In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a fairly large group of young boys are left stranded on an island in the middle of the ocean after their plane crashes. They have no way of escaping the island so they are forced to establish their own community/civilization on the island. The main conflict in the novel is between Ralph and Jack and this conflict really represents the struggle between a civilized and uncivilized way of living. Ralph believes that the island should be run in a democratic style while Jack wants to be the dictator on the island and wants everyone else to follow him. The conch in the novel is a symbol for order and the democratic ideas on the island. The beast, however, is a symbol the brutality and ideas of evil. …show more content…
Ralph and Jack are symbols for their respective ideas of government with Ralph showing the democratic ideas and Jack with the totalitarian ideas. The symbols of the conch, the beast, and Jack and Ralph help prove the theme in the novel that in a society there is always a struggle between good and evil. The conch in the novel places an important role.
It represents the democratic way of living on the island and in some ways reaffirms Ralph’s power. Ralph was elected to be the chief of the island by the boys in a democratic way meaning that more people wanted him to be chief instead of Jack. “ “I tried to get over that hill to see if there was water all around. But your shell called us.” Ralph smiled and held the conch up for silence.”(Pg.23). This quote shows how the conch represents the order in their society. Whenever the conch was blown it meant that someone was calling an assembly. In this way the conch helped the boys stay organized and also established some rules for the island. When the society on the island begins to break down due to Jack and his group of hunters leaving the conch in return loses its power. “ If I blow the conch and they don't come back; then we've had it. We shan't keep the fire going. We’ll be like animals. We’ll never be rescued.”(Pg.92). This quote shows how Ralph recognizes the power of the conch and he realizes in he blows the conch and Jack doesn't come back for the assembly then the society on the island will be officially broken since the boys aren't united anymore. The conch really demonstrates how there is good in society even if it’s not always
shown. The beast is another major symbol in the novel. The beast represents the idea of evil and the concept that all humans are genuinely evil. There really is no beast on the island but its an idea that the boys establish and it shows the fear the boys all have. Piggy is considered the most intellectual of the boys in the group and he recognizes that the beast isn't real at all. This is shown by this quote “I know there isn't no beast-not with claws and all that, I mean-but I know there isn't no fear, either.” (Pg.84). Simon is possibly the one who understands what the beast is the most when he says “Maybe there is a beast…what I mean is maybe it’s only us. (Pg.89”). Simon is also the one who encounters the beast who is really the lord of the flies, however, this was all made up in the imagination of Simon due to him hallucinating. Later on Simon is eventually killed by his own friends including Ralph and Piggy due to them thinking Simon is the beast. The beast really plays an important role in the novel showing how there is evil inside of everyone. The last symbols are Ralph and Jack who show the different ways a society could be run. Ralph is a democratic leader and wants everyone to have a say in the way the island is run. When he first meets the other boys one of the first things that is done is a democratic vote where Ralph is elected to be chief of the island over Jack. He also demonstrates kindness when he lets Jack be in charge of the choir boys who eventually become the hunters of the island. Ralph also pronounces the conch as a way for the boys to communicate their ideas. He often listens to other peoples ideas such as Piggy’ s knowing that he can’t handle being chief alone.
In our society, law is what keeps our country in wraps. Order is key to running a steady and organized nation. In Lord of the Flies, the children manage to maintain a peaceful civilization with a conch shell. The conch rallies groups and gives people a chance to speak out. The conch represents order, but the beast brings out the fear and dysfunction of the children. The group is torn apart as the beast wreakes paranoia on the members, but it is merely a figment of their imagination. Jack breaking from the group, the stealing of Piggy’s specs, and the breaking of the conch all lead to the demise of society itself on the island. While the conch represents ordinance and harmony, the beast symbolizes fear and disorganization,
In Lord of the Flies, there is a theme that runs throughout the book that relates to a historical instance that changed society. Throughout the book there is a power struggle between Jack and his hunters and Ralph, the Littluns and Piggy. Jack represents a dictatorship and Ralph and the others want a democracy where everyone’s opinion and vote matters. This correlates with the civil war times, when the North wanted freedoms and equality for all people and the south wanted to dictate how others lived. Jack represents the oppressive southern states that wanted to rule over the black Americans. Ralph represents the northern states that wanted a democracy where everyone’s ideas mattered.
The conch is used for the first time in the book and able to draw all of the boys to the same spot on the island showing its power. “Immediately, the thing sounded. A deep harsh note boomed under the palms...” (Golding 12) Soon after the conch is blown, the boys start to arrive one by one. The conch is able to reach over the whole island to get the boys to gather. Very quickly the conch is put on a high place of order. In fact, the boys cannot even talk in the assemblies unless they are holding the conch. The conch can calm everybody down. If everything is going crazy, all Ralph has to do is blow the conch and then the boys will assemble. In addition to the power of the conch, it represents civility, as the boys are savages without it. “‘If I blow the conch and they don’t come back, then we’ve had it. We shan’t keep the fire going. We’ll be like animals. We’ll never be rescued.’” (Golding 99) Ralph knows if they do not come back after he blows the conch then they have officially become savages; there would be no coming back from it. He does not want to blow the conch because he wants to believe that they are still civil and have order, but deep down he knows that they are savages. Throughout the novel, Ralph is always using the conch to bring order back to the boys. The boys are nothing without the conch....
tool that can call a meeting and wherever the Conch is thats where the meeting
My paragraphs proved that Conch is very affective symbol during the book. The Conch represents power because Ralph became the chief with the Conch and he controlled the boys and made the rules that is fair for every one so nobody would be hurt. Conch also symbolizes democracy because it was used to communicate others, and anyone who wants to speak and nobody can interrupt him. Conch shows the unity of the boys because Ralph made the boys work together with peace and making an assembly when needed. The Conch, which is just a shell that we can see at the beach, which became a very important object in the Lord of the Flies which symbolizes power, democracy, and unity.
The conch shell represents democracy, power and stability. When Ralph first discovers the conch shell, Piggy proposes to Ralph that they, “…can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come, when they hear us” (16) and that was the birth of the conch shell. Throughout meetings that are held at the beach, the conch is used as a “speaking stick”. After Jack separates himself from the rest of the tribe, Ralph barges into the camp and attempts to use the conch shell to gather up his former tribe mates. The boys say that th...
They thought their society was stable; they thought it would last. It all started with the conch shell that gathered them. In the book The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a group of boys became nomads on an island causing them to take on the biggest challenge of their lives, survival. The traits for a successful survivalist would include cooperation, maturity and responsibility. But if they can’t achieve those traits they will crash, causing chaos on the island.
Being a part of a group of children having to adapt after being trapped on a island with no surrounding civilization is an unimaginable situation. However, William Golding shows just how terrifying it can be in his novel, Lord Of The Flies, by his use of symbols to represent hardships. The main symbols, which best portrays characteristics are the fire and the conch; symbols leadership and confidence.
In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, a group of British schoolboys are stranded on an island, and soon find that fending for themselves and staying civilized is not as easy as they thought it would be. Although they start off with an organized society, through interactions with each other and objects around them, they become completely savage over time. Golding employs the symbolism of Jack, the conch shell, and the beast to serve the purpose of the allegory of the inherent evil of the human race.
In society rules and government restrain man’s inherent evil, but without rules evil is left with no adversary and can wreak havoc. In William Golding’s book Lord of the Flies important objects, like the conch and glasses are used as symbols that represent rules and government in society. These symbols are shown how they restrict and provide a barrier between man’s inherent evil and conforming to society and its rules.
Lord of the Flies is a novel that is all about symbols that have different powers which is used on the boys. Two of the symbols which are the conch and the sow’s head contain powers that are opposite of each other and they have a great affect on the boys. Lord of the Flies would be a different story without symbols. The conch has the powers that lead to civilization and order. It represents the authority that the boys will need to get rescued from the island. The sow’s head on the other hand represents the evil powers to lead the boys to total chaos and savagery which is created by Jack. Jack has used one of the sow’s head’s symbolism which is the beast to control his group. The conch has a power that is used for order and civilization, while the sow’s head has a power to control evil and savagery.
In his novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding presents a conch shell representing the order of civilization. He uses this symbol to effectively portray the theme that humans are inherently evil and have savage desires, shown through the decline from discipline and peace among the boys on the deserted island. In the novel, civilization directly correlates to the boys’ past lives in England. Before coming to the island, there were adults present who maintained order by enforcing rules and punishing those who did not follow them. However on the island, the conch, representing this society, is a powerful object that demands the respect of the boys in a similar way that the adults do.
There are myriad symbols in the novel which incompass human nature.The beast in the novel represents the religious aspect all societies ability to generate a common fear.The need for fear is one of the most powerful tools in development due to the way in can hold a generalized accountability. Jack 's reign reflects the very depths of human instinct and how humans are inevitably malicious. He used the fear of the beast to control all of the people that followed him. On the other end of the spectrum the conch represents order, which is broken as soon as they let fear govern their morals. The lord of the flies is a sow 's head that jack impales on a stake which is used to symbolize the devil just as simon alludes a christ like figure. The sow 's head makes the reader visualize a palpable evil in the novel. The behavior of the boys in general determines that environment directly regulates
Natural disaster causes damage for lives and their homes. Many families face a danger of lack of water and food, and transportation. Sarah and her children were struggling to survive from that disaster, and the only store is closed to prevent robbers from the community. Therefore, Sarah can perform an action that can be applied and relate to three ethical theories, Emotivism, Egoism, and Kant’s theory
When Ralph finds a conch shell and uses it to call the boys from all over the island, they come running. The conch is a very powerful tool. When the boys have settled the conch is used to control the boys and to create an order on the island. A rule is set out by Ralph using the conch, "Whoever has the conch has got the right to talk". This shows the conch's power and Ralph's leaderhsip.