Lord of the Flies by William Golding

When an airplane crash leaves a group of school boys stranded without adults on a deserted tropical island, it’s not long before their attempts at civilisation fail and their base instincts take over. Would-be leader Ralph tries to set up a new society in a mirror image of the one they have left behind, while rival Jack and his followers submit to their darker instincts and go feral. An excellent study into human nature, it explores what might happen if we were left to our own devices without the framework of a society, and how humans are also animals at heart.