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Trina Roundy

Diversity in American Literature

July 10, 2018

Human Fear and History: A Synthesis Essay Highlighting Science Fiction

Human fear has been an underlying motivation for all actions since the dawn of time.

Wars, partnerships, empires built and fallen all due to basic human fear of the unknown, losing

what they have, and not getting what they want. The fear of the unknown has been both helping

and hampering humanity’s capabilities, and it is shown throughout history and literature.

Genre of Science Fiction

Science fiction is arguably one of the most popular genres of literature and movies. The

acts of pushing known science to the limits of the imagination is enticing. The ideas of

fantastical new discoveries and fantasy elements are easy for people to suspend their disbelief

and for a moment, wonder that anything of the like could happen.

“Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction, typically dealing with imaginative

concepts such as advanced science and technology, spaceflight, time travel, and extraterrestrial
life.” (Wikipedia)
The focus on extraterrestrial life seems to be a majority favorite, along with disaster and
dystopian themes. Sometimes, all three. Again, fear being the driver, aliens, unknown, disaster
and a new and changed world, almost always bleak and full of despair are key plots for very
popular books and movies. It seems that we in the United States are very fond of whistling in the
dark; laughing in the face of our fears.
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Science fiction (in the inclusive sense) combines satire with the kind of visionary (or pro

phetic) imagination exemplified by Dante's Divine Comedy, Milton's Paradise Lost, Olaf

Stapledon's Star Maker, and the best of Arthur C. Clarke's fic tion. The frequent claim that we

now live in a science fiction world testifies to the genre's prophetic and visionary success”

(Ketterer) This suggests that we thumb our nose at what we fear, but we still take it very

seriously. These fears come from many areas of human history.

Real Life Issues

Of course, there are many very good reasons for humanity to fear the unknown and each

other. The birth of the atomic bomb changed the way not only Americans, but the entire globe

looked at life, death and each other.

The History of American Fear states, “The atomic monsters of the 1950s — Godzilla was

the first and most widely imitated example — are obviously a reaction to the war, and the new

anxieties it brought up. There were no real giant radioactive monsters, but there were giant

anxieties during the Cold War. So, the fallout shelter kind of replaced Dracula’s crypt.” (PBS)

Again, this is strong evidence that fear was a huge motivating factor in society and the way the

progress of war and entertainment were happening, side by side.

And then, there lies one of the major factors in human fears of all kinds. The media and

the stark, horrific headlines we read every day, all day. Psychology Today plainly states, “Fear-

based news stories prey on the anxieties we all have and then hold us hostage.” (If it Bleeds)

Good news and comfort does not sell and the human psyche is not built to withstand the

inundation of non-stop fear based declarations.

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Literary Text – Speaker of the Dead, Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card’s Speaker of the Dead exemplifies humanities fears of the unknown,

their own mortality and the prison of belief systems that some find themselves in from time to

time. From nearly the start, this story is about fear-driven emotions, thoughts and actions from

almost every human character.

Beginning with Ender himself, although a grown man, Ender continues to carry the fear

that he made a mistake during the war with the buggers, and that fear affects every decision he’s

made for 20 plus years. Being convinced that he was the destroyer, and subsequently the

redeemer of an entire species gives Ender somewhat of a God complex in power, with no God

complex in understanding.

The colony on Lusitania is emblazoned in fear on many levels. They fear the old plague

returning, they fear the piggies, they fear the Speaker, they fear the government. This can be

directly correlated to today’s reality; we fear sickness, the Islamic people, anyone who tells a

truth we don’t like either personally, or as a collective, and we fear the government. We fear both

its power and its complicity.

Specifically looking at the colonists and their relationship with and to the alien piggie

colony that was native to the planet, the colonists immediately issue rules and regulations both

against and with regard to all communications with the piggies. Their fear was manifested as

force and control, making sure the piggies received no viable information to progress, commune

or integrate with the humans, culturally or societally.

Almost immediately when the story unfolds between the humans and the piggies, the

“observation report” found on pg. 41 (Card) immediately brings attention that this colony of
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sentient life is being observed as in a zoo. A zoo is for the protection of spectators, not the

animals. When a spectator climbs the fence and is killed, the colonists immediately shut down

that “zoo” and end all communications with the piggies, for fear of another murder. Fear drove

the colonists to the planet in the first place, fear caused them to build a wall, which in essence

caged themselves in, and fear drove the second murder by the piggies, because no one thought

about things culturally, they thought about things in terms of what they knew, which was their

religious faith and morals.

Conclusion

People have been struggling with survival, success, trust and faith since the beginning of

society itself. It will always be a fluid and changing concept. Fear is the most basic survival

instinct any sentient being has. It is the most natural indicator that something is wrong, out of

place or eminently dangerous. However, as we and our lifestyles have evolved, so has the need

and effectiveness of fear. It stands to reason that as technology, thinking, and human

achievement progress, so will their fears and anxieties grow to match.

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Works Cited

Science Fiction and Imagination Author(s): David Ketterer, Eric S. Rabkin and Raffaella

Baccolini Source: PMLA, Vol. 120, No. 1, Special Topic: On Poetry (Jan., 2005), pp. 246-249

Published by: Modern Language Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25486156

(2018)

Ketterer, David, et al. “Science Fiction and Imagination.” PMLA, vol. 120, no. 1, 2005,

pp. 246–249. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25486156.

Google Search, Google, www.google.com/.

Card, Orson Scott, et al. Speaker for the Dead. Orbit, 2014.

“If It Bleeds, It Leads: Understanding Fear-Based Media.” Psychology Today, Sussex

Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/two-takes-depression/201106/if-it-bleeds-it-

leads-understanding-fear-based-media.

“Main Page.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 9 July 2018, en.wikipedia.org/.

“The History of American Fear.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service,

www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/history-american-fear/.