What Fear Can Teach Us By Karen Thompson Walker Analysis

Fear is an involuntary response to a danger or threat in our surroundings. Whether it is an internal doubt or external fright, humans have been taught to view it as an obstacle to subdue. In "Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card, Card plays with the concept that fear can influence a human’s reactions to conflict. Similar concepts are shared in “What Fear Can Teach Us” by Karen Thompson Walker; the author congregates points on how our anxieties can actually be used to an advantage, instead of it being a vexing thought. In both pieces, the authors establish the idea of how fear can be a decisive mechanism.

In her article, “What Fear Can Teach Us,” Karen Thompson Walker discusses how our anxieties can control our decisions. Walker states that

Card introduces Ender by stating “...take my moniter away and I’m just like Peter” (Card 8). Ender’s fear of sharing characteristics with Peter motivates many significant decisions that he makes throughout the book, and causes him to view his weakness as something to conquer. Similarly, Walker shares the idea that it is in our human nature to fear our anxieties as we try to overcome them. Card, from the perspective of Valentine, states “And they won’t elect you… Especially because of the letter I’ve put in my secret file in the city library, which will be opened in the event of my death” (Card 13). Because of Valentine’s fear of Peter killing her and Ender, she thinks ahead and prepares for the worst, mirroring Walker’s point that our fears can drive us to prepare for the future. Card addresses the main idea of the book, stating that “Battle School is for training future starship captains and commodores of flotillas and admirals of the fleet.” (Card 20) Because Ender’s world lived in fear of the unknown, it prepares for war with the buggers in order to prevent the human race from extermination. Just as Ender’s world prepares for the worst out of their own fear, Walker explains how people’s most irrational decisions can be traced back to them being afraid of the worst case