Lord of the Flies

Following a plane crash during a wartime evacuation, a group of British schoolboys is stranded on an uninhabited island, initially attempting to establish a democratic society mirrored on the adult civilization they left behind. As the fear of a mythical 'Beast' grows and the allure of hunting takes hold, the group fractures under the conflict between Ralph's rational leadership and Jack's primal totalitarianism. The narrative charts a rapid descent into atavistic savagery, marked by the ritualistic murders of Simon and Piggy, symbolizing the destruction of spirituality and intellect respectively. The eventual rescue by a naval officer provides a grimly ironic conclusion, juxtaposing the boys' savage manhunt with the adult world's catastrophic warfare. This trajectory serves as a bleak allegory for the inherent evil within humanity, challenging the notion that civilization is an innate state rather than a fragile construct.