From the beginning of the novel, the conch is a symbol of order, civilization, and, most importantly, democratic power. With the loudness of the conch’s sound, Ralph blows into it, to call the first meeting. When the boys emerge from the woods, the conch becomes something important to order: you can only talk in a meeting when you are holding the shell. When the boys are deciding what to do, they hold a vote to name a Chief of the group, and Ralph wins, because he is seen as a leader with the conch- he called the meeting and the group votes him to be their leader, democratically. In these first few moments, the democratic order of the conch is very important at getting the boys united and off to the right start, as a group.
During the weeks ahead, the conch starts to lose it's symbol of democracy. With fights over the value of its power, most notably when the boys decide that the power of the conch only stands on the beach. There are also many arguments about the conch, with certain boys not subjected to the rules, not allowed to hold the conch, and not taken seriously even when they are holding the conch. This represents the struggle for power, even within a democratic society. As these fights escalate, most notably between Jack and Ralph, the conch begins to whiten as it gets bleached in the sun. This symbolizes that the democratic power of the conch is weakening, and the group is slowly moving towards a totalitarian government with Jack as the leader.
Spoiler alert ahead! Towards the end of the novel, the conch shatters into a million pieces, which is very symbolic. The breaking of the conch, representing democracy and free speech, is the last stand off for democracy, and is the last moment in the losing battle between democracy and Jack’s power-hungry control of his tribe. Before this event happened, Ralph tried to restore order in Jack’s camp, by blowing the conch, while the rest of the boys simply laughed at his attempts. What the conch represented when the boys first arrived at the island, no longer exists on the island, because of a twisted sense of reality.
When looking at the novel as a whole, the conch not only represents democratic power, but the downfalls of that power as well. Ideally, the conch was suppose to be the boys' way into civilization and going back home, however, the conch ends up starting more fights than civilized negotiations. The conch also symbolizes the evil that comes with power. Once Jack got the conch, he did not want to let it go. This ultimately leads to Jack's decision of making his totalitarian government on the other side of the island and in turn to the deaths of both Piggy and Simon. Golding uses the conch to portray both the good and evil of governmental issues and how even though some practices might seem excellent in the planning process, it is a different story when they are practiced. Considering that Golding wrote this novel after World War 2, he has a cynical ideology, but there is truth behind what he portrays with the conch throughout the novel.