Conch Essay

The Power of Order

"I tell you, I got the conch!' Surprisingly, there was silence now;".(180) In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding a group of boys are stuck on an island after their plane crashes and they are to left fend for them selves. The conch is a shell that they use to decide who speaks and call assemblies. On a symbolic level, the conch represents democracy and order, which helps to convey the theme of without order, chaos would reign supreme. We see this from the use of the conch to maintain order, and the destruction of the conch.

The conch represents how order and democracy help the world run efficiently. "By the time Ralph finished blowing the conch the platform was crowded. There were differences between this meeting and the one held in the morning". (32) This shows that the kids still like the idea of democracy and order and follow it .Responding to the conch means the kids are still willing to live in a orderly fashion and take place in democratic way of life in which chaos takes a back seat to order. "The conch then exploded in a thousand, white fragments and ceased to exist". (181) This shows how the conch is destroyed by a single strike of a rock. The conch's destruction also means the destruction of democracy and order on the island. Also this is where absolutism and chaos start to take reign. The way life was lived and ran changed dramatically from order and democracy to absolutism and chaos.

Democracy changed to absolutism, order to chaos. The conch that called and decided who spoke in assemblies represented democracy and order. Without order and democracy the island became a mass of chaos and absolutism. We see this from the change of the environment and way of life of the boys on the island. Order helps us lead an efficient and less difficult world to live in. For with out order in our government system the United States would be run