In addition to Piggy, Ralph was also profoundly influenced by the conch. He had an odd connection with the conch because the symbolism of power that the conch had brought came to him in the form of leadership. The conch is what gave him the power to command in the first place. A quote that demonstrated this was when Ralph blew the conch for the first time and the boys had to choose between him and Jack.
“...most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch. The being that had blown that, had sat waiting for them on the platform with the delicate thing balanced on his knees, was set apart.
‘Him with the shell.’
‘Ralph! Ralph!’
‘Let him be chief with the trumpet-thing.”(22)
The conch made Ralph stand out because it gave him authority amongst all of the other boys. Because Ralph was always affiliated with the conch, the boys tended to listen to him. …show more content…
The conch gave them a way to pretend civilization was still present. The boys even went as far to make a rule saying that the only way someone could talk was if they had the conch. Since Ralph was the “owner” of the shell, he also obtained all the power the conch had gotten. The last quote that relates the power of the conch with Ralph is when he said, ‘“If I blow the conch and they don’t come back; then we’ve had it. We shan’t keep the fire going. We’ll be like animals. We’ll never be rescued”’(92). Ralph was aware of all the power that the conch had and he knew that if he blew it one more time, nobody would take the conch seriously anymore and he would lose all his power to command. This is a very crucial part of the book because it showed when Ralph had finally realized that the power he once held was slowly grasping out of his hands and that he had no control to make it stop. The connection between Ralph and the conch really shows how the power of the conch formed Ralph and eventually became a part of his
“...most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch. The being that had blown that, had sat waiting for them on the platform with the delicate thing balanced on his knees, was set apart.
‘Him with the shell.’
‘Ralph! Ralph!’
‘Let him be chief with the trumpet-thing.”(22)
The conch made Ralph stand out because it gave him authority amongst all of the other boys. Because Ralph was always affiliated with the conch, the boys tended to listen to him. …show more content…
The conch gave them a way to pretend civilization was still present. The boys even went as far to make a rule saying that the only way someone could talk was if they had the conch. Since Ralph was the “owner” of the shell, he also obtained all the power the conch had gotten. The last quote that relates the power of the conch with Ralph is when he said, ‘“If I blow the conch and they don’t come back; then we’ve had it. We shan’t keep the fire going. We’ll be like animals. We’ll never be rescued”’(92). Ralph was aware of all the power that the conch had and he knew that if he blew it one more time, nobody would take the conch seriously anymore and he would lose all his power to command. This is a very crucial part of the book because it showed when Ralph had finally realized that the power he once held was slowly grasping out of his hands and that he had no control to make it stop. The connection between Ralph and the conch really shows how the power of the conch formed Ralph and eventually became a part of his