Fear In Julio Cortazar's House Taken Over

1037 Words3 Pages

Fear Everybody is affected by fear in one way or another. Fear can be seen as a wide variety of things in this world, whether it’s created by their imagination or something like a roller coaster. When the unknown, being alone, and dreaming are present, together they create the unmistakable feeling of fear. Often times our imagination can cause terrible, mindless fear. Like in Julio Cortazar’s short story “ House Taken Over”. In the story the narrator and his sister, Irene, live in a spacious home that has been in their family for generations. When something unknown seems to be taking over their house section by section. The two siblings are eventually overtaken by fear causing them to leave everything they’ve ever had behind. “ The sound …show more content…

Like in Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven”. In this poem the narrator is alone in his home half reading, half asleep trying to forget about his lost loved one, Lenore. The narrator hears a knocking on his door but when he opens it, there is nothing there. The nothingness that he finds when he opens his door, freaks him out slightly. “ So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating: ‘Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door- some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; that it is, and nothing more.” (Poe 3). This quote illustrates that the narrator is a little bit scared at this point, he makes himself repeat over and over again that it was only a visitor who was at his door and nothing else. When being alone, little sounds can cause the brain to overthink resulting in fearing what the noise could have been. Another example of fear being caused by being alone is when the narrator looks out into the darkness after opening his door. “ Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.” (Poe 5). This quote shows that as the narrator looks, alone, into the darkness, his brain creates fearful ideas that no one would think of if they weren't alone like himself. I believe that being alone can be the most fearful feeling because you're left with nothing but your own …show more content…

Like in Lexi Tuckers short story “ Sleep Paralysis: A Waking Nightmare”. In this story the author describes what it’s like to experience having sleep paralysis and how it could happen. “ But people who suffer from sleep paralysis find themselves paralyzed and fully aware of their predicament. What’s worse, the sleeper often experiences a frightening series of additional symptoms: difficulty breathing due to perceived pressure on the chest ( as if someone or something were sitting on the dreamers chest); hallucinations ( often seeing or hearing an intruder in the room); and powerful fear.” ( Tucker 1). This quote indicates that sleep paralysis can cause many factors that can lead to any person being frightened. Another example of how dreaming can be a cause of fear is an experience that Tucker had wrote about. A woman named Lori Ball had described her experience with sleep paralysis, “ I try to scream ( though I have great difficulty making any sound), attempt to flail around, anything, to get the attention of my husband. It’s a feeling of panic, entrapment, and desperation so horrifying that I have difficulty describing its magnitude.” (Tucker 3). This quote explains that fear can come from thoughts made up by the brain. People suffering from sleep paralysis feel fear whenever they dream because they have hallucinations that are uncontrollable. I think these

Open Document