Power That Exists in Lord of the Flies

When the plane crashed down on a stranded island, the boys’ lives would never be the same. In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, power is a large part of the novel, in fact, from a certain perception, power is the most important factor in Lord of the Flies. There are several factors that lead me to believe this; the pig’s head and conch shell both wield a certain power over the boys, however, their influences are very different. There are also several things that make Lord of the Flies solely about power, and about the power of symbols. Lastly, Lord of the Flies shows how a person can get power from using a symbol to control a group. In Lord of the Flies, several things drive the boys, however, the pig’s head and the conch shell have the greatest power over them.

The conch shell and pig’s head both have power over the boys, however, they are very different. “By the time Ralph finished blowing the conch the platform was crowded,” (narrator, 32). This quote shows how the conch manages to bring everyone together. This quote is important because it shows the reader how the conch symbolizes order and civilization by bringing them together. Although the conch does bring everyone together, as the civilization on the island begins to fall apart the conch loses its power over the boys. “I’m warning you. I’m going to get angry. D’you see? You’re not wanted. Understand? We are going to have fun on this island. Understand? We are going to have fun on this island! So don’t try it on, my poor misguided boy, or else-” (Lord of the Flies, 144). This quote is important because when Simon has a confrontation with the Lord of the Flies, he tells Simon how evil exists within every human. The “fun” the Lord of the Flies mentions foreshadows t...

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...ecause Jack uses the symbol of the beast to put fear into each of the boys. He uses this to his own advantage, he uses their fear to get power over them. As the boys get hungry and scared, they get closer to Jack, because Jack can feed and protect them.

Power is the main theme in Lord of the Flies, and is displayed in several different ways. The conch shell and pig’s head have a lot of influence and power over the boys, but they are very different. Jack expresses authoritarian power throughout the novel, while Ralph expresses democratic power. There are many powerful symbols in this novel, two of them would be Piggy’s glasses and the signal fire. Ralph gets power from the conch, and Jack gets power from the beast. Throughout William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, I’ve learned that the conch shell and pig’s head have a very powerful, but different, effect on the boys.