lord of the flies

A detailed Summary of lord of the flies


The Symbolism of the Conch in Lord of the Flies

Symbolism is a powerful literary technique used frequently by authors to express their ideas indirectly and creatively. Symbolism is defined as an object or idea that represents more than the object or idea itself. For example, in Antigone, Creon symbolizes pride and the inability to listen to reason, among other things. William Golding utilizes symbolism in Lord of the Flies by letting the conch represent civilization, power and safety.

To begin with, the conch represents civilization. "I'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he's speaking"(31). Ralph makes this comment as he holds the conch and does his best to create order. Ralph keeps in mind that there are no grownups on the island and that the boys must maintain order themselves. He does so by telling the boys that whoever has the desire to speak, that is whom he will give the conch. Directly after Ralph speaks these words, Jack follows with, We'll have rules!"... "Lots of rules!"(31). Ralph's comment excites Jack so much that Jack follows by requesting the form


Finally, the conch is a beacon of safety. "...Piggy lifted the white magic shell..."(164) "Magic" in this sentence perhaps refers to the quality of the conch that gives Piggy the urge to always be near the conch, that quality is safety. To Piggy, the conch is order, and in order, Piggy has the right to speak and is not persecuted by Jack, thus the conch is safety to Piggy. For example, when Piggy first spots the conch he is amazed, "S'right. It's a shell! I seen one like that before. On someone's back wall. A conch he called it. He used to it and then his mum would come. Ever so valuable"(15). He maintains his obsession with the conch on the mountaintop after the boys burn the forest, "Piggy glanced nervously into hell and cradled the conch"(41). The terminology of this quote shows Piggy's need for the conch. As he is looking around at the accusing boys ("hell")he holds ("cradled") the conch, almost as if it were a security blanket. Later, as Ralph, Piggy, Sam, and Eric make !

ation of rules. This shows that at one point, the conch affected even Jack and gave him the urge for civilization. Ral

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Approximate Word count = 742
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels

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