ENGLISH 1: Response to Fear and Security in Gordimer's Story

This essay provides a detailed analysis of Nadine Gordimer's short story, "Once Upon a Time," focusing on the pervasive theme of fear and its impact on a family living in South Africa. The essay argues that the story explores how the fear of the unknown and urban unrest leads the family to prioritize security measures, ultimately isolating them from the beauty and pleasures of life. It highlights the psychological effects of fear, suggesting that the real threats lie within the mind and can be more damaging than external dangers. The analysis references specific passages from the story to support the interpretation of fear as a central obstacle to human happiness and a form of self-imposed captivity.

Running Head: ENGLISH 1
Response to Once upon a Time
Author's Name
Institutional Affiliation
Introduction

EDUCATION 2
Nadine Gordimer, the Nobel Laureate has written many novels and short stories on the
plight of the black and people of color living in South Africa (Kumari, 2017). In “Once Upon a
Time,” the author delves deep into the psychology of people living in fear.
After reading “Once Upon a Time,” what I have understood is that the main idea of the
story is abused on the human fear of the unknown. Those fears act as the obstacle to human
happiness. The family who feels safe and secure within their home full of love and happiness is
fearful of what lies beyond the walls of their home. The family fears the urban unrest and crime
taking place in the city as shown by the following lines.
When the man and wife and little boy took the pet dog for its walk round the
neighborhood streets they no longer paused to admire this show of roses or that perfect
lawn; these were hidden behind an array of different varieties of security fences, walls
and devices. The man, wife, little boy and dog passed a remarkable choice: there was the
low-cost option of pieces of broken glass embedded in cement along the top of walls,
there were iron grilles ending in lance-points, there were attempts at reconciling the
aesthetics of prison architecture with the Spanish Villa style (spikes painted pink) and
with the plaster urns of neoclassical facades (twelve-inch pikes finned like zigzags of
lightning and painted pure white). Some walls had a small board affixed, giving the name
and telephone number of the firm responsible for the installation of the devices. While
the little boy and the pet dog raced ahead, the husband and wife found themselves
comparing the possible effectiveness of each style against its appearance; and after
several weeks when they paused before this barricade or that without needing to speak,
both came out with the conclusion that only one was worth considering (Gordimer 1989).
Those lines send a clear message that the lurking physical and psychological fears do not
allow the family to enjoy the daily pleasures of life. Their focus is more on the fences, walls and
devices for security and they fail to observe the beauty of nature that lies hidden behind those
security devices. Words like” pieces of broken glass embedded”, “iron grilles” and “prison
architecture” make one release that the family is in captivity of their own fears. The family takes
every possible step to feeling safe and protected and finally decides upon the single best possible

EDUCATION 3
security for their home. Their efforts display their dire need of security and the importance they
place on the kind of security devices for their home. However, despite all the protective
measures, their paranoia about the events taking place outside their house refuses to go away.
The story examines the results of irrational fear within the mind. The real fears lie within the
mind and are more dangerous than those out in the physical world.
References

EDUCATION 4
Gordimer, N. (1989). Once Upon a Time. LATW, 1(1), 1–4.
Kumari, D. (2017). Gordimer’s Once Upon a Time: A tale of the disastrous legacy of apartheid
in South Africa. Language in India, (5), 45.