Civilization: Savagery, Power, Fear

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...