Open Prompt #4 (12/9)

        In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, a group of school boys are stranded on an island left isolated to fend for themselves.  The story follows their struggle to survive while they slowly progress from civilized to savage.  Several symbols and motifs are implimented to reveal traits about the characters and enhance the themes of the story.  One of the most important symbols is the conch shell, a source of power and order because the boy who holds it is allowed to speak.  The conch becomes the symbol for civilization to magnify the theme of civilization vs. savagery and characterize the boy Ralph.
       After a plane crash, the boys are scattered about the island and the sound of the conch shell brings them together again.  The keeper of the conch shell Ralph becomes the leader of their  group.  In the beginning of the book, all is well on the island with everyone being responsible for a job (even if they don't always work diligently).  Under the rule of the conch shell, the boys are civilized human beings.  However, as violence increases the power of the conch decreases.  Not long after the leader of the hunters Jack makes his first kill he decides to leave the group.  As more and more boys follow Jack and abandon the conch shell, the more savage they become.  Giving in to their inner beast, the boys turn severely violent without showing remorse.  Without the order the conch provided, their state becomes so savage that they murder the only innocent character without the blink of an eye.  Civilization finally loses the battle when the conch shatters.  Following the destruction of the conch, the savages hunt down the original leader, Ralph, to murder him.            
      Another main function of the conch is to characterize Ralph.  Ralph finds the conch and uses it to round up all the boys on the island.  He is elected to be the leader and controls the conch.  He is the one who decides the  conch will be used to organize who will speak at their meetings.  Other boys are not always concerned with the chores they are assigned but Ralph continuously tries to get work done for survival and to get home.  When the other boys leave to join Jack's tribe, Ralph who still holds the conch refuses to join and denies the violent tendencies the other boys contracted.  His close connection to the conch keeps him civil.  At one point, Ralph leaves his camp and the conch and visits the other camp.  While he is there he commits an act of violence, the murder of the innocent boy.  However, Ralph is not transformed into a savage like his comrades.  He returns to the conch and clutches it while he admits his sins to himself.  After the shell is broken Ralph, the only civil one left, is hunted but before his attackers catch up he discovers a ship that will rescue them.  Knowing he is safe, Ralph "wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart," (Golding).  This boy who found the conch shell is able to reflect on the events and feel remorse for the loss of civilization.
      The conch supports the book's main theme and is used to guage how characters lie on the spectrum of civilizaed or savage.  The events involving the conch can provide insight into the theme and reveal the characters' true self.  Without a conch, or gavel, or flag, society will discover the true nature of human beings.