Question

What are some quotes about the conch shell being used in Lord of the Flies with page numbers? These can be any quotes about the shell being used or talked about.

Accepted Answer

The conch is an important symbol in Lord of the Flies and is used and talked about many times throughout the novel. One important quote about the conch, and how it seems to grant power and authority to Ralph, can be found in Chapter One: “But there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch. The being that had blown that, had sat waiting for them on the platform with the delicate thing balanced on his knees, was set apart.”

Answer

(I'm not sure how our page numbers will line up. I am using the Perigree Book published by the Penguin Company, for reference. It has a green fly resting on a boy in a black uniform on the cover.)
In chapter 5, after another confrontation between Jack and Ralph over hunting the beast and maintaining order on the island, Jack rushes away with his group of hunters. Piggy tells Ralph that he has to "make 'em do what you want." Ralph responds:

If I blow the conch and they don't come back; then we've had it. We shan't keep the fire going. We'll be like animals. We'll never be rescued. (92)

Ralph thus realizes the limited power of the conch. Although they all agree that it represents a source of power and authority, the ultimate leadership comes from people—in this case, that should be Ralph. And he realizes that he lacks the abilities to be the real leader the group needs. Thus:

Ralph raised the conch to his lips and then lowered it. (92)

Ralph isn't confident that the either he or the conch hold the real power to bring this group back together. He begins to doubt himself here and even his sense of reason, asking Piggy "Are there ghosts, Piggy? Or beasts?" Thus, his inability to use the conch reflects his inability to believe in himself.
For all his efforts to overthrow Ralph, even Jack respects the conch. At the beginning of chapter 8, when he tries to overthrow Ralph in front of the group and doesn't get much support, it is easy to imagine Jack throwing the conch at the group or obliterating it since it represents the power that the group is unwilling to afford him. However:

He laid the conch with great care in the grass at his feet. (127)

Even in a state of fury and embarrassment that leaves him running from the group, Jack protects the power of the conch.

Answer

"That’s what this shell’s called. I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking" (Golding, 45).

During the boys' second assembly meeting, Ralph uses the conch as an organizational tool to maintain order. Whoever is holding the conch gets to speak, and the other boys must remain silent.

"At once half the boys were on their feet. Jack clamored among them, the conch forgotten" (Golding, 52).

In the middle of the assembly meeting, Ralph loses control of the group, despite holding the conch, as the majority of the boys follow Jack to begin collecting firewood. This moment foreshadows Jack's takeover and savage reign.

"The conch doesn’t count on top of the mountain" (Golding, 58).

Being that the conch symbolically represents civility and structure, Jack attempts to dismiss its importance early on in the novel.

"You left it behind. See, clever? And the conch doesn’t count at this end of the island—" (Golding, 216).

Once again, Jack ignores the authority of the conch when he challenges Ralph toward the end of the novel. Jack's end of the island is not ruled by civility, and the conch is essentially useless in his presence.

"Piggy sought in his mind for words to convey his passionate willingness to carry the conch against all odds" (Golding, 247).

Piggy cherishes civility and order more than any other boy on the island because of his physical weaknesses. Piggy naively believes that civility will reign supreme against Jack's tribe of savages.

"The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist" (Golding, 260).

When Roger purposely rolls the boulder towards Piggy, he not only kills Piggy, he also destroys the conch. This is a significant moment in the novel because it symbolizes the loss of civility on the island. Savagery reigns supreme as the boys immediately begin hunting Ralph.

Answer

Quote #1:

"S'right. It's a shell! I seen one like that before. On someone's back wall. A conch he called it. He used to blow it and then his mum would come.  It's ever so valuable—" (15).

Piggy says this quote when he and Ralph first see the shell.  His comments set up two aspects of the shell that will come into play later in the novel: the idea of using the shell to call someone and the shell being valuable.
Quote #2

"But there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch. The being that had blown that, had sat waiting for them on the platform with the delicate thing balanced on his knees, was set apart" (22).

This quote reveals how Ralph and the conch are linked in the minds of the boys; the conch gives Ralph authority and sets him apart. It is this distinction that makes the boys vote for Ralph for chief over Jack.
Quote #3

"'And another thing. We can't have everybody talking at once. We'll have to have 'Hands up' like at school.'
He held the conch before his face and glanced round the mouth.
'Then I'll give him the conch.'
'Conch?'
'That's what this thing is called. I'll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he's speaking.'"

Ralph uses the conch as a symbol of authority with the boys in their second meeting. The conch comes to represent civilization and order in this quote, as Ralph instructs the boys on how to use the conch to take proper turns in their meetings. 
Quote #4

"Exposure to the sun had bleached the yellow and pink to near-white, and transparency. Ralph felt a kind of affectionate reverence for the conch, even though he had fished the thing out of the lagoon himself" (78).

The conch is shown here as being "near-white" and transparent. Golding's description of the conch suggests an innocent quality to the object, and its transparent nature suggests a lack of motives or disingenuousness.
Quote #5

"The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist" (181).

Roger's act of savagery destroys the conch and Piggy, the voice of reason, in one fell swoop. As the conch shatters, so do the last remnants of civilization on the island.

Lord of the Flies

What are some quotes about the conch shell being used in Lord of the Flies with page numbers? These can be any quotes about the shell being used or talked about.

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