Literary Devices

I am now on page 25 of Lord of the Flies by William Golding. The boys’ fascination with the conch is interesting. In the beginning of chapter two a meeting is held where the characters discuss how their group is going to be run, including ways of finding food and maintaining order amongst the boys. Ralph suggests that they use the conch that he and Piggy found to indicate who can talk, comparing this method to “’Hands up’ like in school” (25). They place this significance on the conch that makes it valued by the boys. The conch really symbolizes power in this little government-like cluster that they have formed.