The psychological effect of freedom. The whole concept of being able to start again with your own rules, to be the puppet master. It all comes to life in a scary but realistic way in Lord of the Flies by William Golding. This short book fully captures the essence of basic human instincts; kill or be killed. Step by step, Golding shows how human nature is torn down mercilessly by two thought processes. One being the sensible side, the other being the violent side.


Golding clearly shows this in a simple manner. A group of kids crash on an uninhabited island. From here, they are on their own, forced to create their own tribe with their own rules with their own leader. From here, it all goes downhill. The group splits up into to leaders the sensible and the violent. If you are looking for a heartwarming story of friendship or success, then I suggest that instead of reading this book, read the novel The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne. If you you are looking for a cruel tale of psychological dispute, then this book is for you.