols Golding included in the novel was the conch. The conch represented order and power; it was found by Piggy and Ralph when they first met in the beginning of the story. Each time the conch was blown, a meeting was called. Then soon after, the conch was decided to act as a talking stick.

    Read More

  • The Conch In Lord Of The Flies Analysis

    1193 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Conch Lord Of The Flies Essay

    1119 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, the conch is a primary symbol, which represents civility and order. Throughout the book it served as a power tool that the boys highly respected, in fact, the symbolism of the conch begins before it is even blown. Ralph is the one who originally discovers and posses the shell, but it’s Piggy who explains it’s significance. Piggy has to teach Ralph how to blow it; this shows how from the beginning the conch is linked with both Piggy and Ralph.

    Read More

  • Conch Symbolism In Lord Of The Flies

    1036 Words  | 5 Pages

    This is an example of how the conch symbolizes the rules within the boys society because the conch is what tells when the boys when they can talk. The rules created by the conch is what led to a lot of the boys disagreements which slowly drove them to become¨beasts¨. Overall the conch is the most symbolic piece in Lord of the Flies because it symbolizes the boys rules, their civilization, and power over the boys. This is important to the theme of the story because the conch helps the boys realize that they are the beast all along. The conch helps the boys to notice this because when it breaks they realize it was controlling them all along and making them the

    Read More

  • The Conch And The Sow's Head In The Lord Of The Flies Analysis

    796 Words  | 4 Pages

    The conch and the sow’s head both wield a specific type of power over the juvenile boys in Lord of the Flies. The conch, used to call assemblies, represents progress and civilization while the sow’s head represents terror, barbarity, and malevolence and is partly to blame for Simon’s demise. Lord of the Flies is a novel about power because throughout the book Jack and Ralph quarrel over who should be the chieftain of the children and the novel uses the conch and the sow’s head to represent divergent forms of power and authority. Also, the book shows the reader the power of symbols such as the conch and the pig’s head and even the island that the children remain inevitably imprisoned on until their liberation at the conclusion of the novel. Just about everything within this novel is a representation of something that is considerably greater.

    Read More

  • Character Development In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

    1397 Words  | 6 Pages

    Ralph is first introduced as the fair boy who is a natural born leader. He applies Piggy’s intelligence to think of a way to summon the other survivors on the island. Ralph follows through with Piggy’s idea and uses the conch which emits a loud sound that can be hear through the island. The sound eventually lures the group of boys towards them. His leader instincts are best portrayed when he’s able to side with Jack after offering to share his power: “The suffusion drained away from Jack’s face.

    Read More

More about Essay On The Conch Shell In Lord Of The Flies

Open Document