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How Does Golding Present The Conch In Lord Of The Flies

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William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is an influential novel which reveals the darkness of mankind and evil inside of all humans. Lord of the Flies is set in the early 20th century, during a time when Europe is under attack and surrounded by war. For this reason, a plane carrying a group of British schoolboys is flown away from the chaos in hopes of bringing the boys to safety. Suddenly, the airliner is mistaken for a military aircraft and taken down. After all of the pandemonium the boys soon realize that they are the only survivors. Now stranded on an unknown island, the boys must govern themselves. Soon the burning desire for power overthrows their civilized approach of leadership as a deciding factor tears the boys apart. Golding effectively uses the symbolism of the conch, the beast, and painted faces to reinforce the theme of how difficult situations reveal the demons inside of everyone. Together these symbols are applied in order to lead the reader to the suspenseful end. Golding successfully presents the conch shell as a symbol of power as the boys strive to be rescued. During the exposition of the novel Ralph and Piggy discover the conch and soon begin to understand its role on the island. Ralph shouts, “We can use this to call others. Have a meeting,[...]” (Golding 16). The conch is used to assemble the boys and make things civilized. Likewise, the conch is used to allow one person to speak at a time. The older boys are …show more content…

William Golding 's novel, Lord of the Flies integrates symbolism through the conch, the beast, and the boys painted faces. By using symbolism the author develops the plot of the novel while allowing the reader to interpret each perspective of the symbols. These allegories work together in a way that expresses the theme; rigorous situations unveil the inner beasts of all people. While difficult situations are still present in modern society, they may not result in the same outcome as previous instances but they are equally

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