What would be the first thing you did if you were on a plane and then suddenly you hear screaming and feel a jolt down. You wake up thirty minutes later and find yourself lying on a beach. You ask the first person you see what happened. He answered your plane crashed on an island as his hands shook violently. What would you do? The book “Lord of the Flies” is a story written in 1954 by William Golding. The story is about a group of British boys age 12-13 that ended up getting stranded on a deserted island without any adults. It is a very famous story winning many awards and is still read worldwide sixty-one years later. One very important aspect I found very important to the plot of the story is symbolism in the story and how it relates back to modern day. Golding was very good at hiding little meanings in his stories and for “Lord of the Flies” it would change the story completely if he did not use symbolism. …show more content…
The conch is a shell two of the important characters find on the beach one of the first days on the island. The boys instantly know that they could use it to form a society. The twelve to thirteen year old boys knew that they would not survive for very long without laws to abide by. The conch was used for respect and directed attention. Whoever held the conch forced any and all other to pause and listen to the speaker. This conch was very useful and was actually the only order the boys had toward the end of the story when the boys started getting very rebellious. “The ground was hardened by an accustomed tread and as Jack rose to his full height he heard something moving on it. He swung back his right arm and hurled the spear with all his strength.” There was a lot of savagery in the story and the conch was the first and arguably the most important representation of
The Conch was used to be a democratic power by Ralph. When Ralph become a chief of the boys, “ ‘Let him be chief with the trumpet thing’ ”(22). This quote proves that the Conch is very related to the power because only chief could hold it anytime and Chief has a power to control the boys. He was made to be chief by fair voting. Because the boys did a fair job to pick a chief without any pressure and they picked Ralph, who looked great for doing chief. He controlled the boys sometimes nicely and sometimes with power. "Ralph waved the conch. ‘Shut up! Wait! Listen!’ He went on in the silence, borne on in his triumph”(38). Because he used the Conch fairly, boys were fine to be ruled by Ralph, except Jack, who were a chief of the hunters, and because he was always the leader before, Jack disobeys Ralph and broke the rules. But before that, he was able to control the boys by the rule that nobody can interrupt when somebody has the Conch. Ralph had a leadership to control the boys. So the Conch and Ralph’s leadership had a great combination...
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
Generally speaking, the conch has represented democracy and collectiveness throughout the novel. Golding uses the conch to highlight many different ideas in the book by setting the story on an island, which is a microcosm of the entire world and the world that the boys lived in before encountering the fateful crash of the plane. The group of boys encounter problems which, even on this island, they are unable to escape from. It is important to remember that at the same time, there is a nuclear war taking place. The ‘long scar’ that ‘smashed into the jungle’ implies that the island has already been ruined permanently. It seems as though the attempt to remove the boys from a war-filled world has failed because the island is already contaminated by the crash of the plane, which was shot down by an enemy plane, this is somewhat related to warfare. The boys now need to survive on the island and this causes problems revolving around social order, as there are no adults present. In that case, some of the problems are attempted to be resolved by using the conch.
They thought their society was stable; they thought it would last. It all started with the conch shell that gathered them. In the book The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a group of boys became nomads on an island causing them to take on the biggest challenge of their lives, survival. The traits for a successful survivalist would include cooperation, maturity and responsibility. But if they can’t achieve those traits they will crash, causing chaos on the island.
The sheer importance of the discovery of the conch, in addition to its appealing sound, it symbolizes the unity of everyone. Ralph, again, shows his leadership abilities as he recognizes the use of the conch, "Conch?" "That's what this shell's called. I'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he's speaking," (Golding, 33). This designation shows the beginnings of organization and sharpening skills of the children.
When they are first stranded on the island, the boys use the conch to symbolize order and democracy. The boys use the conch to call assemblies and meetings and only the boy with the conch is allowed to speak. The conch comes to represent the boys’ civilization. As the book goes on, the boys begin to disobey the “conch rules”, and this leads to most of the boys becoming savages. They disobeyed the conch rules by speaking
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is a highly symbolic novel. From chapter to chapter,
Symbolism pervades throughout the entire narrative of Lord of the Flies and is used to illustrate the fears and tensions that exist within the boys trapped on the island. One of the novel's strength is that it weaves these vivid symbols together to assist its themes and ideas rather than labour them.
The conch is a symbol of order and government. It is first used to bring the boys together, like a call to survivors from rescuers. Piggy suggests that “[they] use [the] [conch] to call the [other] [boys]” (Golding 10). The
The conch also brought order to the boys on the island. “We’ll have rules” “I’ll give the conch to the person next to me. He can hold it when he’s speaking.”(33). Without adults they were forced to create rules for themselves because order would have to be kept on the island until they were saved. At their school order was everything and they wanted to keep that order and thought of safety. The conch gave them a feeling of home and hope of getting off the island.
The conch was used to call meetings but is also symbolic of the government structure and power. One of the main themes in the novel “Civilization vs. Savagery” is fought between two egos, Jack the Id who represents savagery and the desire for power and Ralph the Ego and protagonist, who represents order and leadership. William Golding created a society that was controlled by the dominant ego and influenced mostly by the person with the most manpower. Jack who was the leader of the hunter group influences the rest to join his tribe to hunt and kill. However, not all of the children on the island had the same savage trait as some others. This created a clash between tribes and leaders. You were left with the Good vs. Evil or Civilization vs. Savagery scenario.
This conch is the only connection to the order and rules of the boys’ past lives, as there is no other influence on them in the isolated natural state of the island. Golding’s readers are able to see the boys’ return to their innate savagery as they increasingly reject all that the conch represents. When the shell finally ceases to exist, cruel savagery and terrorizing fear take over the island. Their inherently savage selves are finally
The conch shell symbolizes the law and order among the children who trapped in the deserted tropical island. It is used to call the groups of the boys to assembly in a certain place. Ralph, the chief and the central leadership of the group is responsible to take care the conch. The conch shell represents the authority which the boys must obey. The conch is an instrument like a trumpet blowing to order the boys. Finally, the conch shell is broken down into pieces and the leadership is torn down and abandoned. The atmosphere of the island society collapses into chaos and no longer peace remind.
The conch was used and discovered by Ralph who is a character in the book to call a meeting in order for the boys that are on the island to join and work together to get rescued from the island. It is a symbol which had a power that leads the group of boys to civilization that will rescue them from the island. The conch makes a loud noise when anyone blows it, and everyone that is on the island is able to hear it. When Ralph discovers the conch, Piggy who is another character in the book tells Ralph to blow the conch to call the others “We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us” (Golding. 17).
When Ralph finds a conch shell and uses it to call the boys from all over the island, they come running. The conch is a very powerful tool. When the boys have settled the conch is used to control the boys and to create an order on the island. A rule is set out by Ralph using the conch, "Whoever has the conch has got the right to talk". This shows the conch's power and Ralph's leaderhsip.