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| Ian McKellan as Gandalf in The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) |
The narrator reports that "At the science museum, there's a computer game about survival of the fittest. You are in the middle of the food chain. You are a triangle. The circles are prey. The squares are predators. You can give your triangle points toward certain traits: speed, strength, intelligence, courage, fear. Everyone stocks up on the first four. The brave ones never make it out alive. From this, we learn: your fear will save you"(77).
Do you agree that fear is an underrated, unappreciated trait?
What is the relevance of this anecdote to the overall narrative?
Do you
agree with the narrator's assertions that fear is active and visceral whereas worry is passive and mental. Consider
how this relates to the earlier comment she made about being more identified
with her mind than her body.
I do agree that fear is an underappreciated trait, but I do understand why it is viewed that way. No matter how useful fear can be, it is still a negative feeling, so people dislike it. The relevance of fear in the story is how fear seems to loom over Yee constantly. Her fear of losing this perfect life she had envisioned, and the fear of the changes happening in her life.
ReplyDeleteWhen thinking about something like an emotional spectrum we look at one end being emotions like anger, shame, guilt. And fear. At the other end exists the more desirable emotion of love, joy, peace, and gratitude. I think it is so true that “there is always going to be something you’re afraid of” and that’s okay. The way love through that fear and find a path to move through our fear is what defines, and we have the ability to navigate that in a way where we are what defines us not someone or something else.So, yes fear is underrated and oftentimes misunderstood.
ReplyDelete-James Wilkin
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