Bryan Malone Prof. Torp Literature and Writing, Period 5 12 January 2012 Powers Of Different Sides In the novel, "Lord of the Flies," by William Golding, a sow’s head and conch shell are two of the most important symbols in the book. These symbols reflect values that are significant in the story and start the competition for power between Ralph and Jack. Both symbols represent power, but the things they represent most lead to Jack and Ralph’s enmity. The sow’s head and the mighty conch have a certain power over the boys, but are represented in different ways. The sow seems to manipulate the boys after it is crowned “Lord Of The Flies”.
It represents fear that dwells only in the boys’ thoughts and hearts. It unnerves all of the boys, including Jack and Ralph. At first, the pig’s head is not scary, but after that the blood dries and flies attack the head, it seems to have a weird, creepy smile. When Simon comes across the sow’s head, he thinks the head starts talking to him, telling him “I am the Beast”, making him afraid.
The head is not the beast though. The real beast is the savage “beast” that lives inside the boys when they are not around society. “I am part of you”, it explains to him. In this way, it symbolizes fear.Ralph tries to extinguish the fear of the evil in the boys, while Jack ignites it. Jack makes the boys savages by encouraging them to hunt and kill.
He is the one who sets up the sow’s head. The sow’s head represents his power over the boys. The boys are being held back by no rules, so they do whatever they want. They do not see the criminals they are becoming.
Jack’s pride blocks the fact that his group is becoming a wild wreck and continues to do so till the end. The Conch represents a very different type of leadership. The conch is the reason Ralph is respected so much.It represents reason and discussion that keep the boys unified and under control. It is the solution to all problems. When the conch becomes unimportant, that is when fear of the beast kicks in.
Both Piggy and Ralph love the conch because it represents discussion in conflict and gives them authority. Once Roger ultimately kills Piggy and shatters the conch, one sees that the action is the end of all order and civility. One example of this is where the boys follow Jack in wanting to hunt down and kill Ralph. Order and reason are missing.
In their discussions on the beach, who ever holds the conch gets to speak.This rule seems to be soon broken because the boys could not control themselves. The attempt to establish order on the island fails and rescue seems very slim. Even though the two symbols on the island have different effects on the boys, they both take control over the boys’ behavior for a period of time.
When Piggy and Ralph first find the conch, they found it intriguing and interesting. They thought it could be useful to summon the rest of the boys on the island. That is exactly what it accomplished. The conch was a good symbol that represented control for them by reminding them of order back at home.
This kept the boys in order, willing to listen to one another. The sow had the same amount of control except it affected them with a bad influence. It struck fear in their hearts that they could only fight off with hunting. They killed the only boy who knew the truth about the beast, Simon.
Even the frenzy of the hunting dance pulled Piggy and Ralph into the disaster. Although the sow’s head told Simon the truth, it scared him deeply so that he fainted. This hope of Simon revealing the truth was extinguished when Simon was killed. The sow had taken the power, which was once established with the conch.
As previously observed, the conch and the sow both have power over the boys and are used for control by Ralph and Jack. On the other hand, both symbols represent different things. These symbols both help build up the boys and unite them, as well as tear them apart and turn them into savages. In the story, Golding gets the message across that both symbols persuade the boys to either act civilized or wild.
They hold some sort of power that controls how they act. While the conch encourages order and civility, the sow encourages fear and evil. These factors greatly affect how the story plays out, and show the true “beast” inside the boys.
