The Conch

The conch from the start was used a toy and accidentally turned into a calling device to get all the boys to come. If it wasn't for the conch shell then not all the boys might not would be found. After this the conch shell was used to call the boys and get them together for an assembly. When at the assembly the conch shell would be used for talking. Whoever had the conch shell would be the one that talks and no one shall interrupt that person unless it's Ralph.

When Piggy and Ralph first discovered the conch shell they treated it as a toy. After Piggy told Ralph that the shell can make a sound, tried to blow into it and it created a low emitting sound like a fart sound. "Ralph pursed her lips and squirted air into the shell, which emitted a low, farting noise. This amused the boys so much that Ralph went on squirting for some minutes, between bouts of laughter."(Golding , 12). After so many blows, Ralph got the technique of conch blowing down and when he blew again he got a sound that was an octave higher and was a lot louder."The note boomed again: and then at his firmer pressure, the note, fluking up an octave, became a strident blare more penetrating than before."( Golding, 13). After this blow by Ralph, the conch has become the calling of the group members then just a toy. "Ralph found his breath and blew a series of short blasts. Piggy exclaimed: "There's one!"(Golding, 13). Later on in the story after all the group members have been found, Ralph makes a rule that if anybody is gonna talk then they will need the conch shell to do so. The person with the conch shell shall be interrupted unless it is by Ralph and only Ralph. "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. Except for me." (Golding, 31). In chapter 3 when the boys are starting to build their shelter Ralph complains that no one but him and Simon are working while the others just go hunting or wander away.He's saying that if he uses the conch for a meeting they all come but they don't pay any attention after the meeting is over. "I bet if i blew the conch this minute, they'd come running. When the meeting was over they'd work for five minutes then wander off or go hunting."(Golding, 51). In chapter four Ralph is upset when they noticed a ship and told everybody to go up to the mountain and then noticed that the fire hasn't been maintained by Jack and the hunters. At the same time the hunters return and made Ralph even more angry than before. The conch shell is used for a meeting as usual, but this time Ralph isn't planning for fun and games. "'I'm calling an assembly.'One by one, they halted, and stood watching him. 'With the conch. I'm calling a meeting even if we have to go on into the dark. Down on the platform. When I blow it. Now.'"(Golding, 80). In chapter five, the assembly starts by Ralph talking about how each assembly before has just been a joke and that needs to change. The meetings needs to be more serious and the decisions that are made in the meeting needs to be done. Ralph finally realizes as the meeting goes on that Piggy is actually intelligent and contributes more than the rest of the group."Assembly after assembly had broken up in laughter when someone had leaned too far back and the log had whipped and thrown half a dozen boys backwards into the grass." (Golding, 82). In chapter six the conch shell is used to discuss about the beastie that samneric saw one night when they woke up. After telling Ralph, he and Jack go off to hunt the beastie. "'Ralph! Wake up!' The leaves were roaring like the sea. 'Ralph, wake up!' 'What's the matter?' 'We saw-' '-the beast' '-plain!' 'Who are you? The twins?' 'We saw the beast-' (Golding, 107).