Who Is The Conch Shell In Lord Of The Flies

Power as defined by the Oxford Dictionary is “the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events.” In the book Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, power and in some cases the lack of power play a vital role in explaining the story. The story is about a group of young British boys who are stranded on an island and forced to create a civilization of their own. William Golding chose a conch shell to symbolize power. The conch shell plays a very vital role in representing power and the way that a civilization created by power, can be slowly broken down because of lack of power.

The conch is a valuable item at the beginning of the book that holds a lot of power. Although the boys were able to come together and elect a chief among themselves, the chief does not hold the most power within the civilization. During the first whole group meeting where Piggy, observes

the chief, Ralph, “there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch," (Page 22). The conch represents a greater power. It shows that no matter who you are, the conch is most valuable and in turn making it the most powerful item. There is a point in the meeting at which Raph says “‘He can hold it when he’s speaking. And won’t be interrupted’,” (Page 33) The moment a boy receives the conch is the moment at which they can seize everything and everyone. The conch gives the holder the most power until the conch is out of their possession. Different boys handle the conch shell in different ways. There was a point where the boys were deciding what rules they wanted to have and “Piggy was standing cradling the great white shell and the shouting died down,” (Page 33). Piggy is able to use the conch’s power for good when he has it in his possession. However, this isn’t the case for all of the boys. When “Jack seized the conch” (Page 36) he uses the power for bad. Depending on the hands of the beholder, the conch can be used for good or for evil, demonstrating how much power the conch truly has.
The conch begins to lose its value and power, but the boys try to maintain its power by not using it at certain times. As the story continues, it becomes evident that there is a connection between the state of the conch and the state of the boys civilization. There is a point in the book when Ralph has the conch and could use it but decides against blowing it. He realizes, “‘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’,” (Page 92). The boys want to keep the conch as a symbol of power and if they blow it and no one comes, then the conch looses all power. The boys have a meeting at which Jack shouts “‘Conch! Conch!’ ‘We don’t need the conch anymore’,” (Pages 101 - 102) This shows how the conch is slowly beginning to lose its value within the tribe. The connection between the conch and civilization shows that along with the conch, the civilization is beginning to fade.
The conch represents the state of their civilization.

Everybody respected the conch and what it stood for. There was a point in the book where Jack “laid the conch with great care in the grass at his feet,” (Page 127). Jack could have thrown the conch on the ground, but instead he laid it down with great care showing that although he may not want to follow all of the rules, he still respects all of the rules that have been put into place. The conch shell represents the idea that a civilization is able to and most likely in the end will fail, if everybody in the civilization is working together. Towards the end of the book, the conch shell shatters. In the scene, “the rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist,” (Page 181). The rock falling off of the cliff and shattering the conch closely represents every small insignificant issue within their civilization. Essentially, the kids morphed the tiny issues into huge issues which eventually tore their civilization

apart.
The conch shell played a very vital role in representing power, and the way that a civilization created by power, can be slowly broken down because of a lack of power. The conch was a vital item at the beginning of the book that held a lot of power. The conch, then began to lose its value and power, however the boys tried to maintain its power by not using it at certain times. In the end, the conch represents the state of their civilization...shattered into a million tiny pieces that can’t be put back together.