Heath Hood

English 1

4/6/2015

 

How Fear Affects People’s Lives

In Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night, fear is struck upon Elie with the thought of being separated from his father. When the time came to be set apart, Elie dashed after his father to remain by his side. Just like Elie, people often suffer from fear, maybe not be as severe, in their lives. Fear can affect people’s lives by making them stronger but it can also block opportunities.

Facing fears is definitely not easy, but once it’s completed courage is gained. For example, when fear comes upon people, the answer is never to give up and feel sorry for themselves. The effects of the fear depend on how it is handled. If the fear is dealt by pushing through the lack of comfort, confidence is gained as well as courage for the next challenge that may come. In addition, right before school started, the day came for our first football scrimmage. As being only a freshman on varsity, surely didn’t have a size advantage. The whistle blew and right then I knew it was my time to go in the game, and after a couple plays I quickly realized there was nothing to be scared about. Although the fear was overwhelming, I was able to fight through it and grow from the experience. This is the case with many fears, people are often too scared to face them, and they’ll miss an opportunity to grow as a person. Therefore, if fears are never faced with courage, confidence and strength will not grow.

Fears that are not handled correctly could have a negative effect on people. For example, in the eighth grade, we were on our way to Six Flags for our field trip. Pulling up and seeing the Titan and the Texas Giant gave me chills down my spine, but all my friends couldn’t wait to ride them. Finally, at the end of the day, I worked up the courage to ride the Titan, and I fell in love instantly. People will often times let fear dictate decisions, and it can quickly lead to missed opportunities, like mine because I was only able to ride on ride. Furthermore, a fear of public speaking or talking in an interview could lead to not getting a quality job. If a person couldn’t handle that fear, it could affect their families by not being able to provide needed item or pay bills.

Therefore, when Elie’s strikes him so hard that he risks his own life to be by his father’s side, he was successful and was never separated from his father at the concentration camps. Fear will impact people’s live either in a positive way by making them stronger or negatively and risk a missed chance