Golding was a strange one alright. Got lucky with my teacher apparently cos they said from the outset that it's an allegory and isn't supposed to be read as real. She also pointed out and highlighted that it was Golding's religious beliefs in stuff like origonal sin that led him to basically believe the worst in people in their natural state. She also highlighted how it's also kinda demeaning primative tribal societies as pagan and brutal.

Only other thing I know about Golding is that he had a breakdown as a young man, hooked up with some woman and they lived in a room at a retirement home his parents owned. Dunno why that stuck with me. Prob just the mental image.