The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding tells the story of English schoolboys stranded on an island after a plane crash and their slow descent from civilization to savagery. . The story is an allegory; the characters as well as several objects all carry a symbolic meaning. Democracy and the laws of civilization are represented through a conch shell. The traffic light represents the boys' connection to civilization and their desire to return to it. The "Lord of the Flies", a severed sow's head, symbolizes the darkness inherent in man. In the first chapter, Ralph and Piggy find the conch, which becomes the boys' reminder of civilized order. They use the conch to summon all the lost boys, scattered by the plane crash. Surprisingly loud, children can hear the “low, harsh note” (Golding, 12) of the conch from miles away. Once assembled, the first rule that the boys invent is the following: during the assembly, the one who holds the conch in his hands has the right to speak. “We'll have to raise our hands like at school... Then I'll give them the conch... He can hold it when he speaks,” decrees Ralph (Golding, 31 years old). The conch is therefore a democratic power among boys, since each boy theoretically has the same right to express his thoughts and to be listened to. In one case, “Simon opens his mouth to speak but Ralph has a conch, so he moves back in his seat” (Golding, 92). As civilization loses its dominance in the boys' society, the conch begins to lose its influence. Towards the end of the novel, Ralph attempts to use the conch in Jack's camp. “He brought the conch to his lips and began to blow. Savages appeared... Ralph withdrew his lips and stopped to catch his breath. His first words were… 'My name is…… in the middle of a paper…… faints, he looks into the pig's mouth and sees "the darkness within, a blackness that has spread" (Golding, 159 ). ). When Simon wakes up and goes down the mountain to tell the other boys that there is no beast, they mistake him for a monster and, consumed by their wild, rampant nature, murder him. This is why William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies is allegorical. The laws of civilization as well as democracy are represented through a conch shell. The traffic light symbolizes the boys' connection to civilization and their desire to return to it. The “Lord of the Flies” symbolizes the darkness inherent in man. By following these symbols throughout the novel, we can trace the boys' descent from civilization to savagery. William Golding says, in an explanation of his novel, "If you have no laws, then you are lost, you are finished, you are gone." »..”