"A conch, he called it. He blew it and his mother came. She is so valuable" - Piggy, Lord of the Flies. The conch is a sea creature, its shell is revered in many cultures such as Hinduism and Buddhism for its beauty and the sound it produces. The conch is also this shell from Lord of the Flies that is blown into to bring the boys together. The author, William Golding, uses the conch shell to show that democracy will succumb to government by force when faced with serious problems or needs. In the book, it is a symbol of democratic power but it is not without its enemies who end up ignoring it. The conch is a symbol of democratic power in early history. First, it serves to bring boys together. Ralph blows into the conch to put them together (Golding 12). Bringing people together to share their views, debate and vote is essential to a functioning democracy. Accordingly, the conch fulfills this prerequisite. In addition, he granted the privilege of speaking at meetings. Ralph explains it at the first meeting: “I will give the conch to the next person to speak. […] And it will not be interrupted. »(31) The conch therefore fulfills another prerequisite of democracy which is to give everyone the opportunity to express their opinions and concerns. But what is democracy without the power that supports it? The conch is a symbol of power for the elected leader, Ralph. When the boys vote for leader, one of them votes by saying "Him with the shell" (19). Thus, it is the conch which symbolizes power for boys; they vote for it and for its holder. In short, by bringing the people together, giving them the right to speak and symbolizing power; the conch represents democracy. However, she has enemies. Jack, his tribe and his tools, such ...... middle of paper ...... To summarize, the conch gradually loses its power to the benefit of Jack and his tribe who are the first to oppose it . , then ignore it and finally destroy it; and any hope of democracy on the island is shattered by an authoritarian regime. It is clear from the symbolism presented in the book that the conch represents a democratic regime. On the other hand, Jack's tribe and his tool, the rocks, represent the reign of force. By slowly removing the conch's power and eventually destroying it, we can see that democracy on the island stands no chance against rule by force. In our world, an example of this would be Hitler who took advantage of the poverty and needs of the German people during the Great Depression to overthrow the democratic government and install an authoritarian regime. Golding shows us the same thing through Lord of the Flies; democracy will lose to fascism if there are serious problems or great needs.