The influence of society was still strong

This passage from Chapter 4 describes the beginnings of Roger’s cruelty to the littluns, an important early step in the group’s decline into savagery. At this point in the novel, the boys are still building their civilization, and the civilized instinct still dominates the savage instinct. The cracks are beginning to show, however, particularly in the willingness of some of the older boys to use physical force and violence to give themselves a sense of superiority over the smaller boys. This quotation shows us the psychological workings behind the beginnings of that willingness. Roger feels the urge to torment Henry, the littlun, by pelting him with stones, but the vestiges of socially imposed standards of behavior are still too strong for him to give in completely to his savage urges. At this point, Roger still feels constrained by “parents and school and policemen and the law”—the figures and institutions that enforce society’s moral code. Before long, Roger and most of the other boys lose their respect for these forces, and violence, torture, and murder break out as the savage instinct replaces the instinct for civilization among the group.

Keeping in mind that the boys were from privileged backgrounds – private school and all that- their transition from the old life to the new was incomplete. Even though Roger wanted to cast stones at the frightened boy, a lingering aura of normalcy seemed to hold him back. Remember that the moment they were rescued, the wild child personas fell away,

and the lost boys were grateful to have adults once more in charge.

It means Roger was too damned lazy to throw the stones as far as Henry!

The trappings of civilization were still on him. His learned social behavior still controlled him.