In the midst of World War II, a plane evacuating a group of English boys is ferociously shot down over a deserted tropical island. Scattered by the wreck, the surviving boys unfortunately lose each other. Ralph and Piggy, two of the survivors, soon stumble across a large, white conch shell. In William Golding's allegory titled Lord of the Flies, the author hides a story of a fierce struggle for democracy under a façade of children trying to survive. The most significant symbol is the conch; as a symbol of democracy, order, and civilization, it is a strong representation of the adult world the boys once knew. This can be seen as we trace the conch shell's decline in influence and power.

The conch's power presents itself at the very beginning of the novel, when it is first uncovered. The physical appearance of the conch is described as...