The Lost Hero Book Report

Have you ever questioned yourself about what weighs more on the scale? Hope or fear? Could fear, the belief that something is dangerous or threatening, really overpower hope? Fear, which leads to over awareness and too many extra precautions can’t possibly be stronger than hope. Hope gives a person something to look forward to if they set a reasonable expectation; while fear usually just offers a very grave insight to the future. Fear always leads to a negative view on events and provides no aid in trying to solve a problem. Usually fear even makes problems seem worse than they actually are. There are many reasons as to why hope is stronger and provides more of aid than fear, but the three strongest views on this statement are that,

fear leads to doubts, it destroys overall contentment, and last of all fear causes a large hole in confidence which can definitely be a game changer.

I’m pretty sure everyone has experienced some doubt one time or another, we all know doubt can be a very obstructive thought, but the question is why do we get it? Doubts are definitely associated with fear and they are a performance reducing thought caused from the fear of a certain outcome being fulfilled. Of course doubt is also associated with trust in something or someone, but the overall feeling is caused by fear of that person or object doing something incorrectly. In short terms fear provides doubt, and doubt is bad. On the other hand we have hope, the desire and thought that a certain favourable outcome will be fulfilled. Having this mindset provides a much brighter insight into the outcome of an event and it increases the morale and confidence of most human beings. There are many examples of this in everyday pieces of literature such as the book “Lord of Opium” written by Nancy Farmer. In this book the main character Matteo Alacran is a clone that takes his Original’s place in leading the Opium Drug Empire. Matt’s wish is to uproot the Opium Empire rather than lead it, and in no way does he do this fearfully. All of Matt’s strength comes from his hope that he will be able to succeed in his mission with the help of his friends. Matt’s hope and faith block out all the doubts he has and they allow him to do things that he normally would not even think of doing, all because of the clear goals he has set for the future. It seems as if even though Matt is under a lot of pressure and is very prone to danger, he is still happy with what he is doing as he is following his hopes for the future.

How can a person be happy when they are fearful of their future due to a threatening danger?

The answer simply is, they can’t. Fear is the complete opposite of happiness, there is no happiness in a thought that makes you “run for your life”. Happiness is so important because it can really improve the way an individual faces challenges in all aspects of life. According to many studies people who are happy are quicker to solve problems with better concentration and more inventive solutions. How happy a person is can even increase their learning capabilities, assisting them in their abilities to adapt to wide ranges of situations. In the book “The Lost Hero” written by Rick Riordan, Piper’s father Tristan McLean is held hostage by the giant Enceladus; during this time Piper goes through a series of emotional changes. At first Piper fears for her father’s life and decides that she must listen to the giant and betray her companions no matter what, but this only leads to more problems. When Piper begins to feel comfortable with her new friends she once again must think of a strategy to save her father. Piper now happy to be with her friends opens her eyes and comes up with a much better solution where she could save both her friends and her father. By the end of the book this plan is fulfilled and all of the sudden Piper’s very one toned fate from the beginning of the book turned into something much more substantial. Fear leaves far too many doors closed, whilst hope which provides contentment, opens all options and releases light upon an individual’s thoughts. Problems don’t always have a single answer, many times they have several solutions some fit better and some fit worse, but hope allows to see more colors than just a thick black cloud of fearful solutions. It’s the difference between black and white; confidently taking on a problem or running away from it in fear and taking the easy

path.

Fear can be very strong and is able to shift the tides in many situations, but it’s effects are nowhere near the effects hope has on us. Hope combats fear with it’s main strength, confidence. Confidence is a type of certitude and is the sense of having a firm trust in something, so it only makes sense that confidence would be the key to hope’s strength in a person. The more self confident one becomes the closer they get to escaping their own doubts and having peace of mind. Not only is confidence firm trust in ability, but it is also the ability to accept and handle a situation, replacing fear with trust in one’s own abilities. You may ask