How do we cope with our fears? There are many ways in which people go about coping with their fears. Sometimes people conquer their fears, but other times people have to define the fear to overcome it. In The Thing in the Forest by A. S. Byatt, two girls, Penny and Primrose, were sent off to keep them safe from the German bomber attacks on London. These girls knew that their parents were afraid and as a result they were afraid as well. But they didn't know what they are supposed to be afraid of, so in order to try and overcome their fears the girls created an imaginary creature. It was a collage of things that they thought their parents would be afraid of. The creature was a symbol of the pain and destruction that came from the attacks and the war as a whole. …show more content…
They did not actually see a creature, but they imagined it to try and explain what had been happening in London. They were sent away to be kept safe from German bomb raids; they hadn't been told this, but they most likely knew that something was wrong and that their parents were afraid. The creature was above all frightening. They knew their parents were afraid of what was happening so they had to create something scary enough to scare their parents. They pulled inspiration from things they were afraid of, they imagine it was a giant worm or slug-like creature and that it was gross and dirty. But they also created it out of things they saw in London shortly before they were sent