In the beginning of the novel, the conch shell is a symbol of power and authority. When Piggy first finds the conch shell, he has Ralph blow in it to try to attract other people on the island. The novel states, "S'right. It's a shell! I seen one like that before. On someone's back wall. A conch he called it. He used to blow it and then his mum would come. It's ever so valuable--" (Golding 15). Other kids are hear the sound and move toward Piggy and Ralph. The boys then vote who should be leader among everyone. Ralph wins the vote and decides that the conch shell should be the symbol of authority because that …show more content…
The more the boys on the island realize that they can do whatever they want, the more violent and reckless they become. For example, when they kill a pig, all of the boys gather around it and chant, "Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill the blood!" (Golding 152). This shows that boys are becoming violent due to the fact that they violently chant whenever they kill a pig for food. The boys become reckless when one of the boys rolls a boulder down the hill and strikes Piggy to kill him. Golding states, "The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist" (Golding