Conch Lord Of The Flies Research Paper

Lord of the Flies Essay : Rough Draft

Man is a very complex creature who requires a wide variety of complex needs; however, there is one demand that all of man desires, that is, power. The struggle for power is the foundation of human nature and it can bring success, but it can also bring about destruction. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding portrays power as an influential force which can be obtained and used in a number of ways, including controlling others and accomplishing far-reaching tasks, depending on the intention of it's user; however, the intention and implication of power will ultimately end up being evil and negative respectively. Through the use of the conch and the sow head, juxtaposition regarding Ralph’s and Jack’s authority,
and foreshadowing the future use and abuse of control and influence, the theme of power as both a good and evil force is revealed. One of the central aspects of the novel is obtaining power and there are multiple tools within arms reach to do so.
At the beginning of the novel, the conch is a very critical means of obtaining power and Piggy is the first to determine why it is. Similarly, it is decided upon that whomever shall hold the conch will have the authority to speak and thus this portrays how the conch is a powerful symbol of democracy on the island. The significance and power of the conch is proven by Golding as he illustrates the situation following the election of Ralph as chief: “most powerfully, there was the conch.” (Golding 19), that is, the conch is one of the main reasons Ralph was chosen leader. The conch not only allows for one to call an assembly, but also to speak. This rule demonstrates how the conch stands for law and order which is an important trait of democracy. Likewise, the power of the conch can be seen by how Piggy wasn’t awarded for his actions after determining the use for the conch: “We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us—” (Golding 12). Although Piggy discovered the conch and gave Ralph the idea to use it, it was Ralph who became chief and that is simply because he was the one who used and established its power. The conch is a tool which has great influence on the boys: “They obeyed the summon of the conch, partly because Ralph blew it, and he was big enough to be a link with the adult world of authority; and partly because
they enjoyed the entertainment of the assemblies.” (Golding 61). As stated in the previous quote, the boys obey the sound of the conch; however, it's power is ultimately quite relative and purely determined by the recognition of the boys. This flaw in the conch is what leads it to gradually lose its influence and eventually, through Jack’s pressure, it has no importance at all.
“‘Conch! Conch!’ shouted Jack. ‘We don’t need the conch any more. We know who ought to say things.’” (Golding 110). As the conch plunges into futility, the Lord of the Flies, or sow head, which is used as a sacrifice for the beast, becomes increasingly more significant as it symbolises the presence of savagery on the island and the rule of Jack over the other boys. The Lord of the Flies unifies Jack’s group as a tribe of lawless savages and thus it solidifies his tribe as legitimate. The sow head works similarly to the placebo effect because in both scenarios, a remedy to a problem is
being given, in the novels case, the sow head; however, that remedy has no effect yet it still has the power to heal, specifically, the fear within people. Furthermore, despite the fact that both the conch and the sow head bring about authority and power to its overseer, the mechanism in which they do this is quite different. The conch boasts free speech while the sow head boasts the ability to control fear. Both the conch and the sow head display the same reward, power, yet the conch does it in a much more civilized and socially acceptable way in comparison to the sow head. Ultimately, it comes down to which mechanism of obtaining power is more effective and it turns out to be fear over more democratic approaches, thus the conch is eventually smashed symbolizing the end of democratic power. “The conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (Golding 200). The conch and the sow head are not the only elements of Lord of the Flies that juxtapose each other and contrast a difference in power, Ralph and Jack do as well. Ralph obtains and utilizes the conch voluntarily, not needing to fight with Piggy over it. Thus, it is not difficult to see that Ralph gets the position of chief without having the intention to become chief at first. His votes are purely voluntary as Ralph does not force his authority over others. When Jack questions Ralph regarding who's in charge, Ralph does not lie or use the situation as a way to gain power over Jack, instead he simply says, “No we're having a meeting. Come and join in.” (Golding 16). Even after being voted for, Ralph still asks if anyone would like to vote for Jack, thus showing his fairness: “All right. Who wants Jack for chief?” (Golding 19). In contrast, there is Jack who rises to power by forcing his will on others and giving irrelevant reasons as to why he should be leader. “‘I ought to be chief,’ said Jack with simple arrogance, ‘because I’m chapter chorister and heady boy. I can sing C sharp.’” (Golding 18). Jack also entices others with short term gratification. For example, after leaving Ralph’s group, Jack tempts the boys into joining him by offering a feast. “Tonight we’re having a feast. We’ve killed a pig and we’ve got meat. You can come and eat with us if you like.” (Golding 155). He goes so far as to even physically threaten others to join him, such as when he poked a spear in Sam and Eric’s ribs to force them to abide by his laws. Ralph, while being in power, uses his authority over others to do something productive, that is, build a signal fire and huts. Ralph however, never once forces his priorities on anyone and instead acts as a democratic leader holding assemblies in order to discuss what should be done. Ralph uses his power not to fuel his own selfish desires but instead to benefit the group over the long term. “I voted for you for chief. He’s [Ralph] the only one who ever got anything done.” (Golding 188). He forms a sort of democracy where everyone has the ability to voice their opinions, that is, with the conch: “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking.” (Golding 31). Jack on the other hand abuses his power, power that he was given by Ralph, in order to create a fascist environment in which he makes all of the rules. “Do our dance! Come on! Dance! ”(Golding 151) and “And he said we weren’t to let you in.” (Golding 167) are both rules and tasks that have been forced upon Jack’s followers. Ralph uses his power to offer rescue while Jack uses his to offer meat and short term gratification.Ultimately, it comes down to which implication of power is more effective, the positive kind or the negative kind, and it ends up being the latter. This is evident as by the end of the book, most of the boys have joined Jack's tribe either due to fear and temptation. Overall, power can be used for both good and evil;however, those who you it for evil will always be the victors. The technique of foreshadowing is masterfully used in Lord of the Flies so as to give and better prepare the reader for what is to come regarding the role of power and leadership in the boys lives. Right from the beginning, one can see how the desire for power is of great interest to the boys, especially to Jack. “The circle of boys broke into applause. Even the choir applauded; and the freckles on Jack’s face disappeared under a blush of mortification. He started up, then changed his mind and sat down again while the air rang. Ralph looked at him, eager to offer something.” (Golding 19). This quote foreshadows the inescapable competition between Ralph and Jack in terms of struggle for power. Jack doesn’t seem to be satisfied with the results of the vote and thus wants to speak his mind (that's why he stands up); however, after being embarrassed, he choses to sit down. This example of foreshadowing is made evident even by Ralph as he is eager to give Jack something to compensate for Jack’s loss. Ralph seems to know that his win will only lead to more conflict. Likewise, Jack later continues professing his power and jurisdiction when he exclaims, “We’ll have rules! Lots of rules! Then when anyone breaks ‘em-” (Golding 32). This quote gives the first insight into the true evil within Jack and even though he may be facetious, his imminent descent into darkness and abuse of power is not far away. Another clear example that foreshadows the abuse of power is when Roger stomps on all of the Littluns’ sand castles. “Roger led the way straight through the castles,kicking them over, burying the flowers, scattering the chosen stones.” (Golding 62). Through doing this, Roger destroys the impeccable world the Littluns have created for themselves and simply because he has the power to do it. Although the previous quote effectively foreshadows the evil and desire for power of Roger, it does not display the foreshadowing of power as well as the following passage in which Henry, a Littlun, uses his influence over inferior creatures to control them.
...... He poked about with a bit of stick...and tried to control the motions of the scavengers. He made little runnels that the tide filled and tried to crowd them with creatures. He became absorbed beyond mere happiness as he felt himself exercising control over living things. He talked to them, urging them, ordering them. Driven back by the tide, his footprints became bays in which they were trapped and gave him the illusion of mastery. (Golding 63)
The above passage masks brutality and forewarns of power. The reasoning behind Henry doing this is not simply to have fun, but rather to satisfy his own needs and enforce his power upon other inferior creatures. He treats these powerless critters as if they are his soldiers or slaves. This action of Henry acknowledges the propensity of mankind to regulate and rule over others and impose his own will on them. Additionally, the fact that a Littlun is exhibiting such a primitive behaviour even further exemplifies how this is present within all forms of man. This passage not only depicts man’s lust for power, but also foreshadows how Jack and Roger utilise their power later on in the story. For example, this passage directly foreshadows the torturing of SamnEric and Wilfred as they are both weaker than Jack and Roger.