Fighting With Fear - Katharine Schlegel

A quarter way through Beneath the Lion’s Gaze, Mickey finds himself trapped in a position of power that he does not want. Mickey is being ordered to shoot the Emperor, and if he refuses, he will be shot himself. The Emperor notes the look on Mickey’s face, “The emperor didn’t understand the significance of the bloodied plastic bag the major waved in front of Mickey, but he could understand the terror that wrapped around the boy’s face. It was fear stripped naked of pretense, pure. He’d seen it in grown men only on the field, and usually it was replaced by a veil of courage that guided most to their inevitable fate” (109). This passage portrays how the Derg, and Major Guddu, control the people of Ethiopia through fear.

Since World War I, Governments have used propaganda to convince young men it is their duty to fight for their country and their honor. Soldiers have a reputation for follow orders because they trust in their government and believe in what they are fighting for; even if there are scared, they fight with bravery because they believe in a just cause. The Ethiopian soldiers are not brave men going off to war. They understand that they are replaceable. By threatening Mickey with the plastic bag, the major implies Mickey’s life is worth less than the uniform he wears. The lack of bravery in Mickey’s expression indicated he only follows orders to save his own life. Mickey shares the fear of death that grown men have on the battlefield, but is to young to fully comprehend his present situation, as well as the destruction his obedient behavior will lead to.


Katharine Schlegel