The novel Lord of the Flies explores how human nature can reveal its most sinister, destructive tendencies when the restraints of society are thrown away. When the boys first crash-land on the Pacific island they are stranded on, they try to recreate the society they know for comfort: they vote on ideas and plans, elect a chief, respond to the signal of the conch, etc.
The turning point of the novel is when the boys begin to give up on these vestiges of society, preferring instead to give in to their impulses and baser natures. This starts slowly, with the littluns preferring to play rather than help build shelters and the hunters letting the signal fire go out so they can hunt pigs. If one had to pinpoint the pivotal moment, though, it would probably be after Jack and his hunters reject Ralph and the power of the conch and continue to explore the "fort" they've discovered. When they find a boar and wound it, they celebrate with a savage blood dance. Robert pretends to be the boar and the boys get carried away beating him. Though Robert is not seriously wounded, this giving way to baser human instincts only grows in the boys, who later kill Simon when mistaking him for the beast during another frantic dance. Eventually, the wild hunters begin to hunt and kill the other boys intentionally.
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