The Theme Of Fear In Victor Villaseñor's Burro Genius

Fear is a powerful emotion. Wikipedia.com describes fear as “an emotion induced by threat perceived by living entities, which causes a change in brain and organ function and ultimately change behavior, such as running away, hiding or freezing from traumatic events.”Most people tend to avoid fearful situations, not realizing that something positive may come out of the event or experience. Victor Villaseñor focuses on the topic of fear in his novel titled Burro Genius. Villaseñor demonstrates to readers how growing up he was extremely fearful of any situation. Victor also tells his readers how he turned his fear into motivation into motivation to keep going and reach his ultimate goal of becoming a published author. Victor’s early years of

Victor not being able to read made him dread going to school because his teacher would require students to read out loud. Victor states how having to read out loud was not his only fear but many other things as well. He was also extremely fearful of facing the world without his mother. That is another reason victor also hated staying at school because his mother could not stay with him. After a while, Victor learned soon enough to adapt to being without his mother, realizing that everything would be Ok. He also began to make friends at school, which helped him be a bit more comfortable at school. One of the boys he hung out with the most was his friend Ramón. This boy Ramon inspired and motivated Victor to become brave like him. In Chapter four we see an example of this where Victor states “I quit crying, just like that. My God, I couldn’t believe it, this boy Ramon had to be the bravest boy I had ever seen” (Villaseñor 64).Victor makes it clear about how he admires Ramon for his bravery and also refers to Ramon’s personality as his motivation for courage. I learned how Victor in this book changes from a young fearful boy to a brave gritty young man proud of his Mexican roots. Fear is a great motivator.