Civilization is when man meets his basic needs. Civilization begins to
form when man is searching for something more; something better than just
meeting his basic needs, for he has already achieved this. Civilization forms
slowly and carefully, and once it is formed, it can change and be destroyed
at any moment. Civilization is as fragile as an eggshell, and it has three
basic forces that can destroy it: savagery, power, and fear.
Savagery is when a people revert back to their lost human instincts.
Savagery is most often found in situations where the people are under extreme
circumstances. One example of this is being stranded on a deserted tropical
island. In William Golding's book, Lord of the Flies, he has done just that.
Golding had his characters revert back to their lost human instincts. When
the boys on the island finally catch a pig and get meat, the one hunter, and
main character, Jack, cannot bear to let someone else tell his savage story.
He begins, "We spread round. I crept, on hands and knees. The spears fell out
because they hadn't barbs on. The pig ran away and made an awful noise-It
turned back and ran into the circle, bleeding-We closed in-I cut the pig's
throat-" (p. 74-75). Jack has reverted back to savage, uncivilized ways; his
civilization has been shattered because of being stranded. Jack even gets the
rest of the boys to join in, "As they danced, they sang. `Kill the pig. Cut
her throat. Bash her in.'" Savagery can destroy civilization. It only takes a
small number, even a single person, to revert back, and everyone will soon
follow.
Another example of people being savage is in the book, The Pearl, by John
Steinbeck. In this book, when a family finds an unbelievably large pearl and
tries to better their own lives with it, their friends and neighbors become
their enemies, they even begin to fight in their own family. Greed has caused
the family and the townsfolk to revert back to being...
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