One thing I read about lotf was the plane that dropped them off ejected them because it was called to go fight in a war. I had to check whether that was true: it was. The boys weren't on the island very long, I don't think; couple of weeks, maybe? They were a boy's school class returning from something when they were ejected to the island. At the end of the book, when they were retrieved, the captain remarked he expected better of ____ boy's; that they'd be able to organize society. One of the leading boys said, "It started out that way ..."

But, I think it was about how close savagery is to the surface. And how little it takes to bring it out. (Sorry: dim, 35 y.o. memories)