Who Is The Conch In Lord Of The Flies

William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is a famous novel read throughout the ages. However one thing that tends to go unnoticed is its Golding’s constant use of symbolism that the conch portrays. The conch holds traits such as Rules, Law, Leadership, intimacy, and authority which change many events of the novel . Because of those characteristics the conch shell is a strong representation of the civilisation, Ralph's power, and how it is lost throughout the novel.

In the beginning, the conch is found by Piggy and Ralph and is immediately transfigured into a symbol of civilization. Throughout the entire book, the characters struggle with establishing harmony amongst all the inhabitants of the island. The conch represents this civilisation

because it is an object that has the power to gather everyone in one place to form a civilized group. When the two boys first find the conch Piggy states “We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us—”( Golding 20) by saying this, it is established that the conch is the necessary tool to establish a community. The conch is repeatedly used as a way of gathering the boys to form a civilized community with rules and order. The conch is more than a literal tool for establishing order, but symbolizes the laws and ethical behaviours that are found in our own society that are an absolute necessity for maintaining a harmonious population.

Society and order is built on the foundation of rules and regulations. Without these, people

transcend to chaos and savagery. The conch serves as a symbol of this necessity. When Ralph states “I will give the conch to the next person to speak. [They] can hold it when [they are] speaking”(45), he demonstrates that the conch contains a rule that unites the boys. Therefore, through the introduction of the conch, Golding clearly demonstrates that characteristics such as Rules, laws, and living in harmony which the conch holds are essential when having a civilized community.

The conch is also a very significant symbol to represent Ralph’s power.

This symbol first emerges when the boys have a vote to decide who will be the chief of the group. More specifically the symbol originates when one of the Littluns yells “Let [Ralph} be chief with the [conch]”(29). That quote proves that the conch indeed does give Ralph power because the only reason he was chosen to become the chief is because he was the one first seen with the conch. In addition When Golding says “They obeyed the summons of the conch . . . because Ralph blew it”(83) it further demonstrates the power Ralph has. That gives Ralph the power becasue he is able to summon others at will. When this is said it is reinforced that Ralph’s power to call upon others is originated from the conch therefore giving him power over the group. For those reasons it is quite clear that the conch is the reason for Ralph’s power. The conch gives him the power to order the boys around, gain a leadership role, and be in command. Without these characteristics Ralph would be week and have no advantage over the others in the group. This is true not only in the context of The Lord of the Flies, but in the real world, where people in power must have some sort of legitimate or referent

power.

The conch is known to be a symbol of civilisation, order, rules, and Ralph's power however, as the plot of the story advances and changes, so does the symbol and the significance of the conch. As Jack starts to gain full power and lead his group towards the path of savagery filled with killing and a brutality, the conch starts to have no significance to the boys anymore. With that all ounce of civilisation and power has been lost therefore venturing into chaos and savagery. This is first shown when Jack tells the group “ We don't need the conch anymore. We know who ought to say things.” this quote is the beginning of the transformation. When the conch starts to lose its power to contain rules this then is transformed as loss of civilisation because without rules you can not keep a civilized community. Later on into the plot the conch loses its significance fully when Jack said “the conch doesn't count at this end of the island”. At this part in the book the group of boys have lost all smidgen of civilisation and order they had in the group and have resorted to full savagery because the conch failing give/contain rules and intimacy. Furthermore as the civilisation is lost throughout Golding’s narrative Ralph’s power goes along with that. When the conch shell gets destroyed Jack informs Ralph that “There isn’t a tribe for [him] anymore! The conch is gone.” Therefore it is implied that Ralph’s power is gone because the conch is broken. The reason behind this is that when the conch is broken Ralph does not have leadership, capability to order people, and authority and without those characteristics Power is not possible. In conclusion the conch is a strong symbol of how the civilisation and Ralph’s power is lost throughout the novel. Once the conch is broken characteristics like all of Ralph’s power and control has transition to Jack as well as all the civilisation that the conch held is now gone leaving solely savagery on the island.

The conch shell is a very strong representation of civilisation, Ralph’s power, and how they are lost. It symbolizes the qualities needed in civilization such as rules, order, and harmony, and the attributes such as authority, strength and leadership that are needed to have power. All of these attribute can be considered to be crucial components in the structure that supports a society. This parallel is further strengthened by the loss of order when the conch is broken. The universal traits and truths that are found in the conch are still relevant in the society of today and the society of tomorrow, and because of this, The Lord of the Flies is a novel that has, and will endure the test of time.