How important is the presence of war within Lord of the Flies?

In Lord of the Flies the presence of war is very important. It gives a basis for the plot; the setting is often likened to that of a war; the boys' society is similar to an army; the boys take part in a war against each other and the moral of the book is that war is an evil that everyone is capable of instigating. In Lord of the Flies War is important as it …

…all of us, including adults and soldiers in wars. The Navel Officer at the end of the book considers himself superior to the boys, thinking they could "'put up a better show than that'" but the uniform he wears, with it's 'white drill, epaulettes... row of gilt buttons' and 'huge peaked cap' is very similar to the school uniforms the boys wore at the beginning, showing once again how similar the boys are to adults.