Society's Struggle Against Its Savage Roots Webster's Online Dictionary defines civilization as "a society in an advanced state of social development." Without the constraints of society, people's behavior will regress to its wild beginnings, as the need for survival will override all other impulses. The descent into savagery, man's inherent desire to survive above all else, and the need for civilization and order show how society abnormally keeps everyone together. Society artificially binds everything by imposing rules and structures and without the reminders of civilization and its conventions, the savagery of human nature emerges. The strength of a society can be linked to its reliance on its physical and social characteristics, so when members of a society are separated from these characteristics, they are likely to regress from civilized behavior. The journey of this descent into savagery is shown through the Congo as an uncivilized setting, Kurtz's uncivilized mission and through the theme of the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding. For starters, the Congo in Africa is home to dark indigenous people who are depicted with a natural, primitive quality, a stark contrast to European civilization. The setting is one where the supposed sophistication of civilized men is deconstructed. Marlow tells his shipmates about his childhood dreams of visiting unexplored places on maps. However, once a space had been discovered by Europeans, "it had ceased to be an empty space of delightful mystery - a white spot upon which a boy could dream gloriously." It had become a place of darkness” (Conrad 71). Once a place has been discovered by the civilized world, it is exposed in the middle of paper......impact of its absence from the governing structure of civilization. Society depends largely on its need for order and the symbols of this order for its survival. Without them, man's wild instincts take over and the continued existence of society is threatened. In conclusion, it is the innate nature of humanity to choose survival above all need that brings out the hidden savage in each of us, held only in control by the artificial constraints placed. on humanity by society. The descent into savagery, man's inherent desire to survive above all else, and the need for civilization and order show how society abnormally keeps everyone together. The longing to endure is an intrinsic response that can lie dormant until the chains of society and civilization are removed; When that day comes, their dormant instincts will arise and cause a regression to that of a savage..