There is nothing to be feared as fear.

A quote by Henry Theroux, that rings true

in every sense, which is the fact that fear, limits us in each of our endeavors and is the polar
opposite of hope, a force that drives us toward greater ends. Literature has a tendency to
demonstrate many themes throughout the space of a, relatively short work. The Great Gatsby by
F Scott Fitzgerald and The Crucible by Arthur Miller, through setting and irony demonstrate
what this quote truly means; the existence of fear and its consequences are worse than anything
else.
In The Great Gatsby, Setting is used to convey the idea of fears destructive
prowess. The Great Gatsby is set in the 1920s, The Roaring Twenties, the Jazz age, a time of
great economic and social prosperity, prominence and liberation. During this decade, the decade
after World War I, America saw never-before-seen economic growth, a boom, creating a society
of carefree people with a worldview to match. In other words, emerging from the prospects of
lost loved ones and constant fear (world War I0, people lived without fear. Within this society, is
the struggle between Old Money and New Money, depicted by Buchannan and Gatsby. Both
live lives that serve as somewhat of a contrast to the Roaring Twenties society. Because Gatsby
is the protagonist, fear is strongly conveyed through him. The contrast with the twenties,
Gatsbys fear, the fear of Daisy, the one he loves choosing not to be with him causes him to be
timid and shy despite his surroundings of wealth influence and vivacious spirit. His fear and
feelings of inadequacy early in his life also keeps him from being with Daisy. Without that
contrast, Gatsbys fear is not as important, in driving the plot of the story. Fitzgerald uses that
contrast to highlight that fear is the source of Gatsbys problems.
The Crucible also uses setting to show that fear is dangerous. Seventeenth century
Salem is a time that religion is prominent throughout, and fear of all things mysterious and

unknown is inherently tied to religious beliefs about evil. Such fear is what begins the Salem
witch trials, and it is what perpetuates, sustains and fuels it. Abigail Williams, who is found at the
beginning of the play practicing witchcraft, has fear of destroying her good name as well as
being killed because of it, causing her to lie to Reverend Paris and accuse others of witchcraft as
well. Paris himself is motivated by fear; the fear of losing status, power and wealth if evil
prevails under his watch. This fear causes him to irrationally persecute accused witches and
spread the fear throughout Salem. Because of this, the other villagers are enveloped in fear and
they too, in the interest of self preservation kill witches and accuse others as well. These events
do not take place in a vacuum. The author establishes Salems setting as it is central and swerves
as a pretext to the plot as well as the characters. Without The Crucible taking place in the
seventeenth century, religious fervor in the absence of science and its advancements fuel the
emotions and worldview of the people there.
The Great Gatsby utilizes the literary element characterization as a means of
shown that fear worsens a situation. In The Great Gatsby, the characters are shrouded in a cloud
of fear, confusion and hysteria. The latter leads only to negative consequences. Specifically,
Gatsby, the protagonist, is a dynamic character who faces internal and external conflicts that
constitutes his fears. Those conflicts are motivated by fear. Initially, Gatsby deals with the fear
that Daisy, the one he loves, may not choose to be with him or reciprocate his feelings toward
her. That causes him to become a figure of extravagant parties and great social stature, while a
person of mystery closed off from the world, desperately hoping for Daisys love. His fear causes
him to throw these parties to attract her. Such obscure, timid, inconspicuous behavior is due to
his fear. Rather than helping him his fear of rejection keeps him from ever knowing or moving
on.

In the Crucible, Arthur Miller also uses characterization to highlight fears power.
Abigail Williams manipulative twisted nature is drawn out in the face of fear and is the main
motivator for her acts of self-preservation in the form of accusing others. As stated before losing
reputation and possibly being killed for witchcraft is her main fear. Because she is the major
protagonist and is the first domino (so to speak) in the series of accusations that follow in the
witch hunts, it is logical to say that she began the witch hunts. Other characters however, play a
role in these horrific events. Reverend Paris is another character motivated by status and money.
His fear of losing the latter prompts him to react hastily and irrationally to Abigails accusations.
Because his role as a religious leader is central to his character, and the plot, as such a leader he
spreads the hysteria and chaos that he feels to the villagers. The fear spread amongst the people
leads to many being killed innocently. Miller uses characterization of the antagonists as
juxtaposition of the events during the Red Scare, a time of great fear and hysteria to make it
analogous to the Salem Witch Trials; painting the very people in congress such as McCarthy as
evil, power-hungry, fearful, irrational beings. This essential juxtaposition reiterates the point that
fear is destructive more than anything.
Literature conveys many themes and the work of Arthur Miller (The Crucible)
and F Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby) demonstrates that there is nothing to be feared as
fear through setting and characterization. For one, a man who seems to have everything misses
the thing he yearns for the most because of fear and in another, the fear of losing status, power
and money, causes hundreds to be senselessly killed, all in the interest of self-preservation. In
both cases the actions taken because of fear yield a result worse than it would not have without
fear as a motivating factor.