Why did the "littluns" always obey the summons of the conch?
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The meetings were fun and reminded them of an adult society. It gave them a sense of security to know that they were being looked over, even if nothing got accomplished in the meetings.
Desribing the littluns in chapter 4: Painted Faces and Long Hair Golding wrote, and I quote directly from the book... 'They obeyed the summons of the conch, partly because Ralph blew it, and he was big enough to be a link with the adult world...' So you could say that the littluns obeyed Ralph, to some degree.
Ralph is worried that if he blows the conch and the boys fail to return it will spell the end of all hope of maintaining rules and common sense on the island. He feels that if they ignore the conch even once then they will ignore it permanently. By not blowing the conch Ralph hopes to avoid that situation. He feels that perhaps he can blow it the next day, in more normal circumstances, and that probably the boys will still obey the call.
Ralph is worried that if he blows the conch and the boys fail to return it will spell the end of all hope of maintaining rules and common sense on the island. He feels that if they ignore the conch even once then they will ignore it permanently. By not blowing the conch Ralph hopes to avoid that situation. He feels that perhaps he can blow it the next day, in more normal circumstances, and that probably the boys will still obey the call.
Roddy Piper, They Live (1988)
Rosalind Franklin