Pratice question:How does Patrick Ness invite the reader to better

understand the experience of fear and how it may be conquered?

Theme: Fear and Denial

introduction
At the beginning of the book, Conor has a difficult time coming to terms with the very real possibility
that his mother may not get better. One night, as he is grappling with this denial, an
enormous monster that takes the shape of a yew tree pays him a visit and returns at exactly 12:07
on other occasions. Though the monster looks terrifying, its intention is to tell Conor stories and to
help him try to heal from the pain and sadness he is experiencing. What the monster ultimately
helps Conor recognize, and what the book ultimately argues, is that Conor and his family cannot
avoid suffering and death. Instead, they must confront their pain head on in order to eventually
move past it.

Body paragraph 1
Conor is constantly confronted with his mother’s suffering and evidence of her impending death.
Despite the fact that her health is deteriorating right before his eyes, Conor holds out hope that she
will get better and tries to push away his own suffering in the process. His mother is not feeling well,
she feels exhausted and often falls asleep in odd places and is losing her hair from her treatments.
She vomits so often that Conor describes this as “normal.” Despite these facts, Conor is firmly in
denial about his mother’s condition. When Conor’s mother tries to tell him that she won’t get better,
he rejects this idea and accuses her of lying because she had said she believed her treatments would
work. His mother is incredibly hurt by this, but she tells him through tears that she understands why
he is angry with her. This reaction demonstrates how Conor’s attempt to push away his own grief
only inflicts more pain and suffering on himself and those around him.

Body paragraph 2:The relationship with the metaphorical monster

Throughout the story, Conor undeniably believes that his mother is going to survive. Yet, this
nightmare that involves Conor letting go of his mother’s hand continues to haunt him. From the
beginning of the novel and throughout, Conor occasionally wakes up sweating and anxious from the
nightmare. The nightmare is so disturbing to him because it represents two uncomfortable truths
such as that is, that Conor’s mom will not survive, and that he wants to let her go so that his pain
from waiting for the moment of her death will finally end. Yet, Conor refuses to accept both of these
truths. His self-deception will not allow him to begin the healing process. In order to begin healing,
he must admit the truth, which is, his mother is not going to make it, and that he wants to let her go
to find relief from his own pain. The monster helps Conor through this healing process by providing
him with stories and then allowing him to tell his own. The monster’s stories allow him to see that
humans are complicated and flawed, and that’s okay. When Conor finally admits after the nightmare
that he wanted his mother to go, he feels guilty. Conor feels guilty because he cannot understand or
accept that he wants his mother to die to end his own pain. The monster’s methods of telling stories
and helping Conor accept the truth are very effective. Once Conor begins to understand that his
feeling are normal and human, and that he truly loves his mother and doesn’t want her to leave, yet
accepts that it’s going to happen, he begins to feel some relieve. The message here is that although
it’s important to believe in a cure and hope for the best, it’s also important not to decieve yourself
and live with a lie simply to comfort yourself. In order to heal from any loss, it’s important to be
introspective and honest with yourself and your own feelings. The monster also helps Conor admit
to his mother that he doesn’t want her to die, a final honest confession that releases the tension
between them. The monster even stays with Conor as his mother passes away. These actions of
comfort show that while Conor’s suffering is unavoidable, attempting to suppress it only makes it
worse. Only in expressing his grief over his mother’s death is Conor then able to receive the
monster’s comfort, which he acknowledges will help him get through this terrible pain.

Body paragraph 3:The significance of the four tales

During the story the monster tells conor tales in order for him to confess the truth to his mother
about how he wanted her to die so she didn’t have to suffer to end the pain for both of them. By
doing so he could finally let go. Throughout the story, Conor undeniably believes that his mother is
going to survive. Yet, this nightmare that involves Conor letting go of his mother’s hand continues to
haunt him. From the beginning of the novel and throughout, Conor occasionally wakes up sweating
and anxious from the nightmare. The nightmare is so disturbing to him because it represents the
truths that he’s experiencing Yet, he refuses to accept. The monster’s methods of telling stories and
helping Conor accept the truth are very effective. Once Conor begins to understand that his feelings
are normal and human, and that he truly loves his mother and doesn’t want her to leave, yet accepts
that it’s going to happen, he begins to feel some relief. The message here is that although it’s
important to believe in a cure and hope for the best, it’s also important not to deceive yourself and
live with a lie simply to comfort yourself. In order to heal from any loss, it’s important to be
introspective and honest with yourself and your own feelings.

Conclusion
In conclusion we need to overcome fear in some point in our life in order to move forward and it may
be faced in other aspects of our life such as losing a family member, struggling with school, exams
and many other things like exactly what Conor had to face in order to move forward. If we
eventually overcome our fears we would develop better resilience and be stronger with our
emotions otherwise we’d be stuck in the same situation over and over again.