Everybody has a fear, ranging from the “monster under the bed” all the way to the frightening thoughts about nuclear devastation. Fear is easy to obtain yet hard to control as it can change people entirely without them realizing it. This philosophy of fear has been present since Greek civilization and it has crawled its way into current society. Even in modern times, fear continuously has the ability to persuade the masses, and let them become susceptible to the many dark truths about reality. The concept of fear has even migrated from one form of literature to the next like a virus and within these texts the plot and characters are shaped by these fears. In the novel, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, there is no exception as the characters face their internal fears while struggling with the diseases they carry. Though the motif of fear touches on many themes throughout the literary world, the message that John Green asserts within his novel, The Fault in our Stars is that clinching onto a fear restricts oneself from interacting with others and that it also creates a façade of a false representation of themselves. A way, John Green expresses the philosophy of fear is by demonstrating how it prevents oneself from being with the people around them. In order to this, he implements characters within the novel that have obtained a certain fear and illustrates how these characters are effected by their fears on a daily basis. This is seen when Hazel texts Augustus about
“Underlying the quest for power is fear, and the desire for power is to eliminate fear. The more fearful a person is the more control over their environment they believe they need to feel safe” (Robert Evans Wilson Jr.). Throughout literature and modern history, fear is used as a scapegoat for the desire of power. The acquired power acts as a safety blanket for one’s deep, internal anxieties. Shakespeare demonstrates how fear becomes a driving factor in a person’s behavior. Macbeth’s nature is greatly altered after the death of King Duncan provokes his desire to become king. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies explains how the fear of the unknown is the source of survival instinct in everyone. The murders of Simon and Piggy bring
“What if contemporary people are less interested in seeing depictions of their unconscious fears and more attracted to allegories of how their day-to-day existence feels?” (Klosterman 1).
This proves that fear of the unknown uncharted forest is used as a powerful tool of social control. The citizens are well aware of the vicious consequences that are tied to venturing into the forest, and they are fearful of all of it. At the beginning of the novel, the social control of the scholars reveals that the uncharted forest symbolizes
In the year 1625, Francis Bacon, a famous essayist and poet wrote about the influences of fear on everyday life. He stated, “Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased with tales, so is the other” (Essays Dedication of Death). Clearly, external surroundings affect perceptions of fear as well as human nature in general. Although C.S. Lewis published the novel, Out of the Silent Planet, over three centuries after Bacon wrote his theory on fear, Lewis similarly portrayed external surrounding to manipulate perceptions of fear. From the first chapter of the novel, Lewis revealed fear to be a weakness that leads to ignorance. It was this
During the Salem witch trials, many lives that were taken due to a few people’s self defence. In the book, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, a group of girls caused a whole town to go array. This group of girls were caught naked, dancing and conjuring spirits. These girls were going to accept the blame and receive the whipping for what they did, but one of the girls, Abigail, was not about to go down. Abigail had the whole group of girls convinced that it would be best to lie and to not accept the beating. By doing this, they were put into the court and used to tell the judges whether or not the people whom were accused were truly witches. Though the girls had no way of telling if the accused were truly witches, they
To start of the novel Fear, by Gabriel Chevallier, Jean Dartemont is in France observing all the civilians celebrate the start of the new war. He criticizes their behavior and strongly disapproves, however, he admits a curiosity in him that convinces him to volunteer for the war for it will be a ‘remarkable spectacle.” After being approved to go to war, Dartemont heads to a training camp. There he becomes a private after failing to become an officer. Here he commands a group, but realized he finds the maintenance of soldiers to be tedious and useless work. Already he becomes quite eager to arrive at the front lines, which soon happens.
The author started by presenting the problem with monsters and how does it affect the human’s imagination. Next, Genoways presents a little bit of what happened during World War II, also “discussing the public panic that occurred after Orson Welles’s famous broadcast of War of the Worlds” (Genoways, 130). Later the author presents his legitimacy knowledge on both sides of the argument. Genoways uses examples of the real life event that happen in the United States in order to explain how the fear of the past is similar to the fear in now in days but deeper. Third, the author presents his point of view. Which is that if a human being gave in their fear will face the real possibility of losing their freedom. Lastly, he explains that humans need to find a way to being seen as a strong community, and that everywhere we go, there are
In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the theme of the power of fear
The fear creeping up my skin as goosebumps begin to appear with the first steps into a haunted house filled with monsters, screams, and darkness. The weird smells and sounds and occasional air blasts lead to a rush or adrenaline, which create a dreadful sensation. The idea of having someone creep up behind me causes my spine to tingle and the hairs on my neck to rise. Fear is an inevitable emotion that comes in various forms whether it be monsters, Gothic elements, or transformations within stories. Through the three short stories, the readers are introduced to the effects that the transformations in the mood, characters, and setting have on the tension and build of fear in the readers.
Fear can cause our thinking processes to be distorted and irrational. It may create negative anticipation of things to come. It could cause excessive worrying of what others think or a fear of God’s wrath (Nichols, 2010). Fear sometimes makes the emotions of the individual get out of control with anger, anxiety, depression, and worrying (Nichols, 2010). In the book, all of these emotions are addressed and insight is given to help overcome them. It is important to do the necessary hard work to untie these knots in order to bring a person back to a healthy emotional state of mind. If the fear is not dealt with properly, it can also lead to negative physiological changes to the body as the immune system is weakened
Fear is the demon that destroys the minds of the young and the old. Fear is the hardest emotion that alters a person’s reality. The dark deeds done in this world can create this growing fear. J.D. Salinger is an author that brings out most realistic human traits, such as fear, and displays them in his writings as his characters or certain sections of his plot. In the novel, Salinger displays the fears and exploitations in the teenage world that are affected by the adult world and that can affect the world of children.In The Catcher and the Rye, J.D. Salinger uses the loss of innocence as a result of the adult world to portray youth's reluctance to grow up. Holden is a trouble child at 16, he has been kicked out of many different schools and
We all think children are all innocent and cute, but is that really true? We always give excuses for children’s misconduct, distracting ourselves from the real truth. Kids are capable of terrible things that adults quickly ignore. Children can be very scary because of their capabilities that most adults believe to be innocent mistakes. One story that explores this fear is Ray Bradbury’s “The Man Upstairs.”
“...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.
Fear is one of the most powerful and destructive forces in society and has been a forefront motivator throughout history because of it. But what makes fear so powerful? It can change a person entirely or cause them to perform incredible tasks such as in The Chrysalids. Nevertheless, John Wyndham explores what you can do once you overcome that fear and what happens when that fear overcomes you. In The Chrysalids, the cyclic nature of fear within people in power and those they oppress manifests as the fears of the unknown, being different, new ideas and beliefs, getting caught, and the fear of what you don’t understand.
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.