Fear In Faulkner's Short Stories

As I mention above, responses to fear from different people in the novel indicate that the sense of fear, in fact, can be temporarily assuaged by irrational thoughts as well as distraction rather than rationality. However, one obvious problem of these strategies is that they can only reduce fear superficially but not essentially. To address this problem, several characters’ behaviors in the novel demonstrate that there is a more appropriate way to treat fear: accept it honestly rather than eliminating it immediately.

Over the third part of the novel, a series of narratives increasingly emphasize the truth that treating fear honestly can serve as a motive which supports human survival. Instead of rejecting fear in the first place, characters

More clearly, fear is an emotion caused by the belief that something is dangerous, while panic is an uncontrollable emotion that would cause unthinking behavior. Accepting fear means that people can realize their fear and then control it reasonably. For example, in the novel, when the flooding traps Mitchell in his canoe for so many days, he gradually starts to accept his own fear and controls it wisely (190-191). To be more specific, he gradually forms a more positive opinion of this natural disaster: “all the filth of the world--its parasites and disease and wormlike anxieties--had been wiped away, just like the bacterial sludge on his living room window. His skycity had been rinsed by the flood. And what a glorious place it was” (192). This distinctive opinion highlights the fact that Mitchell discovers something broader and deeper when he can control his fear. Instead of focusing on how horrible the current situation is, he realizes that flooding actually purifies the entire city and removes the ugly capitalism. In general, such special and positive thought sets up a useful strategy to relieve people and prevent them from being panic. Specially when the worst scenarios come, people like Mitchell need some inspirations other than the horrific facts of disaster. Therefore, accepting fear can help create other optimistic perspective of current situation and then prevent people from doing something