Chapter two begins with Ralph calling another meeting with the conch shell. He begins the meeting by telling the boys that there needs to be organization among them, if they are to get off the island, and with that organization comes rules. The first rule is that they must raise their hands before they can talk, and they cannot speak unless they have the conch shell. The boys sound excited about the rules, but only because they are interested in the punishment that follows if someone breaks the rules.
Piggy takes the conch shell to put in his two sense, including that there is a possibility that they might never get off the island, and therefore they need to make sure they figure out how to not die. One of the littluns, with a birthmark, asks to hold the conch shell so he can speak. The older boys laugh at this, until Piggy demands that he be heard. The boy is so nervous to talk in front of everyone that Piggy has to talk for him. He says that he is afraid of the snake-thing in the jungle. Many of the boys laugh at the idea of a beast, and Jack says that there is no beast, but they will still hunt it.
Before the meeting closes, Ralph also says that they need to make a signal fire, so that when his dad's ship goes by it will see the smoke and come get them. They go off and gather wood to make the fire, but are disappointed when they realize they have no way to light it. They think about using two sticks, but then realize they can use Piggy's glasses, much to his dismay. They wrestle them off his face, and use them to start the fire. As the fire spreads, piggy argues with the rest of the boys about how they should be doing things different like building shelters and giving him more respect, and it is pointed out that one of the small children, (the one with the birthmark), seems to be missing.