The Lord of the Flies Symbol Paper

Tommy Schlotterer

English III Collage bound

The Lord of the Flies symbol paper

The conch in the novel The Lord of the Flies is a symbol that could be taken different ways. One can see this because when Ralph first blew the conch all of the children came to him. When the meetings started the child speaking would have to have the conch is his hands to speak. Also when the conch broke all order and authority was lost. In the novel The Lord of the Flies the conch symbolically represents order and authority.

When the conch was blown all of the children came to its source signaling both power and authority. Shortly after Ralph first blew the conch all of the Children came to the noise. Golding wrote" Signs of life were visible now on the beach."(Pg. 18) This showed that everyone was naturally attracted to the conch. Right at the beginning you could see that the conch would be a signal of authority and order.

At the beginning of the book all of the children decided that at a meeting you would have to have possession of the conch to speak. Shortly after they assembled for there second meeting Ralph said that he thought that the person with the conch should be the only one able to speak. Ralph said "I'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it while he's speaking."(Pg. 33) This showed that at first the children knew that the conch should have some kind of importance. This showed that order was gained with the conch.

When the conch broke finally all order and authority held by Ralph no longer existed. In the novel right after the boys launched the rock at Piggy the rock hit him and when it did the conch shattered. Golding Stated "The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow form chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist." After this happened all of the order left on the island disappeared.

As shown you can see quite clearly that the conch is a symbol for order and authority. This can be seen when Ralph first blew the conch that every one was attracted to it. Also this is shown by having to hold the conch in the children's hands to speak at a meeting. When the conch exploded one can see that all order and authority was lost on the island. That is why the conch represents order and authority.

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