The conch, fire and the glasses are all very symbolic items in the Lord of the Flies. Each, when mentioned in the text, carries a certain amount of meaning and Golding uses this to his advantage to convey underlying messages in his book.
The conch that Piggy and Ralph find in the early stages of the book is a very important object throughout the book. This shell has the physical ability to make a sound which summons the group, but also is a symbol of power and authority. The conch is also the object that gives people the right to speak, as during a meeting if an individual is not in direct possession of the conch, they are not permitted to speak. On page 11, Piggy says, referring to the conch, ‘It’s ever so valuable’. The conch is in fact very valuable indeed, but perhaps not in the sense that Piggy means. Piggy is implying that the conch is valuable in terms of money but little does he know that soon enough the possession of this same conch will be a symbol of prestige and influence. The conch’s monetary worth quickly loses all significance.
On page 11, Piggy also says “Careful, You’ll break it-”. Once again, Piggy is referring to the physical fragility of the conch but in fact I suspect that Golding is implying something much deeper. As slowly in the novel the power struggle between Ralph and Jack increases, and support sways between each character – we can see this conch as a symbol of leadership, perhaps equality and even democracy. These are very delicate things, and to keep them intact and working requires a lot of management and over-watch. Should something go wrong, things are likely to break and fracture, and perhaps this is what Golding is inferring when Piggy warns Ralph. The interesting thing is that before Piggy has a proper chance to finish, he is cut off by the ‘disinterested’ Ralph with a firm “Shut up”. This utter disregard of what Piggy has to say is very interesting as it shows that Ralph fails to heed or even acknowledge...