Fear Of Fear In Life Of Pi, By Yann Martel

In Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, A young indian boy is stuck on a small lifeboat with a 450-pound bengal tiger. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean along with one of the top hunters in the animal kingdom, fear often lingers in Pi’s mind. Pi reflects how fear affects the mind and body. He says, “Fear which is but an impression, has triumphed over you. The matter is difficult to put into words. For fear, real fear, such as shakes you to your foundation, such as you feel when you are brought face to face with your mortal end” (204). Pi explains how fear, which is not a real, tangible item, just an emotion induced by perceived danger, can shake one mentally and because the mind is the foundation of a person, fear affects the entire individual. The
There is the fight or flight that every living being uses, animal and human. Humans often have other bodily reactions to fear, such as fast heart rate, sweaty palms and many others. Often times, the same person can have different reactions to different situations. For example, when I take a big test or write an essay, my hands begin to sweat. Not only does this help me calm down, I am able to focus on the task at hand. I have had a lasting fear of “The back room” in my house, it is a room that is unfinished and is used for storage purposes. I fear the room because it has a decent amount of old stuff, the room is dusty, and it is a dwelling for many arthropods and arachnids. I do not hate the room itself, because it holds the water heater and all the tools to make my house work smoothly, but I fear what lies behind the boxes, the old board games, and the unknown inside it all. Every time I have to go back in the room, I shiver and shudder and pray that there is not any sudden movement that passes my feet. While I shiver at the thought of bugs and the unknown I also have a terrible fear of heights. My fear is so bad I can barely go on the final step of a six foot ladder. I refuse to go into the attic and I scoff at the idea of helping my sister put Christmas lights on the roof. When I do come to a situation when I am on a rooftop or on a mountain overlooking a valley, not only am I
According to Arash Javanbakht and Linda Saab, both Assistant professors of Psychiatry at Wayne State University. They explain that fear is a defense mechanism. The brain prepares us when we sense danger, the first reaction is in the amygdala, a set of nuclei near the temporal lobe, it senses emotion, mostly anger and fear and this allows our bodies to trigger the fight or flight method. Studies from the University of Minnesota explain that fear even sharpens our sense to help survival, it improves eyesight and shuts down the digestive system, which is necessary for survival. While the brain and body attempt to help us survive, fear can still harm a human. Chronic fear can lead to physical health problems, such as the weakening of the immune system, accelerated aging, and even premature death. Fear can also lead to mental health problems, such as depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. This shows that while fear triggers the defense mechanism in your brain, it also can have negative long lasting effects on a person. All in all, while people see different forms of fear and cope in different ways, fear, while just an emotion, can affect a person so much that they have to live with its problems for the rest of their