When the children landed on the island they needed democracy. The conch helped in doing so. This can be seen in “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking and he won’t be interrupted.”(pg 43) This quotes shows that the conch gave power to someone to express their view. It also shows that the conch helped develop rules within the society. The conch also helped establish law and order. This can be seen in “where the conch is, that’s a meeting. The same up here as down there.”(pg 55) This quote shows a certain degree of organisation, discipline and civilisation taking place on the island in the earlier stages of the novel.
This is not the case for the fire. When it was first mentioned by Ralph, “half of the boys were on their feet, the conch forgotten.”(pg 49) Many boys lost self-discipline and ran of to the mountain without the permission of their chief Ralph. Ralph had lost control over the boys. As the conch was forgotten, the fire eventually grew out of control. This can be seen in “a quarter of a mile square of forest was savage with smoke and flame.”(pg57) This obviously shows the disorder on the island led to the minor destruction of it.
The conch brought unity to the group in the earlier stages of the book. This can be seen in “We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting.”(pg21) The conch had the ability of uniting children as it was used to call assemblies. This is similar to that when the boys first set out to make a fire. This can be seen in them “sharing the burden” and “Not for the two of us.”(pg51) This shows that the making of the fire also encouraged teamwork and unity.
When the fire is made by Ralph’s group, the purpose of it is to act as a signal fire. This can be seen in “if a ship comes near the island, they may notice us.”(pg 49) The fire was used to aid their rescue. As long as the signal fire is lit, the boys are confident of their place in the community of civilized people. This is similar to that of the conch which also has links with civilisation.
The two symbols, therefore, are interlinked because they represent each other. As the conch’s power diminish, the use of the fire changes for the worse. Instead of being used as a signal fire, it starts to be used in a destructive fashion. This can be seen in “a shelter burst into flames,”, “behind him, the whole island was shuddering with flame,” and “they set the island on fire.” (Pgs 246&247&242 respectively)These quotes clearly show that the fire was used savagely. This is the consequence of the conch having no presence in the island. Therefore, civilisation within the island ceased to exist.
In conclusion, it is definite that the two most significant symbols in this novel are the conch and the fire. It is evident that throughout the novel there are moments when the conch and the fire have similar but also different symbolisations.
