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Lord of Flies

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Lord of Flies
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In the same manner that a song on the radio can remind someone of a time in their life, an object in a story can help someone to further understand what is taking place. This method of subliminal messages through inanimate objects is symbolism, a technique that is used countless times in the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Although much of the symbolism that appears in this story is cryptic in meaning, one case of symbolism in this book really stands out. When the plane wrecked boys reach the empty island one of the first things they discover is a white conch shell which appears several times through the course of the story. The white conch shell, being symbolic of the state of civilization on the island, helps to display the beginning of a mini-civilization, the slow deterioration of this civilization, and finally the extinction of all civilization on the island. the conch: this rare shell is not only precious and expensive in the world of merchandise; it also holds a dark and mysterious power over a group of English boys, lost on an island with no adults, clues, or means of escape. The boys set up a civilization and try to live in the society they have set up. This system works for a while, aided by the power of the conch. However, as the story advances, the civilized way of life that the boys have set up starts falling apart, and savagery starts luring certain boys outside of the safe and rational walls of civilization. William Golding intertwines the fast-paced, enticing story of the boys’ plight on the island and the descent into savagery with the powerful and deeply meaningful symbolism of the conch.

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"A conch he called it. He used to blow it and his mum would come. It's ever so valuable" – Piggy, Lord of the Flies. The conch is a sea creature, its shell is revered in many cultures such as Hinduism and Buddhism for its beauty and the sound it makes. The conch is also that shell in Lord of the Flies which is blown

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