Lord Of The Flies Conch Analysis

To begin, the symbolism of the conch shows the fading care for rules and civilization within Jack throughout the book. In the first chapter, Ralph calls to the other boys using the conch shell when Piggy says “You try. Ralph. You’ll call the others.” (10). The conch holds power and authority in the beginning of the book; it leads the boys, including Jack, to Ralph and Piggy. Once Ralph was established as chief and the rule of the conch – only speak if you have the conch – was made, Jack followed the rule except when it came to Piggy trying to speak as a voice of reason. There are repeated times where the boys are arguing and Piggy tries to speak, but Jack rapidly shuts him down each time. Piggy often yells “I got the conch!” or “I’ve got the conch in my …show more content…
When Ralph tries telling Jack to listen to what Piggy is saying, Jack immediately questions Ralphs authority, and says “Who cares?” to breaking the rule. More importantly, after Ralph tells Jack that “rules are the only thing we’ve got!”, Jack shows his disregard for rules by yelling out “Bollocks to the rules! We’re strong – we hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat –!” (79) Jack’s words are direct in that he does not wish to follow the rules but to follow the violence in killing – bringing it back to savagery over civilization. Although Jack shows some instances of having respect for the conch, it is when it would be useful to him. In chapter 8, Jack calls a meeting in order to try to demote Ralph because he was hurt and jealous; the meeting does not go his way, and Jack leaves the group. When Jack uses the conch or tries enforcing the rules, it is one in order to benefit himself – though it does not always work. The conch is an object that holds special importance to Piggy; Piggy and the conch both represent order and