Civilization vs. Barbarism

Where it surfaces

• I: Conan Joins the Pirates

  Conan's disdain for civilized laws and his raw, violent nature contrast with the ordered society he flees, while the pirate encounter blurs the line between civilized and barbaric.

• V

  The contrast between the ancient civilization of Dagon and the barbaric Yuetshi, and Conan's own barbarian perspective against the decadent sorcery.

• Beyond the Black River

  The chapter starkly contrasts the ordered but fragile fort of the Aquilonians with the wild, untamed Pictish wilderness, questioning the permanence of civilization.

• II: The Wizard of Gwawela

  Fort Tuscelan represents the fragile edge of civilization against the dark, untamed Pictish wilderness and its sorcery.

• Red Axes of the Border

  The contrast between the disciplined but doomed fort defenders and the savage Picts highlights the tension between civilized order and barbaric ferocity.

• VIII: Conajohara No More

  The chapter explicitly contrasts the 'unnatural' state of civilization with the 'natural' state of barbarism, as the borderer declares that barbarism must ultimately triumph.

• Red Nails

  The lost city represents a fallen civilization, where the remnants of its people have devolved into savage, internecine warfare, contrasting with Conan's more primal but honorable barbarism.

• III: The People of the Feud

  The Tecuhltli live in a decadent, isolated city with elaborate customs and a blood feud, contrasting with Conan's pragmatic barbarism.

• V: Twenty Red Nails

  The Tecuhltli and Xotalanc clans represent a degenerate civilization, where cruelty and betrayal are the norm, contrasting with Conan's more direct barbaric code.

• The Hyborian Age

  The chapter contrasts the crumbling Thurian civilization with the rising barbarian races, particularly the Picts and Cimmerians, and explores the tension between civilized and savage ways.