"Lord of the Flies," a 1954 story of savagery and survival by 

William Golding,
it's considered a classic. Modern Library rates it the 41st best novel of all time.
The story takes place during an undefined war, begins when a group of English
schoolboys survive a plane crash and find themselves stranded and alone on a
desert island without any adults. This might seem like an precious opportunity
for any teen seeking freedom, but the group soon degenerates into a mob,
terrorizing and even killing each other.

Without the usual authority figures to direct the boys, they must fight and
survive for themselves. Ralph, the oldest of the boys, takes on a leadership
position. He knows little more than any of the others, but he manages to gather
them in one place using a conch and is voted leader. At his side is the
compassionate, clever, but fatally clumsy Piggy, a nicely rendered character
who serves as Ralph's conscience.

Ralph's election is contested by Jack, a cool customer with his own followers, a
former choir under his leadership. Jack is a force of nature, a natural
psychopath with intentions of leading hunting parties deep into the primordial
jungle. With Piggy's planning, Ralph's reluctant leadership and Jack's energy,
the castaways establish a successful, thriving village, at least for a day or two.
Soon, the few sensible efforts -- such as keeping a fire burning at all times --
fall by the wayside.

Jack becomes bored of Ralph's leadership position. With his hunters in tow,
Jack splits off from the main group. 
From there, the rest of the book consists of the descent of Jack's tribe into base
brutality. As Jack successfully recruits more boys, Ralph becomes more
isolated. Then, Jack's tribe kills Piggy -- his glasses smashed in a moment of
symbolism, signaling the end of rational thought and civilized behavior.

Jack's tribe hunts and kills a real pig, and sticks the head of the animal on
aspear. Group members paint their faces and begin a worship of the pig's head,
including sacrifices to the beast. Golding later explained that the pig's head --
the "lord of the flies" -- is literally translated from the biblical Hebrew,
"Beelzababug," which is another name for Satan. During this satanic worship,
the boys kill one another of their own, Simon.

Jack's troop having honed their hunting skills move in on Ralph. There is no
use appealing to their better nature now. They have abandoned all compassion.
Ralph is cornered and seems a goner when suddenly an adult -- a naval officer
-- arrives on the beach, with his uniform gleaming. His appearance puts
everyone in a state of shock.

The officer is disgusted with the savagery of the boys, but then he eyes his
cruiser in the distance. He has saved the children from their violent world, but
he's about to pile them onto a military vessel, where savagery and violence will
ostensibly continue. Golding's description on the final page of the novel
clarifies the symbolic overtones: "The officer ... prepares to take the children
off the island in a cruiser which will presently be hunting its enemy in the same
implacable way. And who will rescue the adult and his cruiser?"