Once Upon A Time

Since the beginning of time fear has shaped the way in which humans think, create, act, and what they believe. In “Once Upon a time”, Nadine Gordimer develops a theme of paranoia through symbols and stories. “Once Upon a time” addresses the multitude of problems paranoia can cause. This story motivates the reader to ponder how fear influences our behavior, thoughts and beliefs. To begin with, Gordimer inserts a story about a situation that a majority of people can relate to, hearing a sound in the middle of the night and immediately thinking the worst. This story aides Gordimer in developing the theme of “Once Upon a time”. Gordimer states that one night while she was sleeping, she heard a creaking sound that was made by feet moving on a wooden floor. She began to think of many instances when people were murdered in their own homes. This relates to the development of the theme because after she heard creaking Gordimer immediately became paranoid and that caused her to think that someone was coming to her room to murder her. The story of hearing a sound in the middle of the night aids the author in developing …show more content…
In the sixteenth paragraph Gordimer describes the wall with these words “It was the ugliest but the most honest in its suggestion of the pure concentration-camp style, no frills, all evident efficacy. Placed the length of walls, it consisted of a continuous coil of stiff and shining metal serrated into jagged blades.” The wall is a visual representation of the little family’s paranoia of the world. Since, the parents believed that anyone on the street would try to harm them or their house they decided to install a wall to protect themselves. This correlates to the creation of a theme because of the family’s paranoia of the people on the outside they built a wall to keep people out. Therefore the wall is a symbol that helps Gordimer develop a