As John Arnold argued that the changing nature of Christianity was a major driving force of history, I argue that the duality of fear and curiosity are also two simple, but major factors in the spurring of history. Human nature is encapsulated in the mind, and it is here where the human mind processes, interprets, relays, and retains information. One of the major human processes is the decision making process, thus culminating in actions that create works, events, and more. Fear and curiosity are incredibly overpowering human emotions that can even override common and learned practices, and they can compel people to make decisions that they usually wouldn’t make under ordinary circumstances. Fear can be seen from a first hand account in Moon…show more content… In Waterland, curiosity arises and is discussed various times by Tom Crick’s account, but there is none stronger than the sexual curiosity experienced by the characters in the early teenage years. QUOTE PAGE 51. Mutual sexual curiosity led to the act that resulted in Mary’s untimely pregnancy. Furthermore, the pregnancy led to a horrific abortion, thus leaving Mary barren for the remainder of her life. Arguably the curiosity set in motion a chain of events that unforeseeably led to an unstable mind and her eventual abduction of a child that “God” gave to her. A minute personal history, but a history nonetheless that could very well fill in the gaps as answers to questions regarding other peoples lives, such as that of her husband, Tom Crick. Relatively, it was Claudia’s initial curiosity about current events and the world that led her to Cairo to be a war correspondent, which then began the chain of events of falling in love with and losing Tom. That chain of events constructs the core experience of her life and without it she could have been an entirely different person. Another personal history, but also as Claudia and many may argue, it is the common people’s stories who we should be listening to and placing greater
