Fear In Julio Cortazar's House Taken Over

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

came through muted and indistinct, a chair being knocked over onto the carpet or the muffled buzzing of a conversation. At the same time or a second later, I heard it at the end of the passage which led from those two rooms toward the door. I hurled myself against the door before it was too late and shut it…” (cortazar 6). This quote shows that the narrator doesn’t know what “it” could be, causing the fear of ever finding out what “it” truly is that’s taking over the house. Also the narrator had hurled himself against the door so that whatever was coming after him could not get through the door, that shows he has a fear of “it” taking over any more sections of the house. Additionally, another example is when “it” takes over the whole house, resulting in the narrator and Irene being left with nothing. “ I took Irene’s arm and forced her to run with me to the wrought-iron door, not waiting to look back. You could hear the noises, still muffled but louder, just behind us. I slammed the grating and we stopped in the vestibule. Now there was nothing to be heard.” ( Cortazar 24). This quote presents that the narrator was to fearful to even look back to see what was making the unknown muffled noises, taking over their home, chasing after them. Fear had ran them out of their families home. Humans like to know what they are up against, without the knowledge of knowing what a person is running from or hearing, the feeling of fear will be the result.
The feeling of being alone can drive anyone to the point of a fear like no other.

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

thoughts and feelings, nobody to talk too.
When being asleep, nobody wants to wake up to hallucinations, dark figures and the feeling of being paralyzed.

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

feeling caused by sleep paralysis are what fear is to me, the feeling of entrapment and having no control over the situation that the brain dreams up.
In conclusion, fear comes from plenty of feelings and situations that are mostly made up by the brain. Overthinking the situation can cause the unknown, being alone, and dreaming to become something frightening. The unknown can drive someone crazy and to make rash decisions. The thought of being alone can cause a fear so great that the person can feel unsafe. Simply dreaming can cause a nightmare where the person feels paralyzed and trapped. Everybody experiences fear, sometimes fear can be enjoyable and sometimes fear can frighten someone to the point of madness.