Preview

Lord of the Flies Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
781 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Lord of the Flies Essay
Lord of the Flies Final Essay
For an author to clasp on its reader, he or she must use figurative language to captivate the essence and moral of the story. The most popular and the strongest rhetorical strategy is symbolism, as it gives further significance to an innate object. In the novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the author uses multiple objects of symbolism to interpret its importance in the real world; one main symbol that is very apparent is the conch. Its symbol of civilization and order is perceptible through its powerful influence towards the boys. However, it loses its power as the civilization in the island decreases and savagery becomes evident, which is shown with the appearance of the conch itself, from being pink, then dull white, and finally into tiny little fragments.
In the beginning of the novel, the influence of civilization was at its peak. Thoroughly, when Ralph and Piggy discover the conch it is described as "deep cream, touched here and there with fading pink" (14). With its beautiful exterior, the conch exhibits its beauty, which exemplifies its dominant control at the start of the novel. Also, its color being "cream" with "fading pink," illustrates the democracy as a whole and its ordered power. An example of its magnetic influence towards the boys is when the littluns needed order they "obeyed the summons of the conch, partly because Ralph blew it and he was big enough to be a link with the adult world of authority" (58). Ralph gained automatic dominance due to his possession of the conch. If one is holding the conch, they immediately retain power, which is an example of democracy. Golding establishes the dominant and obvious control of the conch at the opening of the novel, with its beautiful colors and the authority it gives to the person who holds it.
As the boys stay became longer in the island, their civilized morals started to deteriorate. While examining his surroundings, Ralph inspected the conch as "exposure to

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    From the beginning of the book the conch was introduced, it represented the boys civilization,and showed their life changing on the island. In the beginning the boys were all for a chief, the conch was there right from the start. It was introduced as a talking stick and as an elected item in the story to represent their humanity and civilization. "Shut up," said Ralph absently. He lifted the conch. "Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things." "A chief! A chief!" This shows how the boys would have the conch elect the leader, Ralph, but also as the talking stick. As he lifted the conch into the air he was showing that he had the power to speak. This quote also shows how the boys respected the concn and it's ‘powers’. Going…

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the conch shell is a symbol for order and structure which furthers the novel’s theme that civilization is needed to diminish the savagery of humans or else they will fully embrace their wild side and lose any sense of moral responsibility. After Ralph is voted chief, because he held the conch, he tells the choir that “they can be… hunters” (20). Initially, Jack’s eagerness to kill was directed into helping the group of boys as a whole and he posed no threat to the well-being of them. By requiring Jack to contribute to the building of a productive society, Ralph is able to divert his impulses to the improvement of the civilization. As time went on, Jack began to rebel against the authority and exclaimed “we…

    • 291 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    <br>Ralph feels the need to create a better place as he attempts to get everyone home. Although he is demanding, Ralph shows that he has good ideas and can enforce what he thinks should happen: "Shut up," said Ralph absently. He lifted the conch. "Seem to me we ought to have a chief to decide things," (Golding, 22)." His forcefulness gains respect and a confident response from the others. "Ralph smiled and held up the conch for silence," (Golding, 23)." The conch is mentioned and revered as one of the symbols of such power. As Ralph blows the conch, the others draw nearer, compelled to follow: "By the time Ralph had finished blowing the conch the platform was crowded," (Golding32). Piggy, however, was aware of the conch first, but Ralph was credited with its discovery and use. When it was first found, Ralph thought it was a stone in the water but Piggy saw it as the shell and explained what he knew about it:…

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the book I felt that the conch’s power foreshadowed civilization vs. savagery and their hopes of staying alive, but as Ralph and Jack fought and fought the importance of the conch decreased as no one would listen or assemble when the conch was blown. This was all caused by Ralph and Jack’s…

    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ralph instills a sense of concordance and structure in his group, leading based on what he learned in society. He uses the conch, which becomes a symbol for democracy and order, to call assemblies and vote on problems…

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a novel that demonstrates how boys will act when there is no authoritative figure. When the boys find out that there are no adults, they become very excited. As time goes by rules and order are needed, but some of the boys choose to respect the rules and others are reckless. Ralph is one of the characters that enforces rules after he realizes that they need them, and it proves how he respects rules when there are no adults; on the other hand, Jack's defiance towards rules validates how he dislikes them. The conch is a symbol for rules and order because of the way it is used at assemblies, described by the author, and destroyed; therefore, the theme the novel sends is that certain people will follow the…

    • 1247 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel, The Lord of the Flies, the conch symbolizes democracy. At the beginning of the chapter two, Raph hesitantly calls a meeting, through the conch, he finds the power to be a leader. As he nervously looked around, “Ralph lifted the cream and pink shell to his knees and a sudden breeze scattered light over the platform...all at once he found that he could talk fluently and explain what he had to say” (Golding 31). As Ralph is picking up the conch, a disturbance is in the atmosphere, showing the shift in power. The conch gives ralph a voice and confidence. Where he was previously unsure of talking, he can now speak “fluently”, or smoothly and readily. He is able to discuss the next steps to building a civilization. In a democracy,…

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout Lord of the Flies, a major epicenter of conflict is the conch shell. Piggy - who represents innovation and intelligence among the boys - and Ralph discover the shell. Ralph obtains the power over all the boys and puts all energy towards building shelters and attempting to contact adult civilization. Ralph’s leadership is based upon the morals imposed by society in the modern world, which is far different than the island; no society, no morals.…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The conch is a symbol that builds up civilization on the island, law and order. At the beginning, when Ralph found the conch on the beach shore, he blew it. This call, ordered all the boys to the beach shore. The conch governs the boys’ meetings; establishing the rule of the right to speak when holding the conch, which worked well in the beginning. However, after the fire had been let out by the hunters, they started to disrespect the conch and what it stood for. This was the beginning of the decrease in power of the conch, which now represents the savagery on the island, then eventually ending it when Roger rolls the boulder on Piggy who was also clutching the conch. This was also the beginning of the end of Ralph.…

    • 533 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The conch is a powerful symbol of society and order in the island. At the beginning, when Ralph found the conch on the beach shore, all the kids came together for an assembly. After that, they made a rule, only the person who was holding the conch would be allowed to speak at the meetings, this worked well at the beginning. There was a point in the novel where the savage boys began to disrespect the conch and what it stood for, like a rebellion. When the boulder crushed the conch shell it signified a transition from a proper society, to a savage nightmare. The conch represented civility and organization, but soon became nothing put a broken sea shell.…

    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In Lord of the Flies, several symbols are used to illustrate important ideas that are crucial to the plot and meaning of the book. One of these symbols is the conch: this rare shell is not only a precious and expensive in the world of merchandise; it also holds a dark and mysterious power over a group of English boys, lost on an island with no adults, clues, or means of escape. The boys set up a civilization and try to live in the society they have set up. This system works for a while, aided by the power of the conch. However, as the story advances, the civilized way of life that the boys have set up starts falling apart, and savagery starts luring certain boys outside of the safe and rational walls of civilization. William Golding intertwines the fast-paced, enticing story of the boys’ plight on the island and the descent into savagery with the powerful and deeply meaningful symbolism of the conch.…

    • 1086 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ralph felt a kind of affectionate reverence for the conch….” Even though Ralph still believes that the conch has still has mystical, the fading colors seem to symbolize the fading power the conch has. The conch once kept the meetings pure, establishing order by preventing all the boys from discord. But as the boys seem to lose their civilized manner and start to fall deeper into savagery, the power dwindles. “‘If I blow the conch and they don’t come back, then we’ve had it.’ ‘If you don’t blow, we’ll soon be animals anyway.’”(pg 92), even Ralph, at this point in the novel, starts to realize that the conch isn’t effective anymore and begins to become dubious over the conch by doubting its power. Jack, however, never seems to fully respect the conch, since the conch was one of the reasons he wasn’t picked for chief. Jack, who at that time made his own tribe, even mocks the power of the conch by sneering at the boys for forgetting it and by saying that it “doesn’t count on this end of the island” (pg 150).The power the iridescent conch once had seems to now dwindle, but its value wasn’t completely forsaken by all of the…

    • 814 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the beginning of the story, everyone was civilized. They voted Ralph as their leader and Ralph uses his authority to establish rules and enforce the moral and ethical codes of the English society. The conch symbolizes civilization and civilization keeps the boys from losing their innocence. After a few days, the boys did not want to work together and only wanted to have fun. The hunters even forget about the signal fire which is their only hope for civilization. Without civilization, the boys will have nothing to suppress their savagery.…

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Since Chapter One, the conch has been the only method that keeps the boys civilized. While Jack and Ralph were engaged in a fist-fight, Piggy wants to get…

    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Conch Symbolism

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In conclusion the conch was an obvious symbol in the book Lord of the Flies. It symbolized civilization. It brought all the boys on the island together and made it possible to establish rules and order. It also symbolized hope. The hope of rescue, The hope that it would get better. This hope played an…

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays