What Does The Conch Symbolize Evil

Jarod Kintz, an author who has said great ideas, once said, “Sometimes a symbol holds more power than the thing it represents.” In Lord of the Flies, the conch held the power and represented authority. Throughout the book, the conch signified power, authority, and civilization. However, the conch’s importance lessened as order was lost amongst the boys. In Lord of the Flies, Golding showed that power and authority were represented by the conch but slowly diminished as savagery peaked.

Throughout the novel, Lord of the Flies the Golding uses various symbols to represent the presence of good. One symbol used in the novel is the conch: it depicts order and rules. The boys use the conch as the right to speak their opinions. When the conch is blown a meeting is being held. Evidence from the book is “Ralph smiled and held up the conch for silence.” (Golding, 23). The evidence stated shows that the conch allows characters to have the opportunity to state their beliefs in

In William Golding’s novel, The Lord of the Flies, the conch symbolizes a form of government, but as this symbol’s physical appearance fades, so does the humanity of the characters inhabited on the island. The conch is first found by Ralph and Piggy who are swimming and see it in the clear water. The boys fish out the conch and marvel at its’ beauty. Later on, they figure out how to blow the conch to make a trumpet-like sound. While doing this, all the other schoolboys stranded on the island hear it and come running. The conch is what brought all the boys together and unified them. Also, the conch is introduced and talked about as an item of value. All the boys honor and respect the conch. The conch shows a sense of government because

Everyone has a part of them that keeps them from doing the bad things that they are capable of. Sometimes it lies within them, where they somewhat have control, sometimes it lies somewhere that can not be controlled, it could be in friends or people around you. When they do not have control, For the boys in Lord Of The Flies, by William Golding, Piggy is the slightest chance of hope that keeps the group from letting their id completely take over their sanity, therefore turning into complete and utter savages. In the beginning of the book, Piggy explains to Ralph the significance of the conch, and why it can help in their future endeavors, without Piggy's knowledge, Ralph would not have paid the conch any attention.

From Lord of the Flies, there were many things like Conch and Fire that symbolized something. One of the most important symbols was the Conch. The Conch, which is a big shell that can be seen at the beach symbolizes many things in the Lord of the Flies. The Conch represents power because it once was able to control the boys with it, and it also symbolizes democracy because of anyone who has their ideas and can speak their thoughts. The Conch represents unity because it was used to call an assembly and was used to put the boys and keep the peace between the boys so nobody would fight with each other. So, the conch is an important symbol in the novel, because it represents power, democracy, and unity.

The biggest, and one of the most influential symbols in the book, the conch, plays a major role in showing the boys decline into savagery. When Lord of the Flies begins the first characters we see are Ralph and Piggy, Piggy being the first to discover a conch shell, that he gives to Ralph who says, “Seems to me we need to have a chief to decide things” (22). This marks the first

"A conch he called it. He used to blow it and his mum would come. It's ever so valuable" – Piggy, Lord of the Flies. The conch is a sea creature, its shell is revered in many cultures such as Hinduism and Buddhism for its beauty and the sound it makes. The conch is also that shell in Lord of the Flies which is blown into to gather the boys. The author, William Golding, uses the conch to show that democracy will succumb to rule by force in the face of serious trouble or need. In the book, it is a symbol of democratic power but it is not without its enemies who eventually overrule it.

In Lord Of The Flies by William Golding, Golding claims that no matter how civilized or innocent all human beings are, the surrounding environment can change how people interact with each other and turn them from civilized beings into savages. He uses Jack to show that when human nature does not have any restraints, it will slowly evolve into savagery. Jack at first is a respectful, civilized person that is willing to communicate and cooperate with Ralph, but when confronting with the act of killing a pig makes him lose all sense of shame and conscience, he starts acting evil and wanting to hunt Ralph. By the end of the novel, Golding ultimately shows that everyone is capable of being evil and it is only society’s rules that keep most individuals from acting out evil.

The conch keeps the meetings and even simple conversations in orderly terms. When its purpose begins to get ignored, more conflict arises. Ralph keeps hold of the conch even in times full of fear. In the text, it is stated, "He could see the whiteness in the gloom near him so he grabbed it from Maurice and blew as loudly as he could," (Golding, 88). While all of the boys are filled with fear about the talk of the beast, Ralph wants to keep them calm and keep matters controlled. The conch does help him to easily call meetings for the group, and it helps to keep society present amongst the boys. However, when the fear overcomes the peace that the boys have so far, the orderliness begins to deteriorate. Ralph tries his best to control the situation, but losing touch of a truly experienced society has made the boys struggle with staying calm and rational. The boys let of any sense of morals and obligations that they had gathered so far in their childhoods slip right out of their hands, and most of the boys let hunting and savagery become their top

Ralph and Jack both have very different opinions about the conch. By showing these opinions, they illustrate the struggle between good and evil. From the very beginning, a conch is used to summon the boys and it quickly becomes clear that the conch symbolizes the constraints of

In the very beginning the conch is used to bring all of the boys in the story together. Ralph blows it and they come. This is the first sign of its power. The boys have been lost and now there is this thing, much like a school bell, calling them to be brought together. It has brought order to this strange place in which they are stranded.

Jack’s departure from the boys sparks a civil war in between them and ultimately creating a giant war that lead to death of some of the boys. Jacks uprising or rebellion is hinted early in the book but he shows his true side leaving Ralph’s group. This action by jack creates the events of piggy and simons death but creates the reason they are rescued. Jacks new aggression embodies war and destruction itself and is a monster. When jack breaks out against Ralph he not only defeats him but he shows that Ralph is weak eventually taking everyone Ralph has by torture or death.

Jack is always teasing piggy and tends to lean his jokes on the account of him being overweight,“Shut up Fatty”(21). Jack insults people, he bullies Piggy many times in the book. He even gets physical and punches him many times. One of the times he hits him he breaks one of the lenses in his specs. The way he leads influences Roger to go as far as killing Piggy. Jack and the boys make a chant, “Kill the pig! Cut her throat! Spill her blood!”(169). Jack begins to become savage he feels no remorse for killing the animal anymore. He comes up with a chant about killing, and he’s become obsessed with hunting. The evil within Jack grows throughout the story.

The conch is a symbol in the novel and represents civilized authority and democracy. When the group of boys are stranded on the island, they choose Ralph as the

Killing a pig was way too low for Jack. Jack and his followers killed a pig in need for food. If an adult civilized group was stuck, They would kill the pigs, but not that brutally. The civilization of Jack was gone and they were living like cavemen.