The Symbolism of a Conch Shell in Lord of the Flies

In the same manner that a song on the radio can remind someone of a time in their life, an object in a story can help someone to further understand what is taking place. This method of subliminal messages through inanimate objects is symbolism, a technique that is used countless times in the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Although much of the symbolism that appears in this story is cryptic in meaning, one case of symbolism in this book really stands out. When the plane wrecked boys reach the empty island one of the first things they discover is a white conch shell which appears several times through the course of the story. The white conch shell, being symbolic of the state of civilization on the island, helps to display the beginning of a mini-civilization, the slow deterioration of the this civilization, and finally the extinction of all civilization on the island.

With the early discovery of the conch comes the first symbolic use of the shell, as it before all else symbolizes the rise of civilization on the island. When the plane crashes and the Ralph and Piggy find themselves on an island engulfed by vacuity they decide to stroll around the island in a quest to find others. In their short travels they come across a conch shell lying near a platform. Right away a symbolic characteristic is pointed out as Piggy warns Ralph as he goes to pick up the shell:

"Careful! You'll break it--"

This comment made by Piggy, although it appears only to point out the delicacy of the conch, actually shows the fragility of civilization, and how one wrong move can shatter it. From there Piggy goes on to explain how valuable the conch is and how much it would cost to purchase on in a shop. This discussion over the value of the conch symbolically displays how precious civilization is to humans, and the expense that the shell would bring in a shop displays the price that many are willing to pay for civilization. They decide to use the shell's cacophony to summon any others who have been placed on the island by the plane crash. Ralph blows through the shell, and when he does all the survivors come running with alacrity; among them is Jack, Roger, the "littluns", Simon, and Samneric, twins who are referred to as one person throughout the course of the book. At this point int he story the conch shell brings together a group of diversity and assuages their differences to create order. The conch shell, being discovered when the boys came to populate the island, also represents the creation of a key factor to its symbolic parallel or civilization, population. Once the group has fathered they begin to take steps to organize themselves and assign duties to each group, and the conch shell is there throughout all of this. The organization and assignment of duties are both key roles in forming and maintaining a civilization. Later the boys decide that a person's right to speak at their meetings is contingent on their possession of the conch at that time. This furthers the conch's role in upholding the civilization on the island as it helps to maintain order and peace.

As strong as the conch's symbolic role is in creating civilized life on the island, it is also used to display decay int he civility on the island. When there is a disagreement among the boys over who should be the leader of the group, half arguing in favor of fractious and contumacious Jack, and the other half siding with the incisive and ebullient Ralph, the tribe divides into two separate tribes. This is when the strongest display of the conch's role as symbol for civilization can be seen. It is in this part of the story that only one tribe has ownership of the conch; this tribe, lead by Ralph, is able to keep fire in order to help expedite the rescue process, and they are also able to meet in peace and discuss issues that need to be addressed. The general tone of the story when this tribe is distinguished is calm, relaxed, and orderly. When the focus of the story is turned to the tribe without the conch they are referred to as savages, are always in a state of machination, and don't appear to have any order. This displays that where the conch is, civilization exists, and those who are without the conch live without civility. A prime example of the conch symbolically displaying the deterioration of civilization in this story is when the savages plot to, in a furtive manner, steal fire from Ralph's tribe. They plan to sneak the fire away while Jack distracts them with his invitation to a feast, their plan works, however, when Ralph's tribe attends the feast, the extreme difference between those living with the conch and those who are not can be seen. After the dinner Jack's tribe takes part in a savage dance and becomes rowdy. In the middle of this dance Simon appears out of the forest and winds up in the center of the circle of already riled savages who fail to listen attentively to Simon; as a result Simon is mistaken for the much-feared beast and is killed by the taciturn savages. This event amplifies the decaying of civility that is taking place in Jack's tribe, who is living without the conch shell. This event also marks a turning point in the story.

After Simon is murdered the symbolic message that the conch is used to display shifts from a decaying civilization to a shattered civilization. Simon's death hits hard in the civilized tribe, however, seems to lack any power to make a difference int he tribe of savages who appear to be without remorse. Jack's tribe continues to take part in unrefined acts, They again plot to steal fire, only this time they do it at night while Ralph's tribe is resting. As Ralph, Piggy, and the others are lying down they hear noises, then before they can even realize what is going on they are battling with someone. When it is all over they are not only badly injured but also missing Piggy's glasses which are needed not only for Piggy to see but also for their rescue fire. Here again the symbolic meaning of the conch can be seen in Ralph's tribe tribe's response to the vicious acts that had been thrust upon them. They do not seek revenge but rather discuss cleaning themselves up and going 5to Jack's tribe to discuss what had happened.

When they reach Jack's end of the island, however, all civility is lost. At first, when they arrive they request, in quite an orderly fashion, to speak with Jack, and when they do speak to him they explain to him that they would like the glasses back because they are necessary for Piggy's sight. Jack, however, being the savage that he is refuses to give back the glasses, disregarding the fact that Ralph has told him several times that if they need fire they just have to ask. In impatience and anger resulting from Ralph's chastisement of Jack, Roger, one of the savages, pushes a boulder in the direction of Ralph's tribe, which leaves Piggy dead. In the chaos the conch ends up shattered along with any signs of civilization that may have been left at that point. This marks the conch's symbolic role in displaying the end of civilization. After the conch is shattered only bedlam remains. With Piggy gone, and the twins forced to join Jack, Ralph is left to defend himself against these uncivilized warriors, Jack's tribe, holding a grudge against Ralph for not allowing Jack to be the leader and thus forcing there to be two tribes, decides to maliciously hunt down Ralph. The savagery of Jack's tribe can be seen when they sharpen sticks at both ends to prepare for the hunt. This shows that they didn't just want to catch him and kill him quickly, but rather to hunt him as if he were an animal and allow him a slow and painful death if necessary. Also, their refusal to forget about the early dispute over who would be ruler, and thus the inability to live peacefully with another tribe shows a lack of civilization.

In conclusion, many stories contain inanimate objects that symbolically play a role in that story. This is the case with the conch shell in William Golding's Lord of the Flies. In this tale of plane wrecked boys who inhabit an island, the shell is sued to symbolically display the birth of civilization on the island, the decay of that civilization and finally the death of all civilization on the island. The shell showed the birth of civilization when it was used to call a meeting, and to hold those meetings in peace. Then later int he story it was used to display the decay of that civility when out of the two tribes, the one with control of the conch lived in an orderly fashion, whereas those living without the conch came to be known as savages. Finally, toward the end of the story when the conch was shattered int he mist of chaos, so was all remaining civilization.