Ralph and Piggy find the conch shell on the beach at the start of the novel. They use it to call the boys together after being sepearted in the plane crash. Used in this sense, the conch shell becomes a major symbol of order on the island. The shell effectively controls the boys’ meetings, because the boy who holds the shell also holds the right to speak their mind. '"The conch counts here too," said Ralph, "and all over the island'"(151). As the island civilization changes greatly and the boys transform into savages, the conch shell loses its power among them. "They didn't take the conch" (168). The conch is the first thing they check after the ambush because of its major symbolism to the boys and the story. Some more examples of this are when, Ralph holds the shell desperately when he talks about his role in murdering Simon. Also, the other boys ignore Ralph and throw stones at him when he attempts to blow the conch in Jack’s camp. The boulder that Roger rolls onto Piggy also crushes the conch shell, showing the decrease of the civilized intentions among almost all the boys on the island. This is why the conch is such a huge symbol in the story.