William Golding was a British writer. He wrote several novels and won the Nobel Prize for Literature. His best-known novel is Lord of the Flies, published in 1954. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses different themes and symbols to convey the message of the novel. These symbols include the pig's head, the conch and even the boys themselves. The author uses symbols to show the rules and flaws of societies. The first symbol is the conch. Ralph and Piggy discover the conch at the beginning of the novel on the beach. They use it as a horn to call any other survivors who might be on the island after the plane crash separated them all. The conch indicates order and civilization in Lord of the Flies. The shell effectively governs the boys' daily assembly; whichever boy has the shell in his hands has the right to speak without being disturbed. In this sense, the conch is less a symbol than a truly autonomous vessel of authority. In the novel, as the boys' self-made civilization diminishes and the boys slowly turn to savagery, the conch loses its "power" and influence among the boys. Ralph clings frantically to the shell when he talks about his role in Simon's murder. , the other boys pay no attention to Ralph and throw rocks at him while he tries to blow up the conch in the camp that Jack has practically taken over. The rock that Roger pushes at Piggy also shatters the conch, this means that the boys are completely transformed into savages. for Piggy and the conch were both among the last symbols of civilization remaining on the island. The island boys make a signal fire at the top of the mountain in order to catch... middle of paper. ....the one who gave its name to the novel. The Lord of the Flies is a severed pig's head that Jack uses as a sacrifice to the beast. The author's description of the head is vivid and even frightening. Simon finds the head and begins to work on it. The leader tells Simon that evil resides in all humans. This promises “fun” with Simon, which foreshadows his death. The Lord of the Flies becomes a physical sign of the beast, a symbol of evil, power and death. He also becomes a satanic figure who brings out the beast in humans. The island boys faced many obstacles and although they tried their best to remain calm and collected, they could not take it anymore. They eventually became savage monsters, a far cry from the innocent plane crash victims they once were. Works Cited Golding, William, 1954, Lord Of The Flies, Faber and Faber