Who Is The Conch In Lord Of The Flies

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Symbols are one of the many literary devices used in literature that add layers of meaning to writing. As in The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a white spiral shell known as a conch is beautiful as well as fragile, just like a civilized society. In the novel, the conch shell is a symbol that reflects the undoing of the civilized nature of the boys. William Golding uses symbolism in the form of the conch to represents the concept of society. The boys maturing/expanding/unfolding relationship with the conch illustrates Golding’s theme that humans, when removed from the pressures and standards of civilized society, will become evil. Throughout the novel, this object is followed in accord to how it influences change in the boys behavior along the way. The manners decay with boys’ attraction to the conch: the more the desire for power, the more they fight over the conch.…show more content…
It brings order to the boys, which is needed to have an organized lifestyle to be safe and successful while being stranded on the island. “We can use this to call the others, to have a meeting, and they’ll come when they hear us-“(Golding 16). Piggy’s idea for the usage of the conch was precise, and everyone gathered together when the conch was blown to have an assembly and discuss further actions. “Ralph waved the conch” (Golding 35) signifies the authority that the conch held. Ralph and the others see the conch as a figure of authority, and the decision maker of who gets to speak when an issue is being discussed. The boys maintain their focus on Ralph, their leader, especially when he is holding the conch, which is believed to be very powerful. The conch shell is significant to everyone on the island, as without it there would be a huge loss of organization on the
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