What is the changing meaning of the conch shell throughout the book Lord of the Flies?

Answer 1

When Ralph first sees and retrieves the conch he treats it as no more than an interesting an amusing toy, which quickly becomes utilised as a tool used to call other boys to the location. At the first meeting, after Ralph is elected as chief, he proclaims that when someone wishes to speak they should hold the conch and then no one else is allowed to interrupt them, save for Ralph himself. In this way the conch becomes elevated to a symbol of democracy, each and every person has a right to hold it and to speak uninterruptedly. Later Jack begins to see the presence of the conch as a constraint on his own ambitions and seeks to challenge its power. As early as chapter two he declares that the conch doesn't count on the mount top, at his feast on the beach he once again says that it doesn't count, "at this end of the island," which he repeats again towards the end of the book. Ralph, in contrast, sees the conch as the last remaining link with the civilised world to which he one day hopes to return. he also becomes increasingly aware that its presence still has a powerful symbolic restraint on the boys belonging to Jack's tribe, if not on Jack himself

Answer 2

In "Lord of the Flies," the conch shell symbolizes order, authority, and civilization in the beginning as it is used to call meetings and establish rules. However, as the boys descend into savagery, the conch shell loses its power and influence, representing the breakdown of society and the boys' descent into chaos and violence. Ultimately, the conch shell shatters along with the boys' last hope for rescue and order.