Didn't know about Coral Island, but it sounds like an even worse depiction. Compared to that, Golding did an okay job, but both books seem to be pretty extreme in their depiction. I guess Golding did that on purpose to really drive home how poorly "civilized" children would do on an island. Also didn't know about the huge class struggle going on in Britain.

The problem with resources is that they really were quite abundant in the book. As for humans being warlike naturally, now that I think about it (and maybe look a little at history) I guess we actually are very prone to war. But in the book, what was the reason for this war? Was Jack the only instigator, simply wanting power for himself? Did the other boys just follow him because he satisfied their needs better?

So these feelings are inside of us, and they will surface given the right circumstance, for instance, in a war filled with much death.

Okay, that helps. Thank you. Does this mean he is suggesting that in "normal "society our impulses towards civilization win out because of the environment, and placing humans in a different environment (like the one in the book) will weaken our impulse towards civilization and strengthen our impulses towards savagery?