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

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. Lord of the Flies also displays the power of an individual to use symbols to control a group such as Ralph using his conch to represent his authority and Jack using the Beast to make the children adhere to

For instance, Ralph’s conch represents advancement and development and basically represents good and it may even represent leadership considering that it is Ralph who blows on the conch and Ralph is the leader of the boys. Also, the conch shell was used to summon the children on the island for an assembly. On the other hand, the sow’s head represents pure maliciousness and primitiveness and maybe even fear. The pig’s head even helped cause Simon’s death by conversing with him and telling him that the boys were going to slaughter him. In summary, the sow’s head represents sinfulness and viciousness and it has the power of terror over the boys while Ralph’s conch shell symbolizes civilization and good and has the power to call for civilized assemblies and represents leadership to the children on the