Short Stories Literature Review

In the novel East of Eden many examples show just how powerful fear can be if used for selfish gain or as a defence mechanism. Fear being one of the biggest overtones (if not the biggest) allows us to see how huge an influence fear can be in a person's life, as with Cathy the main antagonist who lives to hold the fear of her blackmailing someone and men’s sexual desires over their heads to attain whatever her twisted desires are.

Fear is a crucial emotion that can result in fatal consequences or the saving of a life. It can motivate both selfless and selfish behavior. In this way, fear can be used to affect a character’s state of mind in a novel, which can ultimately motive all of that character’s further decisions within the story. Fear motivates an individual’s actions by changing his or her state of mind and leading him or her to act out-of-character and do things he or she normally would not do. William Shakespeare uses fear in his story, Romeo and Juliet, to keep the relationship between the titular characters a secret and to demonstrate the pressure put on the characters by society.

How many opportunities do we lose because of fears, unreasonable wariness? Our frights sound distinctively, telling everyone something unique, unlike, special. However, its only action is to hide and paralyze our will. Fear is the natural reaction caused by the environment. Fears arise as a reaction to certain events. And the root of all of them is the conviction that we are not able to cope with life. But for any person, it is very important to be able to overcome fear, because otherwise he will not be able to achieve in his life any, even the smallest heights, not to mention achieving success or realizing ones dreams. Fear is a signal that says something needs to be changed for a harmonious and effective life. And only we decide: to deal with our fears, to live happily and to embody our intentions, or to be afraid of leverage, to forget about intentions and dreams, and to react, to spend our strength on how to hide fears deeply from us and others. The short stories “House Taken Over” by Julio Cortazar the characters are followed by fear and as the final result they lose a house. In addition, “The Old Chief Mshlanga” by Doris Lessing plays a contrast role to the previous story where young lady Nkosikaas obtains the feeling to be at home by overcoming her fear. These two stories have a mutual theme of fear; however, each story’s character performs it uniquely.

For these reasons, the theme of the story is that sometimes fear of the unknown is worse than the fear itself. This was proven in my three examples, such as: when the narrator overcomes the fear of opening her eyes underwater, when she swims in the deep murky waters and touches the bottom, and lastly when she leaves her husband even though she knows she will lose contact with her stepson Ian. Once she faced her fears she realized that the outcomes weren’t as adverse as she had anticipated. “To escape fear you have to go through it, not around

By using pathos, he creates an appeal to the reader from many different aspects. Fear is one emotion he tries to get at. When he

Fear is the ultimate emotion because it is both mankind’s greatest strength and greatest flaw. It gives us reason, but can also be irrational. If one can surpass their fears, it can reward them greatly. Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe, follows a life of an adventurer from a young age and his story of traveling the world. Robinson, the main character, gets into many dangerous situations, from being enslaved by pirates, to being shipwrecked and being stuck on a deserted island. Robinson has to conquer many fears. Another story that fear is prevalent in is Beowulf, which follows the story of a supernatural human, Beowulf, who fights multiple monsters that no mortal could defeat. Lastly, fear is prevalent in “The Wife

Fear is the feeling of being scared or afraid, or does it mean more? Fear can change someone and make them into a different person. In the book, Fever 1793, by Laurie Halse Anderson (2000), shows how fear can change the lives of people. The story is about a 14 year old girl Mattie, who lives in Philadelphia when the devastating yellow fever epidemic of 1793 hits the nation’s capitol. Soon the fever hits her home and Mattie has to leave, enduring many frightening adventures trying to survive. This story illustrates when people are afraid, their fear and sadness can make them lose their sense of identity.

In the book, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, some examples of fear are, Abigail is scared of losing John Proctor so she starts accusing Elizabeth Proctor so she is taken to jail. Abigail thought by accusing someone as in Elizabeth, that she could get John to love her again. But little did she know that he was going to stick by his wife, because he has put her through enough.

Fear, the feeling of dread, apprehension or impending danger, it is a powerful emotion that most, if not all, feel. As a child fear may be of the dark, or as an elder it may be of death and the unknown after. A fear of something can come at any moment in time. It is easy to become afraid, but the hard part is learning to overcome it. As the main characters of the summer reading novels are put into fearful situations, they must learn to cope with it in order to help them survive their hardships.

There are several instances of fear discussed in the short story. The first instance deals with the fear that prey feels. A member on the yacht with Rainsford states “I rather think they understand one thing--fear. The fear of pain and the fear of death” (Connell). Rainsford disagreed with this theory until he became the hunted and “fear […began] gripping his heart” (Connell).

Fear is shown through Arthur Hayes, Gene, and Ralph. Fear is can stop you from being yourself, telling the truth, and doing something you want to do. Fear takes away power, and confidence. In these few books fear shows how effective it can be to others. The book Thunder on Sycamore Street, A Separate Peace, and The Lord of the Flies all show fear within oneself, and how it affects them.

Fear has the capability to could judgment and to make irrational decisions which allows authors to manipulate characters, plots, and identities. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oats illustrates a self-absorbed teen that is overcoming by fear when confronted with Arnold Friend. “In a Grove” by Rynosuke Akutagawa documents a slain husband and the fearful truth that is exposed through witnesses’ statements. “A Little Respect” by Herbert Selby Jr. describes a father’s rising inner conflict about his disrespectful son and finally exploding by destroying a t.v. set much to the fear of his family. Lastly, “A Shattered Glass Goblin” by Harlon Ellison depicts a man bent on retrieving his finance only to meet his own

Fear is a crazed emotion that controls the life of anyone it touches. The rollercoaster of fear that many ride, can be the breaking point, or the bounce back part in life. Fear is represented in all stories like in Macbeth, The Leaving, and Warren Pryor. All of these stories have a major impact in the plot all due to fear within the characters. With fear present in the character, it drives them to act ways they would not have.

FEAR-a feeling of terror or alarm in dangerous situations. In this story, imagery and similes were used to give the story a more fearful mood.

Fear is what we feel when we are scared or afraid of something or someone. In this story “Right to the streets of Memphis” by Richard Wright. Richard was scared “Sent me home in panic” (115). This shows how he was afraid of the gang. So after he had gotten beaten up by them he did not understand what was happening. Thus, fear is a difficult route to go do but what really matters