Morals and Stones.

"The stone, that token of preposterous time, bounced five yards to Henry's right and fell in the water. Roger gathered a handful of stones and began to throw them. Yet there was a space round Henry, perhaps six yards in diameter, into which he dare not throw. Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life. Round the squatting child was the protection of parents and school and policemen and the law."

( Golding 62 )

Chapter 4 of The Lord Of The Flies by William Golding starts with a short narration of what the older boys do for fun at the island. While the boys are still trying to establish themselves on this island, Roger, a malevolent choir member, throws rocks at Henry, a little boy, while making sure he does not hurt him. I chose this quote because while reading the story, I found it very interesting how Golding decided to address through the narrator the psychological aspect of savagery and what actually tames it. I found Roger's behavior completely repulsive. The quote contains a major motif, the struggle to maintain your morals. There is also the metaphor of the parent's and official's protection which is meant to pronounce the aspects of civilization. 

Analysis: By taking into account Julian B. Rotter's Locus of Control theory, Roger is slowly loosing his locus of control to his urges to kill, one of the seven deadly sins. Golding, although, provides the limitation Roger has that prevents him from killing Henry is the morals that his family and society taught him previous the air place clash. Golding therefore implies that savagery can only be tamed with constantly exercising your morals, which parent's and authority figures help to do.