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"This toy of voting was almost as pleasing as the conch... 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" (22).

The diction regarding the vote is most significant here. That voting is described as a "toy" signifies that the boys don't see their situation as real or something they need to take seriously but rather just a game that they're playing. This moment also sets up the conch as a powerful symbol of unity and civilization. That Ralph having the conch is identified as a reason for the boys choosing him as chief denotes its power in their eyes. As the novel progresses, we see the conch serve as boys' connection to their old life, but the longer they stay on the island, the weaker this connection becomes (as is illustrated by the conch fading in color in later chapters).

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"They flapped at the first of the trees, and the branches grew a brief foliage of fire.  The heart of flame leapt nimbly across the gap between the trees and then went swinging and flaring along the whole row of them.  Beneath the capering boys a quarter of a mile square of forest was savage with smoke and flame.  The separate noises of the fire merged into a drum roll that seemed to shake the mountain" (Golding 44)

The idea of the fire is being developed as a symbol of hope  for the boys to get off of the island.  They are excited as the fire begins to engulf the mountain; as children it can be inferred that they were not allowed to play with fire, thus again, representing a game for them.  However, the diction that portrays the fire personifies it as an almost evil being that is set on destruction, foreshadowing  what the fire comes to represent/how it is used in the final chapters. The symbol evolves to being representative of hope and rescue to representing the death and destruction the boys bring to the island.

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"He [Jack] tried to convey the compulsion to track down and kill that was swallowing him up" (51).

Though in this moment Jack is focused on hunting and killing a pig, it certainly foreshadows behavior that it is to come. Jack's strong desire to kill is literally "swallowing him up" (51), and it is significant that it not defined what he wants to track down and kill. The absence of the pig denotes that eventually, Jack will need to move on to hunting something other than pigs (humans) in order to satisfy this thirst.

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"Roger's arm was conditioned by a civilization that knew nothing of him and was in ruins" (62).

Roger is representative of the descent into savagery very quickly, as he embodies an evil nature that hasn't yet come to surface. Roger hesitates in throwing the rock for now, because his behavior is conditioned by the rules of a society that he's no longer part of. But, this moment foreshadows that he won't be stayed for long by the rules, as there are no adults there to monitor his behavior and dish out consequences when he steps out of line.

This moment is also ironic because the civilization Roger emanates from is in ruins due to a war; Roger's behavior is deemed unacceptable in a civilized society, but is seen as acceptable in war. As the children try to hold on to civilization, their own is in ruins due to similar behavior the boys engage in that deems them as savages.

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"I was chief, and you were going to do what I said. You talk. But you can't even build huts--then you go off hunting and let out the fire--"... "There was a ship--" (71).

The hope of rescue is symbolized by the prospect of signaling a ship with a fire. It's the first idea the boys have while on the island, knowing this is their only hope at rescue. When the ship passes, their hope of rescue diminishes. The boys are unsure if they'll ever have another opportunity to be rescued. Thus, this passing ship and their lack of ability to track it down symbolizes a loss of hope. When the boys lost hope that they'll be rescued, they also start to lose accountability of their actions. This is truly the moment that begins their descent; if they won't be rescued, then they won't have to answer to their deeds on the island.

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“ ‘And you shut up! Who are you, anyway? Sitting there telling people what to do. You can’t hunt, you can’t sing-’ ” (Golding 91)

Jack and Ralph are the most capable of leading the group. This does not mean that one of them is a good leader, but just capable of taking that role and making something out of it. Ralph was deemed chief because he was the first to unite the boys and introduce them. Now, Jack feels that Ralph is not doing much for the group and should not have the role as a chief. Jack and Ralph's rivalry represent good versus evil. Jack has been a symbol of evil during the story and is trying to take the role of chief away from Ralph. Ralph, along with Piggy, have maintained the group alive and have tried to lead them in the right direction. This rivalry symbolizes that some type of major conflict will appear and foreshadows that Jack will be victorious because of his constant efforts to take Ralph's position.

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" ’Conch! Conch!" shouted Jack.’ ‘We don't need the conch any more. We know who ought to say things.’ . . . ‘It's time some people knew they've got to keep quiet and leave deciding things to the rest of us.’ ” (Golding 101-102)

This civilization has been held with the conch shell. The conch has symbolized civilization and has allowed civil discussions to get to the group to improve their progression of off the island. Jack is now trying to fight the rule that they had established almost from the beginning of when they met each other. This shows how Jack represents evil and violence because he doesn't want to listen to the rules and thinks that he should be allowed to do whatever he wants when he pleases. Him breaking the rules sets off an influence to the rest of the group which then triggers all of them to start breaking the rules, like a chain effect.

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"Then the wind roared in the forest, there was confusion in the darkness, and the creature lifted its head, holding toward them the ruin of a face."
". . .presently the mountain was deserted, save for the three abandoned sticks and the thing that bowed."
(Golding 123)

A red herring, if you will, of the true evil lurking on the island. It serves as just a display that they could finally label as the "beast" they've whispered about. With words of fear frustrating them even in their dreams, they wanted a physical being they could pour all their hatred on and hunt. Or maybe more so, something they think they can keep track of. Without a presence to label as the beast, they will forever stay in the dark about what the "beastie" really is. This would only invoke more fear among the masses about this unknown figure that is out to hunt them. But left there, on top of the mountain, they can at least think they can appease it and it will stay there. Little did they know it was all a ploy that just aided on their further mental degeneration. While busy worrying about this corpse tortured by the winds, they do not even consider thinking that maybe they are the problem. Along with the distraction away from self-reflection, this harmless figure is also driving them to do primitive things. With this figure there, do they continue to escalate their play of the hunt.

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¨Pig´s head on a stick.¨
¨Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!¨ said the head. For a moment or two the forest and all the other dimly appreciated places echoed with the parody of laughter. ¨You knew, didn't you? I´m part of you? Close, close, close! I´m the reason why it´s no go? Why things are what they are?¨ (Golding 143)

Simon's hallucination of the Lord of the Flies showed him that the beast was just fear within him. From the beginning of the book, the beast had evolved from a fear of the littles "beasties" in the forest, into fear of each other. The fear of each other caused the boys to become savage and attempt to dominate the others. This was caused by Ralph's failure to properly look into the beast at its early stages and destroy the boys fears. The Lord of the Flies may also represent playfulness or carelessness on the island. As the boys fell into their fear, they began to focus on more hunting and messing around on the island instead of finding ways to escape it.

This is the symbol that marks the beginning of the mental collapse within the boys' reasoning abilities. Along with this lifeless form comes with the "Lord of the Flies". The title of the book and the thing that calls itself the beast. The true beast that they thought they could hunt. The influence that this head holds is massive in the boys' degradation. Leading to the break of innocence within Simon and the figure that taunts Ralph as he runs away from his hunters. With dead eyes infiltrating their minds, they fail to realize that is is still alive--just in their heads that is. Before its death, it was just a mother sow feeding her children. But once they killed this form of life and purity, it broke their morals.

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¨The usual brightness was gone from his eyes and he walked with a sort of glum determination like an old man.¨ (Golding 146)

From the beginning, with a small but powerful presence, Simon was a figure that stood for the good of mankind within the group of boys. But in the face of overpowering evil, he died an ironic death. He had always been been fragile to the truth of their descent into savagery. He was also the first to realize and face the ¨inner demons¨ that reside in their minds. The scene before his death, as he walked, his development was represented in one quote. He has now matured. The innocence he represented is now tainted and he walks the path of an ¨adult¨ wallowing in the cynicism of adulthood. From the moment he let that curtain of leaves down and let the darkness envelope the places that the sun touched moments before, his disappearance would mark the beginning of darkness. And this can be seen in his death. Trying to be the good that informed everyone that the object of their fear was a hoax, he was hunted in a moment of chaos. His death was an excuse to some of the boys, saying he was in disguise and that he was actually the beast. But the fact of the matter is that they were just avoiding the truth. And so in his death, he is swooped away in the serene sea, surrounded by bright twinkling creatures.

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“They didn’t take the conch...From his left hand dangled piggy's broken glasses” (Golding 168)

This quote once again shows Jack's rejection of the conch, he doesn't like having items dictate who has power within the group, he would rather be more of a dictator over his boys, which is very dangerous as seen by Jack's savagery. Jack has also realized that he needs fire to survive, he previously disliked fire and the need to tend to it instead of hunting, but now has taken almost all control of fire on the island because of its ability to cook food. Jack's stealing of the glasses and control over most of the boys on the island has rendered the conch completely powerless and given him power over everyone else on the island, making him the dictator he wanted to be.

At the beginning, the glasses could be said to be something that they all took for granted. With the group still together, anyone could snatch it away from the weak Piggy at any moment to start the fire. Halfway through, Jack was the one that busted out one of the lens and Piggy was left with a cracked one. This could be said to be the moment that they blur the lines and can no longer see clearly out of two eyes. They are conscious of a cracked a reality while going in blindly with the other. The glasses could also be said to hold the same value as the conch. The conch symbolizes the unity within the group, while the glasses are what start the fire. Holding equal value at the beginning, the glasses are what prevail with value in the end. They were snatched away at the end, which was a surprise to Piggy and Ralph who expected him to steal the conch. This is because the conch is no longer the symbol that gives power in Jack´s eyes. Power of the fire, power that gives control over a group of hunters, and power of the destruction it can cause at the end.

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"The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist. . . . Piggy fell forty feet and landed on his back across the square red rock in the sea." (Golding 181)

Here readers see two extremely meaningful symbols die. The first being the conch. Though not a literal death it holds great meaning in the story. It is what brought the boys together, so it is representative of civilization and order. The crushing of it by the savages goes to show that order and civilization have been lost and the boys will act in a more savage manner as well. As for Piggy's death, it hold a different meaning. The violent and gruesome act that occurred in order for Piggy to die, in itself represents their descent into savagery. Piggy's death also represents the death of logic and reason. Therefore, without logic and reason, the boys will begin to act on instinct, or in a savage manner. Furthermore, it will lead to even more violent actions than that of Piggy's death.

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"'--and we've got to be careful and throw our spears like at a pig.'" (Golding 189)

The choice of words by Samneric really portray an even further descent into savagery. The fact is that they have chosen to compare Ralph to an animal. This just goes to show the uncivilized behavior that Jack is justifying. Ralph himself is a symbol or order and civilization. Therefore, the fact that the boys are choosing to hunt him down shows that they wish to be rid of all order and civilization and are willing to completely accept all savagery.