Lord of the Flies Essay Imagine being stuck on a plane crashing to a deserted island with lots of chaos and the only thing holding it together…goes away. That’s how it was for the 12 boys in the plane crash that survived. During the novel you encounter 3 main symbols, the conch shell, Piggy’s specs and the signal fire. These symbols help hold the island together and without them the boy are lost and do not know what to do. The conch shell represents the leadership authority and whoever is holding it is the only other person who can talk in the group except Ralph. “He held the conch before his face and glanced round the mouth.” (Golding 33). The boy used the conch to avoid arguments, fights and other shouting during meetings. The conch also represents society’s law and order- it is an important part of choosing a chief, and it allows anyone to speak when they are holding it in. as well as collaboration and democracy- it is a vessel of democratic power. “The rock truck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist.” (Golding 181). Roger had pushed a huge boulder down the hill, Piggy and the conch got rolled over onto them. The conch no longer existed and the island fell apart. Another symbol in Lord of the Flies is Piggy’s specs which the boys used for starting fire and represent different things. They represent hope that they will be rescued, “”when he leaves he’ll come and rescue us.”” (Golding 13). Another thing they represent is reason and logic- this is clear when the boys use the lenses to start a fire. As well they represent the boys’ old world- they are ill equipped for the wilderness, the boys must rely on the civilized world they have left behind. Once Piggy was struck by the rock, his glasses broke and chaos broke out among the remaining boys. The glasses leave and so does the brains of the group, Ralph is now left to fend for himself against the savages. In order to get rescued the boys need a way to be seen, and they think to build a signal fire but with lack of attention and poor mistakes the boys fire turns into a failure. The fire represents hope, rescue and civilization- when the fire burns low and the reader