loft the conch
Davina Cooke
In lord of the flies the conch represents democracy and civilisation. How far do you agree with this statement?
When the boys first arrive on the deserted island, there is a sense of distance between the boys. Ralph and Piggy find a conch shell on the beach and they use this to gather the boys together “the rule of the conch”. The conch shell becomes a powerful symbol between them which means civilisation and democracy for who ever has it can speak whilst the rest listen. Therefore I believe this is a good representation of civilisation and democracy and I will be explaining this.
At first the conch has the power to bring the boys together and this is also showing us that it can also be seen as a political and democratic power. However as the boys start to break up (jack and the choir boys and Ralph and Piggy) the conch starts to lose its power and colour slightly as Jack doesn’t obey “the rule of the conch”. However Ralph and Piggy still obey the rule. It may seem that Jack may not meet the rule but he still respects it “ he laid the conch with great care in the grass at his feet” this shows us that he does not throw or smash the conch but puts it down carefully. This can also show us that the power and importance of the conch lays over all the boys even if they do not play by the rules they still respect the rules.
As we know Ralph and piggy just find a random shell, then they put the power of civilisation in to the shell showing the reader that if none of the boys can handle the responsibility of being civil then the conch can. Although for this to work every one needs to agree that this conch has the power and we can see that Jack is not fond of this agreement and in away may think its pointless as he has his own rules and to be civil is not one of them. Ralph then refuses to blow the conch (to gather everyone) when he knows the rules he set are starting to break down. “if I blow the conch and they don’t come back, then we’ve had it. We
In lord of the flies the conch represents democracy and civilisation. How far do you agree with this statement?
When the boys first arrive on the deserted island, there is a sense of distance between the boys. Ralph and Piggy find a conch shell on the beach and they use this to gather the boys together “the rule of the conch”. The conch shell becomes a powerful symbol between them which means civilisation and democracy for who ever has it can speak whilst the rest listen. Therefore I believe this is a good representation of civilisation and democracy and I will be explaining this.
At first the conch has the power to bring the boys together and this is also showing us that it can also be seen as a political and democratic power. However as the boys start to break up (jack and the choir boys and Ralph and Piggy) the conch starts to lose its power and colour slightly as Jack doesn’t obey “the rule of the conch”. However Ralph and Piggy still obey the rule. It may seem that Jack may not meet the rule but he still respects it “ he laid the conch with great care in the grass at his feet” this shows us that he does not throw or smash the conch but puts it down carefully. This can also show us that the power and importance of the conch lays over all the boys even if they do not play by the rules they still respect the rules.
As we know Ralph and piggy just find a random shell, then they put the power of civilisation in to the shell showing the reader that if none of the boys can handle the responsibility of being civil then the conch can. Although for this to work every one needs to agree that this conch has the power and we can see that Jack is not fond of this agreement and in away may think its pointless as he has his own rules and to be civil is not one of them. Ralph then refuses to blow the conch (to gather everyone) when he knows the rules he set are starting to break down. “if I blow the conch and they don’t come back, then we’ve had it. We