The island setting identified in chapter one plays a key role in helping to introduce the central theme of the inherent evil of man kind and contribute towards Golding's purpose of tracing the defects in society back to the defects in human nature. This is highlighted through the author's description of the island's beauty. “Within the irregular arc of coral the lagoon was still as a mountain lake—blue of all shades and shadowy green and purple.” However this beauty is tainted with the boys arrival creating a “scar” through the jungle when their plane crashed. “Behind this was the darkness of the forest proper and the open space of the scar.” The scar represents the destruction caused by human beings and symbolises the lasting effects of evil. The war started by humans is what resulted in the plane crashing and damaging the island and it will take years for the damaged vegetation to regrow.
By using an island as the setting for the novel Golding effectively creates a microcosm of society. However the boy's society is devoid of rules and adult influences meaning that the boys are entirely responsible for their actions, thus any acts of evil are a result of themselves, proving Golding's hypothesis that all humans have the capacity for evil, even children.
The events of the plot also help set the scene for the struggle between good and evil. Events begin well and we are introduced to Ralph and Piggy who make constructive decisions such as