Consider two symbols, which you consider to be important in the novel, :: English Literature

Consider two symbols, which you consider to be important in the novel, and show you have thought about how Golding makes use o Consider two symbols, which you consider to be important in the novel ‘The Lord of the Flies’, and show you have thought about how Golding makes use of them. A symbol is ‘a thing regarded as suggesting something.’ The two objects I have chosen are in my view the most symbolically important in the novel ‘The Lord of the Flies’. Firstly I have chosen the conch. The conch is very significant, as it is the first recognizable object introduced. A conch is a shell, and is described as ‘deep cream, touched here and there with fading pink.’ It is discovered in the first chapter of the book, ‘The Sound of the Shell’ and is used to summon everyone together. Traditionally, the conch was used by the Greek God of the Sea, Triton, to calm or raise the oceans. Similarly, it was used by Ralph to command order, attention and respect from the other boys, although he did not use it intentionally to do this. The boys see it as a symbol of authority, which must be obeyed unquestioningly. When this authority is challenged by Jack in ‘Beast From Water’, and again in ‘Beast From Air’, it is the turning point leading to Ralph’s downfall, and the demise of the conch. ‘ â€Å"Conch! Conch!† shouted Jack. â€Å"We don’t need the conch any more.† ’ Jack is undermining Ralph, merely to disguise his own insecurity. It is at this point that Ralph realises the seriousness of the situation, and is too scared to blow the conch, in case the boys do not regroup. ‘ â€Å"If I blow the conch and they don’t come back; we’ve had it.† ’ The conch is also representative of the boys’ loss of innocence, as this is echoed by the conch losing colour, and losing significance to the boys. When the conch is destroyed, it indicates the destruction of order, and rational thought and behaviour. At the same moment the conch is destroyed, Piggy is killed, which heightens the drama of the situation, and stresses how important it is that the conch has been destroyed. In the microcosm of the island, the boys have virtually no discipline or figure of authority, and so become more and more feral. Jack’s behaviour in this situation shows that people will abuse power if it is not earned. The power that he has corrupts him, and turns him from a bossy schoolboy into a bloodthirsty dictator. At the beginning of the novel, the boys were still subject to their conditioning by