The Bravest Response To Fear

Everyone is in control of their actions. One must be held accountable for . Sometimes though, fear can infiltrate one’s mind and block their ability to make rational decisions. In John Connolly’s “The Book of Lost Things”, it is evident that fear plays a large role in how David, Beauty and Beast find love and how the King and wicked Queen in Snow-white rule their kingdoms. Some overcome their fears while others allow it to consume them and cloud their judgement.

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.

One time my mother was driving through an 4-way intersection when she was t-boned by a person who didn’t see the red light. For months she had an irrational fear of driving through intersections fearing that she would be t-boned again. Interestingly, however, fear has the unique ability to control human behavior, in-addition, because fear affects everyone different, there is no “right” or “wrong” way to respond to fear, and thus no effective way to control fear. Both The Bravest Response to Fear by Jeremy Adam Smith and Mary C. Lamia’s The Complexity of Fear as well as William Golding’s novel, the Lord of the Flies support the theory that fear controls the behaviors of people and that there is no “right” or “wrong” way to respond to fear.

Fear can take control of humans and manipulate them for evil. In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, fear is shown to change the boys into savages from their fears on the island. This fear starts with the younger children and their fears of the dark and unknown. The fear changes throughout the novel and manipulates the boys which Jack uses fear to gain power over the innocent boys.

One of the things we fear the most is the loss of or lack of control. Even if we really don’t have control, we like to think we do, and when we lose that sense of control, fear rushes in. For example, an alcoholic will say " I can quit any time; I’m in control." The fear comes when he realizes for the first time that he is an alcoholic and that he is not in control. We all fear uncertainty and the unknown. We arm ourselves against it with candles in the dark, or faith against the uncertainty of death. Then, when we think we’ve conquered our fear, it comes invading our minds again, let in by a smell or a taste, a sound or a thought Fear is always there, just waiting right under the surface, to awaken those memories which frighten us the most.

Fear can have a huge role in an individual's decision making process. Many people make different decisions when they are afraid or scared of something than they normally would. In the article Fear: The Highly Potent Effect Fear Has on Decision Making, the author states, “When you are overcome with fear or panic and have to make a

“Fears are educated into us, and can, if we wish, be educated out.”-Karl Augustus Menninger.

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.

In 1950, the British mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell once stated, “To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.”. During the same time, the world was gripped by the fear of communism and the possibility of nuclear attacks during the Cold War. Published in 1954, the novel Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, expresses the ramifications of fear in a group of young English boys that have been stranded on an island. Golding explores both the physical and chemical reactions of fear, as well as the connection to communism and how it relates to the dynamic on the island.

“...fear can't hurt you any more than a dream.” Quote William Golding in Lord of Flies. William Golding argues that the fear of the unknown gives a high disadvantage to certain boys who are easily frightened. Golding’s opinion of fear is expressed in Lord of the Flies, relating to the nightmares he had as a child and his fear of abuse from his parents. In our society, the less courageous people have more life struggles and do not have as many experiences. I believe this novel proves that fear holds us back, but in reality, it will not hurt us.

A distressing emotion aroused by impending evil and pain, whether the threat is real or imagined is described as fear. Fear is what William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies encompasses. By taking three major examples from the novel, fear will be considered on different levels: Simon’s having no instance of fear, Ralph’s fear of isolation on the island, and Jack’s fear of being powerless. Fear can make people behave in ways that are foreign to them, whether their fear is real or imagined. In response to fear, people may act defensively by attacking, fear can either stop one from doing something, or it can make one behave in an irrational erratic manner.

“The Gift Of Fear,” a psychology book written by Gavin De Becker, is an extremely useful and informative read. It gives valuable advice about how to act upon human intuition, how to recognize threats, and defines what real fear is and it’s purpose. I found the book to be extremely interesting. This book provided me with a sense of understanding on violence and fear and I feel much better prepared when it comes to recognizing dangerous situations.

Fear is something that large amounts of people have encountered at least once at some point in their lives. It has been said to have caused a variety of outcomes, many of them being largely negative. Therefore, it is a common human response to react to fear by counteracting it with positivity and/or success. The idea people have of what fear is depends on the person. In the article “How Fear Works”, for example, fear is defined as a “chain reaction in the brain that starts with a stressful stimulus and ends with the release of chemicals” (Layton 1). The website “Psychology Today” defines fear another way, calling it “a vital response to physical and emotional danger” ("Fear Paranoia”). There are several other definitions people have on the

Since infancy, all people have developed fears about various things in the world that varies from clowns to failure. One’s fear can become so significant to them that it causes them to act with sole purpose of avoiding its development; in other words, allow themselves to be motivated by fear. As Psychology Today stated “there are many things that motivate us. But the most powerful motivator of all is FEAR.” It is no secret that humans all around the world are motivated by fear as authors have capitalized on the awareness of it and incorporated it into their novels.

So why does fear take over people's emotions and prevent them from reacting in a certain situation? In a manner of speaking, fear motivates the soul in us humans, to make sure that we are not left alone with our own thoughts. Although this could be seen daily, when one is about to lose someone very close to them, others will hide away, while fear dominates them till they feel nothing and are gone mentally in this world. Studying how people react when facing their fear, it will explain in most parts why fear is such a complex feeling. Fear is something we tend to ask ourselves at points in time, but why is that we as humans do that? Is it for the comfort that we really do need fear in our lives to make sure nothing goes wrong? For without the