The Coral Island the civilising effect of Christianity, 19th-century British imperialism in the South Pacific, and the importance of hierarchy and leadership. It was the inspiration for William Golding's dystopian novel "Lord of the Flies" (1954), which inverted the morality of "The Coral Island"; in Ballantyne's story the children encounter evil, but in "Lord of the Flies" evil is within them. In the early 20th century, the novel was considered a classic for primary school children in the UK, and in the United States it was a staple of high-school suggested reading lists. Modern critics consider the book's worldview to be dated and
Lord of the Flies (1963 film) the Department of Film at MoMA, wrote that the film is "about anarchy and how that thin veneer we wear of what we refer to as “civilization” is threatened by the attractive clarion call of bestiality and its accompanying hatred". The parents of those chosen are reported to have been provided copies of the novel, from which a commentary had been physically removed; those pages included describing the culmination of the hunt of a wild sow as an "Œdipal wedding night". Brook noted that "time was short; we were lent the children by unexpectedly eager parents just for the duration