The Cold Equations, By H. G. Wells

Over the course of Unit one, I read a few stories that correlated with the theme of “Xenophobia, or fear of the unknown.” Many conflicts that were presented during these stories triggered fear, panic and fright, relating back to the “xenophobia” the characters felt during the story. The two stories that I read during this unit were “The Cold Equations” by Tom Godwin and “War of the Worlds” by H.G. Wells. I believe that H.G. Wells’ story contributed and related more to this unit’s theme. Therefore, I think there are many solid quotes that would reinforce my argument.

During “War of the Worlds”, the main character says, “The end of the cylinder was being screwed out from within. Nearly two feet of shining screw projected. Somebody blundered against me, and I narrowly
missed being pitched onto the top of the screw. I turned, and as I did so the screw must have come out, for the lid of the cylinder fell upon the gravel with a ringing concussion. I stuck my elbow into the person behind me, and turned my head towards the Thing again. For a moment that circular cavity seemed perfectly black. I had the sunset in my eyes.
I think everyone expected to see a man emerge—possibly something a little unlike us terrestrial men, but in all essentials a man. I know I did. But, looking, I presently saw something stirring within the shadow: greyish billowy movements, one above another, and then two luminous (rollover: shining, glowing) disks—like eyes. Then something resembling a little grey snake, about the thickness of a walking stick, coiled up out of the writhing middle, and wriggled in the air towards me—and then another. A sudden chill came over me.” This entire quote reflects that the overall outlook was for a man to appear out of the cylinder shaped object. Again, characters were related to this “xenophobia” of having doubts that it was not a human man but a cruel monster. I also believe the feeling of “unrevealed evolution” put the characters into pure hysteria. Imagine not knowing if a foreign threat hit the Earth and planned to take over the world! I especially think that when the man says, “A sudden chill came over me”, you can interpret that all their positive assurance of it being a human diminished into a protective emotional state of it being a monster. Since the community was screaming and running, I would have to argue that they did go through this “Fear of the unknown” and wanted to escape the reality they were in. Not knowing if you’re in danger could be very petrifying.

I have also been through my own “fear of the unknown.” I actually go through it every time I step into a Softball game.
Since I am a pitcher, I am the closest to the batter, and have a minimum reaction time then all the other players on the field. I have to keep in the back of my mind that there is a chance a line-drive will come to me or a hard grounder. I would call this “fear of the unknown” because I will never know how the offensive batter will hit and where it will go. Anything is possible. The “fear” portion is not knowing if you will react soon enough to the ball being hit, but with my protective gear I am 50% safe. This doesn’t mean I won’t get hurt, so “fear of the unknown”, I have to say is very common and can be relatable to any sport as you can get hurt in anything without proper gear and training. It can also happen out of pure bad luck. I have heard a quote before that really reflects to this theme and “War of the World.” The quote states, “Dying to know but afraid to find out.” Part of being a human is curiosity. Curiosity leads to questioning the good and bad. Whether it’s either, fear is taken in place of both circumstances. Xenophobia was clearly demonstrated in “War of the
Worlds.”