A boatload of boys stranded on an island appears to be the premise for this book, but Lord of the Flies delivers much, much more, as it examines society on its most base levels. The shipwrecked boys begin their time on the island with a very democratic society in which anyone may speak, and all are expected to carry their weight. However, the two strongest personalities, Jack and Ralph, help to create a fissure in the juvenile society, and split into warring factions between a totalitarian society, base in all of its levels, and the idealistic democracy.
Review
Each time that I read Lord of the Flies, it strikes me as having a much different message than the last time that I read it. Initially, I was convinced that the argument was that in a survival-based society in which only the lowest levels of needs are being met, only a totalitarian society will survive. Later, I was certain that the book was a bleak outlook on the future of human society in a 1984 or Brave New World style, stating that society inevitably collapses into dictatorships and barbarism. However, with my most recent reading, I see that perhaps the contention is that in order for a democratic society to succeed, idealism must have a place, and that the society must constantly rage against falling to the levels from which it has risen.