Essay on Fear and How It Affects People: Mentally, Physically and Politically

Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat (Taking). Fear is one of the most powerful, moral and rational human emotions. Your body will adapt to fear in ways that will help you be more decisive and alert. You will want to follow the threats orders, so you stay out of more danger. In the novel 1984 by George Orwell there is a dystopian world where the Party, headed by Big Brother, rules Oceania with an iron fist. Winston Smith works in the Records Department of the Ministry of Truth. His job is to rewrite historical documents according to the Party's demands. The reason he must rewrite the documents is because the government can never be wrong and whatever the government says is automatically correct because the people are unable to have an original thought. 

Fear powerfully affects the body and mind. The amygdala is an almond-shaped region in the brain, situated right next to the hypothalamus, which acts as the main center for processing emotions, emotional behavior, and motivation. The amygdala, together with the hypothalamus and the hippocampus, form the brain's limbic system, which deals with memory and emotions. This part of the brain will process all the possible outcomes and remember important situations, facts, and details that will help you become more decisive and comprehend the full situation. 

The other side of fear affecting your body, is your body’s physical reaction to a threat. [The most common physical reactions to fear are breathing get heavier and quicker, vision and hearing gets sharper, blood flows to your muscles and you become on hyperalert. This physical response is also known as the “fight or flight” response, in which your body prepares itself to either enter combat or run away.] (Javanbacht) All of these reactions will help your body be in “super human mode” and be ready for either combat or to run fast. 

“Political fear is sort of different than “haunted house” fear.” (Walter) Political fear is the concept that people may incite fear in the general public to achieve political or workplace goals through emotional bias. (Robin) When political fear is placed in a government, the people act as the government wants to avoid conflict. “Large parts of the government and the ‘private’ sector participate in the production and distribution of fear.” (Higgs) Now this has only proven to work if the individuals are scared. If one or a group is not scared, they most likely will not follow an order/rule if they don’t agree with it and could possibly rebel. 

So why is it so hard to control a government even WITH fear being used? The government has trouble keeping their community in order because when individuals don’t agree with how the government is being run/the laws that are being made, some will speak up about it if it goes against their beliefs, the more and more people will start disagreeing with the government and as Martin Luther King Jr. said “There is power in unity and there is power in numbers” For example recently new states such as Arkansas and Utah who banned abortion after 18-22 weeks, Ohio, Missouri, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Georgia have banned abortion after 6-8 weeks (or when there is a heartbeat) and Alabama who banned abortion unless it will harm the mother. According the CBS, “More than 400 rallies were held coast-to-coast Tuesday in opposition to new restrictions on abortion. Hundreds turned out in support of reproductive rights at demonstrations organized by Planned Parenthood, including entire families.” This just shows how when people unify, they can be strong.  

In 1984 fear is a major role of how their society runs. There are cameras virtually everywhere and almost nobody rebels because of the fear of being vaporized. People who did not obey were against the party or gave themselves at least a glance - disappeared. All articles, documents, photos of this person were destroyed as if this person did not exist at all. Everyone was afraid to become the next person to disappear. That novel would not have gained its popularity if it wasn’t for George Orwell’s expanded vocabulary. He was also very good at making the tones of the novel shift unexpectedly and gradually. Likewise, on this background, he depicted the story of love, whose tenderness and passion make us sympathize with the heroes and wish for them a happy ending, which did not happen. The political fear used is not as obvious as it was in the book 1984 but it is still used today. For example; if you commit a crime (something against the law) you are prosecuted. 

Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. Fear is one of the most powerful, moral and rational human emotions. Your body will adapt to fear in ways that will help you be more decisive, alert and physically capable. The use of fear in 1984 was very clearly about conformity and abiding by the rules of the government. Although it is not as clear as it was presented in the novel, the use of fear in the government is still around today through laws and regulations.