The pig’s head and the conch are two very different symbols of power in the novel. Discuss the theme of power and how it is explored in the novel.

If the pig's head is a symbol of one type of power, it is
the incredible power of human nature, in this case mostly for evil.  The beast even
reveals this side of power to Simon.  The boys start to exhibit some aspects of this
type of power as they give themselves over to Jack's tribe, submitting to their more
carnal desires to hunt, to be anonymous through the use of paint and filth, to hurt and
to kill and to feed.  This power becomes irresistable to all but Ralph and Piggy and
Samneric, even as some of the boys under its spell object to the use of that power by
Jack.

The conch stands for the power of civilization, the
power of rules and order and, in this case, the very thin veneer of goodness that it
lends to people.  It only takes a few days for this power to be overcome by the power of
disorder, of inner desire, of the animalistic tendencies of the
boys.

Through the boys, Golding has crafted a commentary on
the influence of both kinds of powers and perhaps what holds it at bay some of the time
in "civilized" society.