Are humans inherently good or evil? William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is a raw look at the horrid depths of what happens to human nature when societal and governmental controls disappear. It takes place on a Pacific island where a plane full of British boys has crash-landed. You meet Ralph, the democratic leader who brings the boys together; Piggy, whose large body reflects the expanses of his brilliant mind; Jack, who is a touch peeved at the lack of favor for his leadership; and Simon, the shy and caring one who provides the “littluns” with fruit and kindness.

At first, the boys seem to establish a functioning and systematic society. But things change as Jack’s tribe begins hunting, terrors of a beastie haunt the boys, and the minds and order on the island begin to unravel. Rescue, rationality, and order begin to lose their importance among the boys as savagery, violence, and thirst for killing plague them.

You will cringe, gasp, and weep alongside the characters as the end of innocence and “the darkness of man’s heart” is exposed. A warning to us all, Lord of the Flies isn’t necessarily a pleasant read, but it is an important one.