Preview

Ralph Conch Quotes

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
452 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Ralph Conch Quotes
Ralph
Order
“I am the chief then” (23).

“I bet you can hear that for miles” (17).
The conch was Ralph’s first tie to order because he used its loud call to get all the boys together.

“That’s what this shell’s called I’ll give the conch to the nest person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking” (33).
The conch brought a sense of order to the group of unruly boys because it gave them all a chance to speak.

“Jack! Jack! You haven’t got the conch! Let him speak” (91).
The conch which once held power began to seem useless because Jack started to disrespect its rule and drive the assemblies into chaos.

“Suddenly Jack bounded out from the tribe and began to scream wildly. ‘See? See? That’s what you’ll get! I meant that! There isn’t a tribe for you anymore! The conch is gone-‘He ran forward stooping. ‘I’m Chief!’” (181).
With the conch gone the island is pushed into complete savagery, and Ralph is no longer in control of the boys.

Theme: Those who value order and fairness tend to be shunned by those who value power.
Ralph
…show more content…
Everyone had roughly specific jobs although, they didn’t always do them. Mostly Ralph kelp the island calm and organized through the conch and his position as chief. However as jock began to take power the island slowly became less and less civilized. The boys started to disrespect the conch and other rules. Once Jack made his own “tribe” the boys began to get violent. Jack’s “tribe” was ran out of fear and disorder. In the heat of a savage and disorderly dance the boys brutally killed Simon. Then when Ralph, Piggy, and Samneric went to reestablish order Rodger killed Piggy. All these acts were committed because of the lack of order. If the boys had been more committed to order and getting rescued Piggy and Simon would not have died. The boys only wanted to participate in the fun of hunting. The wanted to be beast when all Ralph wanted was order and to be

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the breaking of the conch symbolizes the fall of society, which helps convey the theme of the Downfall of Society Without Consequences because, in the beginning of Lord of the Flies, the boys elected their chief, they used the conch to decide, since some of the boys said “‘Him with the shell.’ ‘Ralph! Ralph!’ ‘Let him be chief with the trumpet-thing’” (Golding 20), but they slowly stop respecting it and when the conch breaks, all social order on the island breaks with it, which is shown when they wanted to kill Ralph and Jack says “‘The conch doesn’t count on top of the mountain,’ [...]” (Golding 43).. Since the boys all decided to go hunt and try to kill Ralph, who they elected to be their chief it is clear that the society that began the book, the conch, no longer has any power. At the beginning of the book the boys elected their chief by whoever was holding the conch, believing it had some kind of authority over them, but throughout the book, it explains that “He put the conch to his lips and began to blow. [...] At length Ralph took his lips away and paused to get his breath back.…

    • 1492 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The downfall of the civilization was less apparent than the establishment. Survival is normally prioritized over working together but working together saves more people. The disappearance of what is learnt is not noticed all at once. One should realize that they have lose conception of what is important when it has no meaning to them anymore. Jacks tribe violates Ralph's personal area and property just for half a pair of glasses. The conch was not taken because it has no meaning to jack anymore. When a kid breaks a toy, they walk away from it and never look at or play with it again. The conch is very similar to a child's toy. The conch went from precious and wanted in the beginning to useless, meaningless and unwanted in the end. The conch,…

    • 164 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is used to bring people together for assemblies and it symbolizes the civilization. In page 20 it says, “But there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance, and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch. The being that had blown that, had sat waiting for them on the platform with the delicate thing balanced on his knees, was set apart.” This quote states the importance of the conch. But, as the story goes on, the conch loses its high power when people start to talk over the person who holds the conch, making arguments and chaos occur. It clearly shows the loss of the conch’s importance on page 114. It says, “‘Conch! Conch!’ shouted Jack. ‘We don’t need the conch anymore. We know who ought to say things. What good did Simon do speaking, or Bill, or Walter? It’s time some people knew they’ve got to keep quiet and leave deciding things to the rest of us.’” Jack decides that the conch is not an object of power and gives people the freedom to speak without holding the conch in their…

    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Each boy is given a job from Ralph, but they never complete their tasks, such as building shelter for the toddlers or keeping the signal fire burning. This looses the boy’s chances of surviving, and finding help to leave the island. Even Jack is not a mature or humble leader. He displays this when being the leader of the hunters. Jack leads everyone into chaos; such as applying war paint before hunting and starting the hunter dance. Evidently lack of leadership and maturity leads to violence on the island.…

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When Ralph approaches Jack’s tribe and blows the conch to call an assembly, we learn that the conch has lost its power among the boys. The conch represents order, and without it there is nothing to keep the boys in line. Even in his final moments, Piggy is still trying to get the boys to see reason. As Ralph is getting heated with Jack, Piggy attempts to get his attention and says “Ralph – remember what we came for. The fire. My specs.” After Piggy’s death, Jack orders Roger to torture Samneric into joining the tribe and makes the decision to hunt Ralph down and kill him. Piggy dying meant the absolute end of trying to reason with Jack’s tribe and any hope of peaceful civilization on the island. He is the parent figure and the reminder of moral among the boys, and once he is out of the way nothing held them back…

    • 738 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The conch is a powerful symbol of society and order in the island. At the beginning, when Ralph found the conch on the beach shore, all the kids came together for an assembly. After that, they made a rule, only the person who was holding the conch would be allowed to speak at the meetings, this worked well at the beginning. There was a point in the novel where the savage boys began to disrespect the conch and what it stood for, like a rebellion. When the boulder crushed the conch shell it signified a transition from a proper society, to a savage nightmare. The conch represented civility and organization, but soon became nothing put a broken sea shell.…

    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord Of The Flies Conch

    • 797 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Starting in chapter two, the boys agree that if one wants to speak “He can hold [the conch] when he’s speaking...And he won’t be interrupted” (33) to assure that everyone has the opportunity to share their ideas. Whoever is holding the conch during an assembly holds the attention, and therefore has authority over the tribe until he is finished speaking. That authority is given to the boys by the conch, and is not reflected by holding any true power over the tribe. Even those who are not leaders gain influence when the conch is in their grasp. The conch, though an inanimate object, has the ability to assert its power through the respect it gives to the boys. In the chaotic early meetings, if one was interrupted, all the speaker has to do is say “‘I’ve got the conch’” (82) and the other boys would retract their claim and wait for their turn. The conch is the most prized possession because it brought them all together, leading it to be the most important object on the island, which made it the perfect item to express their authority. Because the boys found hope in the conch, it is the greatest symbol for power they possess on the…

    • 797 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Presently Golding

    • 875 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Ever since the agreement to appoint Ralph as chief, what little order there was on the island began to fade. Jack in particular aided in seeing through the destruction of law and rules with his own savage desire to hunt and kill. He was off hunting somewhere. Ralph and Simon too experienced a bit of savagery in some aspects. It seemed that Piggy was the only true embodiment of society on the island. What happens when the last vestige of society in washed away to savagery? Through metaphor, personification and a chilling choice of diction, this passage illustrates the last vestige of society being destroyed and washed away in the cruel sea, gone forever.…

    • 875 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In Lord of the Flies, several symbols are used to illustrate important ideas that are crucial to the plot and meaning of the book. One of these symbols is the conch: this rare shell is not only a 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.…

    • 1086 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    At the beginning of the novel, the kids are able to stay tame by using the conch as a tool for rules and order. When Ralph and Piggy first find the conch, they immediately think of…

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies Essay

    • 1028 Words
    • 5 Pages

    First of all, Jack breaks down civilization by defying the conch. During an argument at one of their assemblies, Ralph points out that rules are the only things that they have on the island. In other words, rules are the only things that are keeping the boys in tact and civilized. Jack shouts in response, “Who cares? Bollocks to the rules!” (Golding, 91). Jack’s outburst shows that he does not want to follow anybody’s rules or advice except his own, nor does he want to keep civilized like Ralph and Piggy do. He routinely does not respect the authority of the conch, which is the one sacred object that the other boys obey and listen to. Jack recognizes that the power of the conch is the only source of order and society that is keeping the kids from joining him and him becoming chief, which is exactly why he chooses to go against it. He then decides to separate himself from civilization, “I’m going off by myself. He can catch his own pigs. Anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come too” (127). By going off to fend for himself, Jack is intentionally opening the window of opportunity for others to follow his lead and hunt rather than keep order. Later on, when the mighty conch is destroyed, he celebrates, “See? See? That’s what you’ll get! I meant that! There isn’t a tribe for you anymore! The conch is gone- I’m chief!” (181). Clearly, with the…

    • 1028 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Lord of the Flies

    • 528 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The theme of human nature is the most important and the cause of the all of the chaos among the boys. Jack and his hunters are the evil ones who love to start conflicts between them. Ralph, Piggy, and Simon are the good ones who just want everyone to work together so they can get off the island faster. But for some reason, without either good or evil neither of them could survive. There are three major conflicts that the boys face while they are on the island.…

    • 528 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    These boys was given a sense of freedom from the adults, now that they are free, it was up to them to make it work. William Golding, the author of this book used many symbolism in the literature. The most important symbol of the story was the conch which represents civilized life and order. When Jack turns on Ralph and becomes savage, he made the choice to rebel against Ralph for the right dominate the island. The results of this was the destruction of the conch. At this point of the story most of the boys were turned into savage killers under the leadership of Jack. By the end of the story, a naval shipped saw what was going on in the island and the boys were rescued. The results of the events of the story were in fact cruel as it ended with the deaths of both Piggy and Simon, The destruction of the island itself and more importantly, that destruction of civilized life and order. These boys were given freedom from grown ups and they made poor choices and suffered for…

    • 537 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies

    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The conch was nothing but a mere shell Ralph spotted at the lagoon and used to obtain order. It had held such importance that the one to hold the conch was given the right to speak. Not only did it give the right to speak, but also allowed for meetings to be held when it was blown. The island is deprived of civilization when the conch is pulverized by a boulder, the same boulder that Roger rolls over to kill Piggy. At that point, the significance of the conch begins to cascade. The conch had symbolized order, power, authority and a civilized society; however, near the end of the novel, it demonstrates the complete breakdown of civilization and the conquering of savagery over discipline.…

    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    At the beginning of the novel, Ralph and Piggy discover a conch shell on the beach and use it to summon the boys after the crash. After Ralph blew the conch, the boys held a meeting and, despite having no obvious leadership skills, Ralph was elected leader. To the boys, the conch shell symbolizes power; whomever held the conch reserved the right to speak. As the story progresses, however, the conch becomes increasingly less important. After the division of leadership between Jack and Ralph, the conch is left behind symbolizing the triumph of chaos over order. From the reader's perspective, the conch is an obvious symbol of order. Throughout the novel, like a shell bleached and cracked by the sun and salt water, the order that the conch had once established slowly disintegrates until it was finally crushed by the boulder which killed Piggy, symbolizing the transition from order to…

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays