Fear By H.E.Bates - Critical Evaluation

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Critical Evaluation of H.E. Bates' "Fear"



We all have our fears. Sometimes it is fear of the dark. Sometimes we are scared to be alone and many of us are afraid of death. Just like our ancestors, we have this small, primitive "sense" very deep in us which is scared of the unknown. If we do not have explanation for something we tend panic. H. E. Bates short story "Fear" explores all those fears universally felt by human beings. The author writes, it would seem, a very trivial story about a small boy and his grandpa as they hide in a small hut before a storm. However, we can see a totally different tale about superstition and fear.
The boy's first impression of the storm is that it is a frightening and unfriendly event. The personification "thunderstorms talked darkly to each other" shows that the boy is giving human feelings and characteristics to the storm. Clearly this is a young child who thinks of the world in animistic terms. Such a world where cars sleep at night in garages can be comforting. But such a world can also unleash terrors where natural forces are given attributes, which properly belong to the world of scheming, deliberate human behavior. The author uses animism to build up tension, emphasize the fear and give the story another dimension. Certainly at the beginning of the story his fears are distant suggested by the observation that his eyes are "faint yellow". This is however a clear indication that he is afraid of things which he does not understand and he sees things only in his imagination. His fear becomes more intense as the storm develops. The use of the phrase “ The three thunder - storms grew angrier and angrier” indicates that the little boy is gradually losing control and succumbing to fear. The personification of the surrounding forest: “The trees began to open their arms…” creates an image that this is only the start of something terrible that is going to happen. With his silly...