In the novel 'Lord of the Flies' by William Golding, the boys begin to be 'possessed' of a common primeval drive - put down perhaps as 'sin' by the traditionalists of the christian establishment with which William Golding was familiar as a child. He explores this idea further in this part of the novel. Scared by the thought of the beast, and refusing to take time to listen to any other explanation they seek solace in banding together as a group and the common beating and dancing rhythm re-inforces this and emboldens them - as in a war dance of a warrior tribe. The danger of this type of 'hype' is that a common drive can motivate normally rational beings to forget usual mores and behaviors and commit crimes which alone they would never dream of. We have seen this happen through history - in some crimes where there is a tragedy, a law of joint culpability can be applied. Simon represents an innocence that is destroyed by this type of behavior:
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