Examples Of Fear In Things Fall Apart

Fear is a common human emotion, but the way some people react is different than others. Although, it is harder on some humans unlike other people. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said,” Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world.” I think that means that fear harms more people than anything else does in the whole world. Also that people can scare themselves way easier than normal and it’s not healthy.

In our world fear roams everywhere. In our streets, businesses, schools, and homes. Fear has caused wars, and treaties. Fear can cause people to start something amazing or horrific. People can change because of fear of a thing.

Sue Miley once said, “When we combine choices with fear, we suddenly become overwhelmed and paralyzed” (Miley). Fear is a powerful emotion that can heavily impact one’s decision whether it be for the good or bad. In The Crucible, many important decisions are made and fear is heavily involved in many of those decisions. A research question to be examined is, to what degree can we attribute the events of the Salem Witch Trials as illustrated in The Crucible to fear?

In the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, it carries a very common theme; fear is destructive and can provoke the most daunting actions. Okonkwo and his village went through a bunch of disasters and events because they feared a lot of stuff. Okonkwo was driven to madness by fear and most of his actions were driven by fear.

Fear can control a lot of things, and can make people do some things they wouldn’t normally think about. It can pull people together, or push them apart. In Lord of the Flies it pushes the boys apart. But in The Village it pulls them together. In both cases, the fear wasn’t real. The beast from LOTF and “those they don’t speak of” in The Village. Fear plays a big role in both of these. I believe fear is an easy thing to overuse and control people with, in LOTF and The Village they use fear as a way of power and controlment.

Fear can motivate you to do something or stop you. One way is when doing something you know someone will do it. Why do people treat people different based off your tragedy Based off the movie Cool Hand Luke’s mom died, his partners gave him respect by leaving the room and the one of boss workers locked Luke in the box to grieve. People just don’t know how to react But we shouldn’t let fear stop us. Like going back to Antigone when Ismene burried her family relative she really didnt know what to do and she just did what was suppose to be done, what her mind told her to.

In The Crucible characters would continuously not tell the truth under certain circumstances. Why is that? For example in The Crucible when Tituba was asked, “When did you compact with the Devil” (Miller 41), by Rev. Hale. Then Tituba replied, “I do not compact with no Devil” (Miller 42). After Tituba denied compacting with the Devil she then was threatened to be whipped and hanged. After those threats Tituba then said, “I tell him I don’t desire to work for him, sir” (Miller 42). Is it not a coincidence that Tituba acknowledges that she had communicated with the devil after she was threatened? This is an example of how fear can impact your decision making and can affect a person mentally and physically. There are many other examples of fear based decisions like, in Act 1 when Abigail Williams tries to cover up what her and her friends did in the forest and in Act 3 when Mary Warren cracks under the pressure of what John Proctor wanted her to do. To conclude my question, why do people act certain ways when fear is present?

Fear is defined as an “unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat”. The effects of fear can cause us to become a totally different person. In the book, The Lord of the Flies, many of the characters went from innocent young child to a brutal savage. “This was a savage whose image refused to blend with the innocent pictures of a boy in shorts and shirt” (Golding 183). The boys arrived on the island looking like proper British boys from a civilized place, and left the island

One innocent man being crushed to death, 141 people being arrested, and 19 being hanged were some of the many gruesome events that took place during the infamous Salem Witch Trials of 1692. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, some few unnatural events cause mass hysteria to sweep through a small town, placing dozens of innocent people in jail. When rumors sweep through Salem of an unconscious girl who will not wake up, people automatically point to witchcraft. Accusation after accusation, fear of being accused themselves causes people to suspect the worst about the people they associate with. In result, many people turn against themselves and others around them in fear of losing the normal life they have accustomed to. The three characters in the play that acted out of fear and caused an unnecessary hysteria against innocent people are Mary Warren, Judge Danforth, and Abigail Williams.

“…His [Okonkwo’s] whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness…It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father” (13).

Happiness is something we all want but fear can get in the way for some. Having fear of some sort is not always bad but can have an emotional toll on some.

In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the theme of the power of fear

One thing I learned about fear is that it can basically act for us. With fear humans can make critical decisions that they wouldn’t dare make without fear edging them on. A story that particularly shocked me was the story of a young woman named Kelly. She followed her

Women like Chielo who are priestesses play an important role in the religious life. Chielo, the priestess, is a spokesperson for one of the Igbo gods, Agbala. Achebe writes in the novel, “But Chielo…went on shouting that Agbala wanted to see his daughter” (p. 90). In this example, Chielo is no longer Ekwefi’s friend whom she often talks with, but a spokesperson becomes possessed by Agbala. A priestess is very powerful in Igbo culture. People regard the words through a priestess’s mouth as oracles. Therefore, God’s spokesperson is actually the spiritual leader of the people who hold in awe and veneration. No one can challenge Chielo’s authority in front of their god. The novel describes Okonkwo’s failure to prevent his daughter Ezinma from

Fear is a feeling induced by experience, perceived danger, or watching a frightening traumatic accident. The fear responses arise from the perception of danger and ultimately a change in behaviour, such as fleeing, or hiding or from perceived traumatic events. Every person has fears and different fears may be different adaptations that have been useful in our evolutionary past. I have fears too, and sometime, I feel embarrassed to intersperse my fear with others.