William Golding's classic novel of primitive savagery and survival is one of the most vividly realized and reviting works in modern fiction. At once a tale of adventure and a merciless allegory on the darker side of human nature, "Lord of the flies" uses the full range of man's innocence and man's cruelty to expose the underpinnings of civilized society. The novel begins after a plane wreck deposits a group of boys, aged six to twelve on an isolated tropical island. The struggle to survive and impose order on their existence quickly evolves from a battle against nature into a battle against their own primitive instincts.