Hayden Lane Mrs. Sparks 11th English 2/19/24 Symbols of Great Power The conch shell and the pig's head symbolize so much throughout the novel and hold an immense amount of authority. Likewise, the conch shell signifies countless amounts of power and plays an enormous role in the government of the island. Furthermore, in the Lord of the Flies, the pig head offers power and forgiveness to the beast. In what ways do readers and the boys of the island perceive these symbols differently? Young boys experience the world's power, their own form of democracy. To begin, the conch shell represents various roles of leadership and powerful influence; it does in due course lose to dictatorship as Jack overruled in the end. In addition, the conch shell signifies…show more content… Through Ralph and Piggy, the conch shell stands for law and order, a main trait in democracy, since everyone attains the right of freedom of speech with the conch. Therefore, it assists the schoolboys in keeping the civilization within them, to direct them into democratic practices. Eventually, the conch loses its strength as the boys split into diverse leaderships towards the end of the story. They divide as Jack takes over his private group leading with dictatorship, whereas Ralph and Piggy, on their own, use the conch as their egalitarianism (Golding 150). As a result, Piggy tries using the conch on Jack and his crew to acquire his glasses, but it kills him, and the conch suffers the loss of all power it ever obtained. When power dwindled in democracy, the conch no longer existed. Second, the pig head is a representation that gave the name to this book, Lord of the Flies, symbolizing power within the dictatorship as the influence of the devil. Simultaneously, a mark of the devil created savagery in the boys. Nonetheless, they painted their faces with the blood of the pig to illustrate savagery, as they sought no additional civilization, and desired to live as barbarians (Golding…show more content… Simon discovers a pig head where he sought solace on the island. Lastly, when he discovers it, he talks to the pig head as it is his God (Golding 143-144). Finally, the boys and readers may perceive these symbols in diverse ways, as the world has transformed tremendously with war and vicissitudes in government throughout the world. The conch shell epitomizes leadership and authority, which the boys kept throughout the novel, until they lost all civilization. Additionally, when civilization vanished and gained savagery, they split as a group, making two separate assemblages to obtain dictatorship. Ralph upheld democracy during his reign, but Jack ultimately embraced a different path. With this intention, a reader may contrive the conch shell to signify the equivalent meaning as the boys, but may determine some variances. A reader will see obvious power in this shell; they may relate it back to the freedom of speech and civil process. As a pig's head stood on a stake, the boys gradually turned into savages. The pig's head is an offering to the beast because of their mistaken belief in its existence (Golding
