Conch Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

944 Words4 Pages
Lord of the Flies was written by Sir William Golding during the beginning of the cold war, just ten years after the atomic bombing was dropped. The novel first depicts the aftermath of a plane crash on an uninhabited island; the only survivors being a group of British school boys, none older then the age of twelve. With no adults on the island, and no way of knowing when, or even if they will be rescued, the British boys realize they must act civilized and organize themselves in a democratic way. The boys have a vote to determine a leader amongst them, in which Jack, leader of the Choir, and Ralph, blower of the conch which brought them all together, are the two candidates. Although Jack had all the votes from the choir, Ralph won the rest of the boys’ votes due to his size, appearance and most importantly the conch. This is the first conflict introduced in the book, two leaders with two different outlooks on what’s most important for the group. With envy, grief and other negative emotions being introduced, Golding’s Theme begins to shape up, how primitive the actions of humans are when society breaks down. Golding describes how humans are naturally greedy, savage and…show more content…
The conch is what represents rules and order in The Lord of the Flies. It is used for calling assemblies in which the boys attempt to make group decisions democratically. It is also used as a type of talking stick, only the person holding the conch is allowed to talk at an assembly, although this is not always the case. The shattering of the conch is a climatic point in the novel. It represents the loss of a leader and the destruction of democracy and society. When society breaks down its’ laws and rules become no more then guidelines, free to break without a fear of consequence. When the boys loss a civilized society they gain the freedom to allow their ids’ to control their

More about Conch Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

Open Document