FREE ESSAY ON FEAR: A GOOD THING OR BAD THING

FEAR: A GOOD THING OR BAD THING

FEAR: A GOOD OR BAD THING?
A whole new environment was thrown at the young boy all of a sudden. He had never seen
such different people, or so many people altogether. He had reached high school. Before
this, he had gone to a small public school, which only consisted of about the number of
people in one class in high school, and some classes even surpassed the amount in the
entire school. He wasn't sure what to do, where to go; his mind was in a state of
blankness. His palms were sweating, along with the rest of his body because of all the
beautiful girls he had never seen before; in addition, to make all these matters worse,
he was a shy guy.
This quiet young man decided to face the facts: he was going to be attending this school
for four years, so he might as well make the best of the time being. He didn't know where
to start making a good impression, so he started in the classroom. He was intimidated
because he had heard the classes were much more arduous compared to the ones in
elementary and middle school, but he finally gave it a shot. According to Webster's New
World Dictionary, "fear is the anxiety caused by real or possible danger, pain, etc.;
fright." There is a gargantuan amount of people who would like to avoid fear altogether,
but it is a part of life and without it, life would be extremely boring. The fear people
endure can be perceived positively because it can help people do things they never
thought of doing; on the other hand, it can deter them from achieving the goals they have
set for themselves. This notion is shown in the following pieces of work: The Great 
Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, and Cry,
the Beloved Country by Alan Paton.
Since the beginning of time, fear has been accompanying everybody that has walked on this
planet and maybe even on other ones. As H.P. Lovecraft puts it, "The oldest and strongest
emotion of mankind is fear" (www.phobialist.com/fears). This quote reveals how everything
people do is based on how strong the fear in somebody actually is, this determines if
they are able to go out and achieve their goal, or just pay attention to the fear and
"chicken out." Fear can and should be conquered because it is the only thing hampering
anybody from doing what he or she wants. Without fear, people would be able to do
anything they want, which would allow people to achieve their goals.
There are times that seem too impossible, too difficult to overcome, but all it is is
fear holding people back in order to make one not achieve the objectives one has. As time
flies by, everybody experiences these types of situations, even simultaneously. For
example, in the dark trenches of the Great Depression, the nation as a whole, along with
the president, was going through rough times. Franklin Delano Roosevelt made his
inaugural presidential speech relating to fear. It states, "The only thing we have to
fear is fear itself- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified, terror which paralyzes needed
efforts to convert retreat into advance" (www.phobialist.com/fears). Everything F.D.R.
states in his speech, is absolutely true because in order to do something, all someone
has to do is conquer their fear; therefore, the 
only thing one has to try not having is fear because without it, whomever wants to do
something could.
As in the lives of any human, the characters of books also go through situations that
contain fear. These fears in them will either make them do something, or it can stop them
from taking any action at all. In The Great Gatsby, many of the characters take part in
many situations where their fear is brought out. One of the main examples of this, is
when Daisy Fay gets "as drunk as a monkey" (Fitzgerald, 74) the day before her wedding
with Tom Buchanan. She gets drunk because she had just received a letter from her former
lover, Jay Gatsby, and she fears the marriage taking place the following day will be the
biggest mistake of her life. Daisy's fear shows how someone's fear can stop one from
doing something. Later Daisy overcame the fact that she has certain feelings for Jay, and
is now ready to commit to someone else. This example also reveals how fear can change
from being an obstruction in the way to a clear passage without anything in sight.
Throughout The Great Gatsby, one of the main characters that endure the mental strain of
fear is Jay Gatsby. He has to go through the anxiety of not being able to see his
"lover," Daisy. Once Jay finds out where Daisy lives, he immediately buys a mansion
across the bay from where Daisy lives. From his front yard he sees a green light on the
dock of Daisy's house. Every time Jay sees this light it reminds him of Daisy, which just
makes him take more actions to get Daisy back. This green light is like a traffic signal
because it tells Jay that his fear is still proceeding in him, and as long as Jay lets it
symbolize this, he will never achieve his dream. Once Jay has "conquered" his fear, this
green light will not symbolize anything anymore because it will mean he has "destroyed"
his fear and can continue with his life.
After some time, Jay becomes acquainted with Daisy's cousin, Nick Carraway. Nick is Jay's
one way ticket to meet her. Jay finally has the guts to ask Jordan Baker, Nick's lady
friend, to ask Nick to invite Daisy to his house for some tea. The day finally comes when
Jay is going to meet Daisy, but he is so scared he doesn't know how to act. She arrives
on a rainy day, and Nick goes outside to greet her, while Jay stayed inside the house.
Once Nick and Daisy enter the house, Jay is not there, he has disappeared in fright
through the back door. All of a sudden, he appears at the front door 
"pale as death, with his hands plunged in his coat pockets, standing in a puddle of
water" (Fitzgerald, 82). The ugly weather and his paleness show his fear. Jay Gatsby
being soaked in rain symbolizes how he is drenched with fear, and cannot dry himself from
it any time soon. This example supports how fear can hold one from attaining the things
they crave but yet are afraid of doing.
When Jay finally decides to confront his long lost lover, he is scared stiff and really
doesn't know what to do. He pulls Nick to the side and tells him, "This is a terrible
mistake, a terrible, terrible mistake" (Fitzgerald, 84). All of Jay's fear is displayed
in this single quotation because he is not ready to confront it; consequently, the fear
in him has 
stopped him from trying to get Daisy back, which is what he yearns for, at least
momentarily. The fear of being wrong has made Jay cease what he was striving for (Daisy)
and just pay attention to the fear itself.
Deciding to face his fears, Jay goes into the room where Daisy was, and just gives the
relationship another chance. After a small while of reacquainting themselves, 
everything was going swell. Gatsby "literally glowed; without a word or a gesture of
exultation a new well-being radiated from him and filled the little room" (Fitzgerald,
85). 
Another notable thing is the weather had changed suddenly; it was now sunny like if no
rain had taken place. The change in weather symbolizes how Jay had conquered his fears
and was no longer haunted by them. Gatsby's change of thought shows once again how fear
can hold someone back and then suddenly push one forward.
The fears that took place in The Great Gatsby, only slowed down the dreams the people
had. They never really hindered the people in achieving what they wanted. Both Daisy's
fear of change and Jay's fear of being wrong were overcome throughout their own personal
lives; consequently, leading to their reunion after so many years. In both cases, the
fears each person possessed motivated them to finally make the decision they feared would
change their lives forever. These decisions did lead to a dramatic change, but both would
say it was worth it.
Fear takes place everywhere, in a person's life, novels, and it even takes place in
plays, such as The Tragedy of Macbeth. In this play, Macbeth is overcome by fear when he
hears, from three witches, that he is the Thane of Glamis, going to be Thane of 
Cawdor, and later king of Scotland. They also tell his friend, Banquo, that his children
are going to be the heirs of the throne for a long time. He is in amazement at what these
three evil doers promise him; therefore, he is not afraid of something bad happening, but
whether the statements will happen at all. Macbeth thinks to himself about being king,
but decides he is not going to do anything in 
order to help him become king. The purpose is to show his fearlessness towards the things
the witches said. Another thing that can be interpreted from this section is that
Macbeth's fears have made him slow his actions and wait to see what comes up.
After arriving in Forres, where the palace is, and finding out that instead of the king
giving Macbeth land for being a war hero, Duncan gave a patch of land to his son,
Malcolm, who had done nothing throughout the war. Macbeth became irate because he feared
his future of king wouldn't come true. He announced to himself:
The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step 
On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap,
For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires!
Let not light see my black and deep desires.
The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be, 
Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.
This quote shows how Macbeth is finally fearful of the witches' predictions not coming
true, and he wants to take action to make sure they do. What this is saying is that he
feels he might have to kill the heir to the throne, Malcolm, in order to get what he
wants. Now Macbeth's fears have made him take action.
Debating whether he should kill to become the king, Macbeth sends a letter to his wife
about the three witches telling him about his future. When his wife receives the letter
and finds out what it contains, she says she is going to make sure that Macbeth 
becomes king. Macbeth's wife, Lady Macbeth, also finds out that King Duncan, the king of
Scotland, is going to be visiting them. She decides they are going to kill Duncan, once 
and for all. When Macbeth is informed of her plans and questions if they are going to
succeed, she responds, "We fail?" (Shakespeare, 20). She disputes his authority in the
plan, and it shows her fearlessness. Lady Macbeth has disparity when juxtaposed with
Macbeth; thus, she is the brain behind the whole murder scenario. If Macbeth would've
been behind the situation, the murder would've never taken place because he has more fear
trapped inside of him compared to that of his wife does.
Taking advice from the following quote "Unless you acknowledge your fear, you'll be
powerless" (Ilardo, 41), Macbeth finds the fear of failing and decides to overcome it for
the moment. "No longer able to gain a crown without stirring, Macbeth is forced to
confront the contingency of immediate and direct action" (Rosen, 69). He accomplishes the
task of killing the king. He not only does this and become king, but also decides to kill
Banquo and his son because his "fears in Banquo stick deep, and, in his royalty of nature
reigns that which would be feared" (Shakespeare, 39). Macbeth feels Banquo knows too
much, and is the only person who can compete with him. Macbeth also feels he has done too
much work for Banquo's children to inherit the throne. He sends two assassins to kill
Banquo and Fleance, Banquo's son. Unfortunately 
for Macbeth, the killers only kill Banquo, while Fleance flees the scene. When Macbeth
makes decisions, fear does not play a role because he doesn't care what is going to
happen. This example conveys how strong fear is, and how it can propel people to do
things that seemed unimaginable before. 
Some of these fears make Macbeth act in a crazy manner, literally. After he finds out
about Fleance not being killed, he sees Banquo's ghost appear out of nowhere. He begins
talking to the ghost, and his guests think he has gone out of his mind because they 
can't see the ghost. The decisions one makes might not incorporate fear, but these major
phobias will hold anybody from accomplishing their goals because they are too great to
just be avoided. One must conquer these dominant fears in order to procure what they
desire. This shows how fear will make people crazy, if there are too many of them, and
also make one do things which were never in mind.
The hopes of Macbeth are heightened when he sends out to kill Macduff's family, another
arch-nemesis. He had been fearing Macduff because he knew Macduff was one of the persons
that could impede his progress of total control of Scotland. When 
Macduff found out about his family, he became rampageous. His fears were all put aside
because he knew he had to do something to Macbeth about his family. Macduff showed he was
fearless because he didn't care who the person that killed his family was, he just went
after him as if he were nobody. Not too many people would think of attacking a king
before this situation.
Macbeth boasts that he does not fear the invaders because of the assurances of the
apparitions of the witches. It is ironic because their "supernatural powers seem certain
to help him though in fact they bring him to his doom" (Boyce, 386). Once Macbeth is
informed of the truth behind Macduff, he is in shock, and his fears come into play once
again. He doesn't believe it, but he had to fight until his death came in order find out.
The fear Macbeth possessed at this instance was the type that makes people do something 
they don't really want, or want to get something over with once and for all. It is showed
when he goes off to fight Macduff even though he might get killed, he wants to find out
if there is truth behind what Macduff has said.
The fear of failing Macbeth had during his life made him act instantaneously. The other
characters in The Tragedy of Macbeth, also retained the same sort of fear that makes
people do something they feared at first, but then realized it wasn't going to help if
they just stood around and do nothing; consequently, they decided to act and see what
develops from the situation. If it turns out to be either a positive or a negative, there
was at least the mentality to do something.
After reading the other novel and play, the book with the most fear was Cry, the Beloved
Country, where the protagonist, Stephen Kumalo, goes to look for his family in a
completely different environment from where his family originated. Stephen's fear of not
having his family by his side makes him act quickly, so he can find his missing family.
He doesn't really care what is out there waiting for him in the foreign setting, as long
as he gets his family back. Stephen never dreamed of leaving his small village. 
Even though there is crime, violence, and hate where Stephen is going, he puts all that
aside and concentrates on what his goal is. This reveals how the fear for someone's
health and lives can make people do something they've never done before because the love
inside for a person is too strong to ignore; therefore, it makes people act on their
instincts and beliefs.
Stephen is not the only person who has fear imbedded in him, but all the people who live
in the small village of Ndotsheni, Stephen's home, also carry this fear. Their fear is of
being trapped in the village without anything to eat, since the farmlands are not 
producing what they have before; therefore, they seek another place that will provide the
necessary materials to live happily. The place most people find is Johannesburg, which is

a metropolis containing everything (jobs, crime, violence, money, corruption, etc.).
Unfortunately for the people of the small villages, they only see the good things. When
they arrive, they finally notice the other side of these colossal cities, and their fear
of not achieving anything grows once again. This fear makes them do actions that are
inappropriate to anybody in the world. Once again, fear makes people do things that they
are unsure of, and just want something to happen for them.
Another example of fear in this book is one of the actions taken by Absalom Kumalo, son
of Stephen. The action taken by this young man is one that shouldn't be committed by
anybody; he unfortunately killed a man. Absalom tells his father when they meet for the
first time in many years, "I told them I was frightened when the white man came. So I
shot him. I did not mean to kill him" (Paton, 98). This action was 
brought on by the fear implanted in him. His fear made him do something he didn't really
want to do, which was to shoot the revolver in his hands. The fear that makes you do
something will be considered wrong depending on the result of the situation. In Absalom's
case, it will be considered wrong because the outcome was the death of a person.
One of the major fears pointed out by the author is the "fear of bondage and the bondage
of fear" (Paton, 277). The author is saying that the people are scared of being trapped
for so long, but yet when they receive their freedom, they will not know what to do
because they are scared of what could happen if they do anything at all. This type of
fear is the one that holds people back from doing things they really want. If all people
would have this fear, the world would be an extremely dull place to live in because the 
people would never like to do anything exciting, which would also mean the people would
never achieve their purpose in life.
As mentioned above, the fear inserted in a person can be considered positive or negative
depending on the situation. If the situation is for the better of the person and 
his/her life, then fear will be considered good. If the situation does something that is
wrong and the result is negative, fear is considered bad. Fear will sometimes make one do
things that will help them, but sometimes they'll hold the people back. As long as there
is fear, there will be situations considered good and others considered bad. Fear should
be destroyed or at least controlled for certain moments in order to get what they want or
have been striving for (as long as the decision is a morally correct one; no killing, 
violence, etc.). As in the examples above, the boy reaching high school has now known how
to control his fears. The fear he once had of being publicly exposed has now diminished.
Along with the characters mentioned, his fears have led to more action than holding back,
which can turn out good or bad, but as long as one conquers their fears slowly but
surely, then it's all good.
Bibliography
Boyce, Charles. Shakespeare A to Z. New York: Dell Publishing, 1990. Pgs. 386-394
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1925
Ilardo, Joseph. Risk-Taking for Personal Growth. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications
Inc. 1992. Pgs. 41-42
Paton, Alan. Cry, the Beloved Country. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987
Rosen, William. Shakespeare and the Craft of Tragedy. Cambridge, Massachsetts: President
and Fellows of Harvard College Publication. 1960. Pgs. 52-103
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. New York: Washington Square Press
Publication. 1959
Webster's New World Dictionary. Warner Books, 1990
www.phobialist.com/fears