Priya Vyas
Mr. Mckittrick
ENG2DI-02
September 2015
Character Change and Theme Development In the short story “Bearing Up” (Hughes 2001) the protagonist, Mike, goes through a personality change in which he becomes brave and valiant and the author shows how this change can help one approach their fears more positively and courageously. Shortly before the climax, Mike begins to develop a change and decides to go out and face his fears. Mike is secretly afraid of losing his father, a rescue technician, and the decision to go out and look sprouts from his hidden apprehension and unease: “Mike couldn’t stay inside anymore. He […] slipped out the back door” (43). This is the first step to Mike developing a change in personality and therefore a step towards the theme development. Moreover, the theme of courage and determination is developed further after the climax. Mike, when outside and looking for signs of his father’s arrival, encounters his symbolic fear, a bear. Thereafter, he begins to feel as if “all the fear suddenly drained out of him” (45). He describes himself as being “filled with a peculiar sensation of lightness” (45). The author implies that Mike is finally liberated from the constraints of his fears because of his decision to have a courageous, positive attitude towards fear-evoking situations, which is the theme. Finally, Mike undergoes a complete change in personality as he says “the feeling of lightness did not disappear with the bear” (45). The last part of the theme is established that having a complete change in personality and attitude can cause one to have a brave and valiant attitude towards all fear-evoking situations. To conclude, the theme of the story which is recognizing and facing one’s internal fears more positively and courageously is closely tied with personality and character