It seems possible, at least, to me, that TitS was written as a response to Lord of the Flies. Instead of the children regressing to murderous savages, they become (mostly) more courageous and mature. They demonstrate that at their core they are noble rather than primitive. That has always been a core Heinlein tenet.

So what do you think? Was Heinlein deliberately setting out to refute Golding?

I have no idea whether it was intentional on Heinlein's part, but I have long considered it the counter argument to Lord of the Flies. I appreciate it even more for that reason.

I think the ages of the characters in the two books are significant. The boys in LotF are six to twelve. To me, that would make TitS more of a sequel than a refutation.

Interesting idea, Dan. I never made the connection between the two books, although I read both in high school. I loathed Lord of the Flies; it seemed so hopeless. Tunnel in the Sky was a cool adventure, not utopian, but positive.

If you think of "Lord of the Flies" as 20th century secular Calvinism, though, Heinlein was definitely an Arminian.