The Conch Shell In Lord Of The Flies, By William Golding

In his novel, Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the conch shell to represent structure and togetherness among the boys’ society. The boys’ are first brought together by Ralph blowing the conch. An it soon becomes a tool of power, even getting Ralph elected as chief just for being the one holding it “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” (16). Rules were created where the boys can only speak in the group while holding the conch. But this rule is quickly disregarded as the boys talk over each other as often as possible in their meetings.
During their second meeting, the boys still respected the conch. But soon it is disregarded as Jack stole Piggy’s glasses, and in “a shriek of terror” Piggy told Jack to "Mind out! Give 'em back! I can hardly see! You'll break the conch!" (31). The conch became meaningless at the boys’ meeting and they began to ignore Piggy completely in discussion. Ralph tries to pull things together by saying that “We ought to have more rules. Where the conch is, that's a meeting” (33). Even when the boys agree on these rules, they still seem to ignore them completely.

Trying to conserve any sanity that was left in their society. They for the most part took care of the conch, being sure to handle it gently. When Jack’s group raided Ralph’s shelters, their first thought was that the boys had come after the conch. But when it was still in it’s place Ralph sat “cradling the conch, rock[ing] himself to and fro” (121) ultimately relieved that the conch haven’t been harmed. Showing the true value of the conch, that it’s not just an expensive shell, but also the glue that binds their crumbling