Who Is The Conch In Lord Of The Flies

Philip Doroszczyk
English
1/3/17

The Conch
In the novel, The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, there are many symbols which are shown throughout as the story unfolds. One of the most important is the conch, which has a significant role in the story. When growing up, many schools often have an item called the “talking stick,” which was used as an indication for who can speak. In the novel the group of boys who crash-land on the island use the conch as their “talking stick”. The conch has a lot of symbolic meanings but most of all it symbolizes power of order and authority. The conch’s authority is strong at the beginning of the book, but once the novel progresses it begins to lose its power and authority as order on the island crumbles.

At the start of the novel, Piggy discovers the conch and it is Ralph who learns how to sound it. Ralph first uses it to call together other children from the plane that might be on the island. The group of English boys regard the person using the conch as their authority, making the conch a mighty symbol. At the outset, that authority is Ralph, who starts out as the boys’ leader. He behaves cautiously and reasonably -- like an adult. Ralph keeps possession of the conch and, with the power invested in it, keeps order. The rules regarding use of the conch get further developed in Chapter Two, “Fire on the Mountain.” It is noteworthy that at this juncture it is Jack who cries excitedly “We’ll have rules,”.... “Lots of rules. Then anyone who breaks them --”...(Golding 33). The boys agree that anyone who interrupts the conch user should be punished. They indicate that with a variety of sound effects. The boys believe in the conch’s power to keep them in check. Punishment, usually meted out by adults, is similarly a result of disobeying the holder of the conch. Like a parent and child, the parent punishes the misbehaving child. The boys, early on, welcome the order that resembles what they experienced in civilization. That control the conch and the user of the conch exert declines as the novel progresses.
As the novel, The Lord of the Flies, continues to unfold and the boys have been on the island for a while, the group of boys falls into disorder and Jack and his group of hunters begin to disobey the conch’s authority.

Jack begins to disobey the rules governing use of the conch which, at the beginning, he wanted to put in place. When Ralph orders the group to maintain the fire in case any ships go by, Jack decides to go hunting instead of watching the fire. It is at that time that a ship goes by and doesn’t see the fire because it went out due to Jack’s lack of obedience to Ralph’s authority, as holder of the conch. Jack’s desire to hunt causes him to disobey the rules and causes a blow to the group's order. Ralph, angry with Jack, calls a meeting to order. This causes Ralph and Jack to argue because Jack is disobeying the rules. Ralph gets angry with Jack because he let the fire go out, and Jack is angry at Piggy for insulting him. Jack begins to go against the rules as he feels that he isn’t allowed to do what he wants. “The rules!” shouted Ralph “You’re breaking the rules!”, “Who cares”, Ralph summoned his wits. “Because the rules are the only thing we've got!”, But Jack shouted against him. “Bollocks to the rules! We’re strong-we hunt!”(Golding 91). Jack doesn’t care about the rules because his anger puts it aside, he disobeys because he is not eager to observe order and rejoin civilization. Jack likes the freedom and liberty he has and knows that civilization will take it away from him as it has rules and consequences placed so there is order and structure. He knows that there are no adults on the island, and that the conch can’t punish him like an adult authority figure would. Jack does whatever he wants, thinking he won’t get in trouble and that there aren’t any consequences for his actions. The other boys don’t want to interfere with Jack and stop him because they are scared of him and they are intimidated by him. The conch, which becomes less useful

and loses it authority among the group, becomes no longer needed, and its power crumbles in both ways literally and mentally.
As The Lord of the Flies nears its end, the conch, symbol of order, loses its power along with the loss of civilized behavior on the part of the boys. Most of the boys, by this time, have joined Jack and accept his authority. Even though Samneric, Ralph and Piggy, of the big boys, still unite under Ralph’s leadership, those boys, too, are present when Jack and his “hunter boys” taunt Simon, leading to his fall off the cliff. Ralph and his small group do not intervene. In fact they later lie to each other, saying that they left before Simon fell. Order is all but lost and savagery, which has taken hold of Jack and his crew, threatens to become universal. The conch, during this time, is used less and less. In fact, Ralph mocks Piggy and the power of the conch when Piggy tells Ralph to use the conch to call boys together who still might be loyal. Finally, Jack’s doing: “The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist.” (Golding 181) With the conch damaged beyond repair, its symbolic power of order disappears. Jack, for most of the boys, takes the authority the conch held. When Jack is talking, they don’t talk. If someone does, he is punished severely. In fact, it is the threat of punishment that brings Samneric to his camp.
The conch symbolizes power and order, and gives authority to he who has it. Gradually in the novel, the conch loses those attributes simultaneous with the boys no longer following order and becoming more savage.The conch is described as a thing of beauty when first found, and the boys welcome its use to instill order and rules. Gradually Jack becomes the hunter and lusts after killing. Most of the other boys yield to the unruly and savage behavior. Even Ralph and his now small crew get carried away by the chanting and atmosphere when Jack taunts Simon until Simon falls from the cliff. That juncture is when Ralph mocks Piggy’s suggestion to us the conch to restore order and authority. The conch continues to lose power, as Ralph does and as order is lost, until -- finally -- the power that Ralph had, as holder of the conch, goes to Jack when the conch shatters. No longer is there order on the island as there was in the civilized world the boys left behind. The intactness of the conch disappears with all sense of order and structure on the island.