'Grown-ups know things,'said piggy,'they ain't afraid of the dark. They'd meet and have tea and discuss.'Is Piggy right? Are the boys ONLY failing...

There's a great deal of irony in this quote by Piggy. The idea that grown ups are not afraid of "the dark," (fear in general), bespeaks of an innocence on Piggy's part. Of course grown ups are afraid of things. To children, it might simply be called the dark. But the "dark" to adults could be any number of things.

When Piggy asserts that instead of being afraid, grown ups would have tea, the absurdity is complete. Thinking of the circumstances which brought the boys to island, reminds the reader how ironic Piggy's quote is. A war is being fought "out there," hence their plane is shot down. It's precisely because grown ups are afraid and don't talk that the boys find themselves in their predicament.

One could argue that the boys were actually more successful than adults with respect to their plight. They did organize, they did try to get rescued. They got off on the right track, but, perhaps things went astray because they tried too hard to be more like adults.

Perhaps they might have been more successful had they not tried to be more adult.