The authors of the essays we read this semester, all had the same idea of becoming a better person. All of them wanted us to stand up for ourselves and take control of our lives. Four essays stood out to me this semester that I believe really bring this idea to life. “What Really Scares Us” tell us how to take control of our life with numbers and facts. “Aria” tell us how to become a more competent person with making sacrifices. “Shooting an Elephant” tells us to stand for ourselves by telling a story of a man being forced by others. Finally, “Learning to Read and Write” contains all these elements as a slave learns to read. David Ropeik had a bold approach to tell his readers to take control of their lives and stop being afraid. In “What Really Scares Us”, Ropeik uses statistical evidence and blames emotions to cut away everyday fears the average person carries with them. More people are afraid to fly in a plane then they are to drive a car because of control. The odds of the plane crashing are lower than the odds of the car crashing. Ropeik explains that because a person is in control, that person feels safer, and that’s a huge emotional factor that determines our fears. Choosing to drive increases your risks, just to have a feeling of being safer. Ropeik really wants every person to set their fears aside and use facts and reason in their everyday life. Ropeik doesn’t want us to be afraid of things we are out of control of or just don’t understand. “The better you can do at keeping your perception of risks closer in line with what the risks actually are, the happier and safer you’ll be.” (Ropeik 535). He wants us to control what we fear and in turn we can live a much easier life with lower inconveniences, because we think we... ... middle of paper ... ...otions control me in my decision making. Orwell used his story to influence me not to let me get pushed by others and to take stand for myself. Rodriguez putting aside his heritage so he can become a competent person really inspired me for what I can do. Douglass had all these lessons in his essay on his journey for literacy. Works Cited 1. Douglass, Frederick. “Learning to Read and Write.” Ed. Keith Gilyard. New York, Pearson Longman, 2007: Pages 351-356. 2. Orwell, George. “Shooting an Elephant.” Rhetorical Choices, ed. Keith Gilyard. New York, Pearson Longman, 2007: Pages 66-72. 3. Rodriguez, Richard. “Aria.” Rhetorical Choices, ed. Keith Gilyard. New York, Pearson Longman, 2007: Pages 441-447. 4. Ropeik, David. “What Really Scares Us.” Rhetorical Choices, ed. Keith Gilyard. New York, Pearson Longman, 2007: Pages 533-535.
Human's fears should not be taken lightly. Fear could do anything to one's minds, though without fear, man can be as savage as animals. In the book Lord of the Flies, William Golding presented fear of the unknown to be a powerful force in a man's mind. Fear of the unknown is a powerful force, which can turn to either insight or hysteria. The kids feared of not being rescued off of the island, so they made signal fires on top of the mountain. Then, there and gone, Roger's fear of the old rules he abided to. Also, there were the fears of the beast which confused and isolated the kids from the top of the mountain.
fear, this fear persuades the reader of this idea by making the reader experiencing the horror of
"Culture of Fear" is a book that describes that it is our perceptions that dangers have increased, and so much the actual level of risk. Glassner explains in all of his chapters how people and organizations use our fears as a way to increase their profit. Glassner also states about the prices we pay for our panics and all the time and energy we spend worrying. Americans are afraid because of the media's broadband expose of crime, violence, drugs and diseases.
Longaker, Mark Garrett, and Jeffrey Walker. Rhetorical Analysis: A Brief Guide for Writers. Glenview: Longman, 2011. Print.
Karl Albrecht, Ph.D. "The (Only) Five Basic Fears We All Live By." Psychology Today (2012).
McNeil, Hayden. The Anteater's Guide to Writing & Rhetoric. Irvine: Composition Program, Department of English, UC Irvine, 2014. Print.
It is believed that fear is a feeling which humans try to control, but they
Fear prevents us from embracing the present moment. While fear does serve as a protective force, as individuals would not consider consequences without it, it also damages an individual 's ability to live mindfully. Fear prevents risk; it prevents individuals from taking risks that could move them from despair to fulfillment. We stand dissatisfied with the present, yet afraid of the unknown. The Mindless Monster that we possess provokes fear; negative thoughts such as “You are not good enough,” “You will fail,” and “You are not worthy,” flood our mind, causing an altered mindset. The problem with our Mindless Monster rests on the notion that it only provides negativity consequences, disregarding possible rewards. This fear halts our progress, trapping us in a mindless
Palmer, William. "Rhetorical Analysis." Discovering Arguments: An Introduction to Critical Thinking, Writing, and Style. Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2012. 268-69. Print.
Richard Rodriguez author and journalist wrote a short piece “Scholarship Boy” to explain to his audience of underprivileged children wanting a better future, the scarifies he endured as a young child: the loss of family ties and knowing himself in order to succeed a better self. Another great author who faced huge sacrifices is known as none other than abolitionist leader Fredrick Douglass, “Learning to Read and Write” giving his found audience a look into the various dangerous tasks he took to give himself a better chance of survival. The two pieces show how one boy sacrificed so much in order to free himself and the other coming from less harsh circumstances but understand sacrifices just as well. All to be able to have a better and brighter future.
To reiterate, fear links to constant fear of conformity, secretive behavior, and obsession with religious teachings that protect the conservative views of the society of Waknuk. What I have learned in The Chrysalids by John Wyndham is that fears affect perception, your perception changes according to your psychological state and it affects your behavior as well. People reflect regarding their fears all the time and as they feel that they will come upon them, they start becoming apprehensive. When an individual is afraid of something, they may experience unusual judgment that they would have never made before which all the main events that occur in The Chrysalids relate. The main thing I learned was the two powerful emotions that result our actions is fear and love.
As people grow up, they tackle their own challenges, fears begin to fester and grow inside of them. These fears have the potential to change the way people will live out their day-to-day life. Along with fears is foresight. This can aid people in the search for how to overcome, or work around their fears. Foresight can also help people picture how their fears may affect their life. Both fears and foresight have the potential to offer people life-altering choices that will help people grow. Fear and foresight can both have a large part in influencing life-altering choices, just as Nora Helmer, Florentine and a choice of my own, all illustrate.
In the words of Bertrand Russell, “Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom” (Russell). Fear causes many problems in our lives. Fear influences many of a person’s actions and decisions. However, people usually regret the decisions or actions they made out of fear. Also, these actions and decisions can cause problems for those people in their future. Fear is a harmful emotion, for it clouds people’s judgement, disables them from taking action, and causes them to make decisions that they will regret later.
This paper is focused on how fear as a subject is being perceived by many as a dominant and primitive human emotion. An uncontrollable energy that’s exists and created within every individual, which is directed towards an object or a given situation that does not present an actual danger. The individual then analyzes that the fear is contradictory and thus cannot help the reaction. Gradually, the phobia aims to build up and aggravate as the fear of fear response takes hold. Eventually they distinguish their fear responses as negative, and go out of their way to avoid those reactions. ‘Fear is derived as a basic feeling and therefore created by us – it is not something we have, but something we do. The principle of fear is to keep us safe.’
Gulli, C. (2009, 10 19). Fear Factor. Maclean's, 122(40), p. 100. Retrieved April 30, 2014