of Knowledge Piggy s glasses stand for knowledge reason and civilization They are used to light the fire which is the only hope for rescue The glasses show the power of science and intelligence Piggy the owner is weak but wise When Jack s tribe steals the glasses it means the victory of force over reason Piggy cries I can t see without them This shows that without wisdom and vision humanity becomes blind The breaking and stealing of the glasses mark the decline of human values Loss of Symbols and Civilization Both the conch and the glasses lose their power as the boys become wild The conch is destroyed and Piggy dies soon after This shows that order and intellect die together The boys now live by violence not by rules Ralph stands alone trying to protect the lost values Golding uses these symbols to show that civilization is fragile When fear and power replace logic and justice destruction begins The loss of the conch and glasses marks the fall into total savagery Thus the conch and glasses symbolize the heart of civilization When they are destroyed order wisdom and peace vanish Golding shows that without reason and unity humanity quickly turns into chaos