Fear comes to a close!

My, I have been lacking in these posts, now haven’t I? Sadly, I have about 5 or six blogs all written down in my notes, and yet not one of them posted here. I’m sorry professor, but I guess go out with a bang here. That being said, let’s see if I can try and summarize many of these old scribbling into a new blog that is actually relevant to the discussions, and not an outdated rant as many of these are. Fear, I’ve talked about it before, and I think it’s worthwhile to talk about again. Yes, we did touch upon it during class in our discussion, but let’s dive deeper shall we? I am going to try and avoid things like “why do we feel fear,” or “what does fear do to people,” as much as I can, and instead stab at the heart of another idea, that of “how does one create fear?”Now, some might look at that and wonder if I am demented, but in all honesty, I want to look at this more as a question of what aspects of society are crafted for no other reason than to incite fear into people. To do this, I think it’s worth looking at the concept of crafting social realities, instead of just accepting them as they are presented to us. I would go so far as to argue the idea that hindsight is 20/20, because I think that the clarity in which we see the past, in any way, is actually seen through glasses of some kind, and not by the natural eye at all. What I mean is that we are quick to apply concepts and ideas to any sort of happening as if these ideas were present during the time of their conception. Luckily for us, we have been reading books that have, for the most part, been fully aware of the ideas and theories that they present. When we look back at Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, we know that Twain was aiming directly at the industrial lifestyle, and hit his mark in symbolism and even blunt imagery. Yet, as a counter to this, there are times in which we can take this too far, and apply contemporary thoughts that might end up confusing the text more than the criticisms levied on it during its own time. Handmaid’s Tale, then, perhaps is the best way for us to see this concept in action, as Offred is constantly dividing her opinions between what was acceptable and what currently is. A society structured on a system of oppression and regulation, using the logic and reasoning that the past was bad because it did not have this, then the creation of fear is inevitable. Offred describes the anxiety that is felt by everyone, including herself, in regards to that ever present entity of “The Eyes,” or the fear created by sterilization. Everything is made to be frightening, and much like the idea that man has tamed nature, religion is viewed to have tamed that which is evil and corruptive. If one sees everything around them as frightening, then any entities that stands up as a protective agent against this is seen as a savior. Often, people fear what they do not understand, what they do not know, giving such things power. When a government such as the one presented alters the past to make it unknown to people, it becomes frightening. The Eyes themselves are a secret police, making all those who do not know what they do afraid of them. These fears are constructed for the people, based upon latent ideas and conceptions. However, they are not always natural, and great lengths are taken to reinforce them, such as the conditioning the Handmaids go through as well as the public display of the “punished” on the wall. Remind people what they are afraid of, and they will not seek to understand it, more to run for shelter. With the end of the year fast approaching, many of us fear for our grades, we’re not always sure what they are. But, I would like to leave everyone with this. Fear is what you make of it, and the only way to get past it is to face it. Many of the characters we discussed in class did so, and those who did not ended up with a raw deal. So, have a good winter break, and remember, we have nothing to fear but fear itself… that and carnival workers, those guys are just creepy…