Civilization: Savagery, Power, Fear :: Free Essay Writer

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 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 savages. One example of this is when Juana, the wife, tries to rid them of the pearl because she knows of its bad nature. Kino, her husband, catches her, "Her arm was up to throw when he leaped at her arm and wrenched the pearl from her. He struck her in the face with his clenched fist and she fell among the boulders, and