Lord Of The Flies Conch

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Order of the Conch When society disagrees with the rules, it leads to destruction and death. Without rules, the inner savages inside of all of us come out, leading to the destruction of society. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the symbol of the couch represents the downfall of society through order, the fall of democracy, and chaos. Rules lead to order, which keeps society united. In the book, when the boys arrive at the island, they discover a conch that helps unite all the boys together. Thinking that they may be on the island for a prolonged period, the boys assigned rules to the conch to keep order. At the first official meeting of the stranded boys, Ralph declares, “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking” (Golding, 33). …show more content…

The purpose of the rule was to accommodate everyone's opinions and thoughts without arguing. During another meeting, Ralph wanted to address the group and did so by using the influence of the conch. The text states, “He hesitated and did not blow, he held his shell up instead and did not show it to them and they understood” (Golding 99). The boys know and respect the conch. This allows the meeting to run smoothly, allowing the boys to talk about important matters like the fire, hunting, and the beastie. The importance of the conch is undeniable. However, once the rules sent out by the group begin to be ignored, the society begins to break down. The conch stands for order, which grants the opportunity for democracy. When the conch is ignored, the democracy starts to crumble. During a group adventure, a dispute arises regarding the conch. Jack states, “The conch doesn’t count on top of the mountain. so you shut up” (Golding 42). Jack is indifferent about the conch. He wants the conch to be forgotten as a thought of the

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