Abstract

This research investigates the atmosphere of anxiety and fear as prevalent in the novel A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Muhammad Hanif. To execute the current study the researcher applied Freud's theory of personality development and psychoanalysis. The major character of the novel General Zia ul Haq exercised his strong power and controlled the Government of Pakistan by the takeover of the military forces till his death in an air crash near Bahawalpur. The various conditions expose the level of anxiety he was suffering from. General Zia ul Haq's rising tone and anger well portray his psychological condition while giving orders to his Generals on different occasions. The study also exposes and makes it clear that ordinary people living in society are dragged by the drastic, unfavorable and most stressful conditions to face fear, stress, depression, and anxiety.

Key Words

Anxiety, Fear, Psychology, Stress  

Introduction

The present study is aimed to know the representation of fear and anxiety in the novel of Muhammad Hanif (2008), This paper will analyze on the basis of the quantitative research design focusing critically on the psychological problems and psychosis in human personality especially the elements of fear and anxiety. The personality of an individual is deformed by traumatic incidents and it will be discussed in detail keeping in view Freud's theory of personality development and psychoanalysis. The researcher will analyze the aspects of fear and anxiety as discussed in the theory of Freud. The present research article's study is based on the assumption of how the most tragic and traumatic circumstances, lead to depressions, anxiety, emotional consciousness, and fears. Freud's theory of psychoanalysis and personality development will show how the persons become affected and their personalities are deformed. The given study will investigate and intimate why fear and anxiety are such a widespread element of personality. The experience of anxiety and fearful thoughts varies among people in terms of the level of severity as well as frequency (Holekamp et al., 2015).   The way a person thinks and feels visibly show his mental state of mind. Reaction in the form of stress may also result in fear and anxiety. It is the inquisitive nature of man to know about the working of the human mind and its response to various feelings and emotions. So, the most cumbersome and conflicting questions relating to the human psyche are solved through psychology. In the same way, social psychology-which is a branch of psychology- studies how people influence, think, act and relate to each other, is a part of the context of their social environment. The individuals passing through harsh, severe and ongoing stress may suffer from fearful thoughts, as prisoners of war. In "psychotic depression" the depressive illness and psychotic symptoms are the outcomes of a severe or frightening event. Even after the crisis or traumatic event is over, it generates ongoing worry and fear. Other signs and symptoms include

? Nightmares

? Trying to avoid situations that remind one of the traumatic experience

? Irritability

? Flashbacks

The situations that a person encounters during a critical stage of development can serve as a "weather forecast," directing later years of life along various paths and producing adaptive fits between the person's phenotype and environment. Adolescent years have been regarded as one of these sensitive stages, having evolutionary significance in that people acquire more accurate clues about the type of social surrounding they will live in and their role in it throughout adolescence than they do in the early years of life (Fawcett & Frankenhuis, 2015). 

In the research of fear and anxiety, the most common concerns are in delicate developmental stages, during which threat from society has long-term effects on an individual's personality his action and social cognition or if the environmental factors shape behaviors and attitudes in life span of an individual. If the former, then determining when these vulnerable phases occur and how they change in response to the social environment's uncertainties will also be fruitful (Panchanathan & Frankenhuis, 2016).

Muhammad Hanif, a British Pakistani novelist, is the author of the critically acclaimed book A Case of Exploding Mangoes. At the surface level, the novel seems to be about a plane crash resulting in the tragic demise of Gen. Zia and others, yet the intrigue and subterfuge are united  in the undercurrent with bad luck and good in this darkly comic debut novel. The elements of love, betrayal, tyranny, atrocity family coercion, and a conspiracy are at their peak in this novel.  Pakistani politics, prison, and the role of the military is harshly dealt with satire by the novelist. Hanif highlights the psychological complexities and conflicts of his characters, giving a sheer glance into their sexualities, depressions, resentments and hopes, exposing their personalities which are torn and disintegrated from inside, making them fearful and in deep anxiety.

Literature Review

Fear and anxiety has been the subject of some distinct works of fiction and literature. It is difficult to generalize fear and anxiety, but over the decades it has developed into one of the most important genres and gained in-depth social and psychological importance. These days most of writers take their pens out to analyze the very real fear, stress and anxiety that are known to exist in society they are living in. Western society has a cumbrous, bureaucratic power system of Western society is very cumbersome no wonder if the average individual feels at the mercy of forces, he or she cannot even identify and judge. Anxiety, fear, and quiet conspiracies have also become a favorite theme for modern movies. Rosemary?s Baby, is a horror film about the 1960's and there is much that is quaint and bizarre about it. It is based on Levin's (1967) book. The end of the film is gloomy or even darkly comedic. The final revelation which is treated with delicacy and a calm build-up of intensity enhances fear and horror. The movie "The Lives of Others", shows the horrifying power of a repressive regime and how state authority can inspire anxiety and fear in the oppressed is well depicted. One can say that the movie is closely related to real life situations. It is set in the “communist German Democratic Republic” in the 80’s. The Lives of Others (2006) is a depiction of a society ruled by fear and spiteful pettiness. The plot of the film is fictional, but Stasi was real and the tactics employed by them are also based on reality.

In the 18th century research on literary studies shows that it is the creative power of imagination which is expressed in the form of feelings of melancholia, nostalgia, boredom, fear, and anxiety. The novel that is the main focus of the present study is A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Muhammad Hanif, is sharply written, the readers have a quick glimpse from the Air Force Academy of Pakistan to ISI prison. Although the novel is satirical and comical, yet it has a serious motive. A lot of research are done by many researchers on this most crisply written novel of Muhammad Hanif focusing on different elements. To investigate the political and social circumstances of the country during the era of General Zia in the 1980's Tanvir (2014) has investigated the novel A Case of Exploding Mangoes. Zia’s Praetorianism-is discussed at various levels. The use of force or deception to govern a nation, especially when carried out by titled rulers and a strong minority are analyzed in detail. Lodhi, and Muqqades (2019) have employed the theories of capitalism and Marxism to emphasize the formation of politics and political imbroglios at the personal, social, civil, and military level and the blend of religious rituals. The research of Manzoor (2016) has employed postmodern elements  to present the various dimensions of reality. The researcher has analyzed the two novelists, Muhammad Hanif, and Uzma Aslam Khan. To deconstruct the notion of one absolute reality and the fact the researcher has shown how the novelist has used different tools of postmodern narration. The society in which we are living presently is torn with doubts and mental-conflicts; every person tries to get the other out from his circle. One can easily find that there still exists are gap in the exploration of research by analyzing the aforesaid novel. The gap is to analyze the fear and anxiety in the characters of the novel by Muhammad Hanif.

Methodology

The present research study is based on the qualitative research approach. For collecting the non-numerical data the scientific adopted is the qualitative research method. Qualitative research may often prefer inductive, hypothesis-generating research processes and procedures are preferred in the qualitative research method. The investigation of meanings and behavior is focused in it. The data is collected in the form of words, images, and concepts from the selected text. This present investigation is based on “why” and “how” a certain phenomenon may occur rather than how many times it happens. The exploration of fear and anxiety as depicted in the novel A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Muhammad Hanif is the main aim of this particular quantitative research. 

The three types of data sampling related to research are used in qualitative research. Purposive sampling is one of its types. The heterogeneous type which is the sub-type of purposive sampling is selected for the present study. The main aim of this type is to give as much deeper insight as possible into the given research analysis as the researcher has focused on the specific phenomenon; that is, fear and anxiety in a divergent way.  The novel "A Case of Exploding Mangoes” by Muhammad Hanif, is selected for this purpose. The theoretical frame work selected by the researcher in the present research is on the basis of the theory of psychoanalysis for exploring the fear and anxiety of the characters in the selected novel. Psychoanalysis of the human mind and the psychoanalytical criticism of human behavior has become a part of our everyday lives and the psychoanalytic approach strengthens it. Sigmund Freud (1916-17) formulated certain principles that help us in discerning of human behavior and finally the development of human personality. When we peep through the psychoanalytic lens, the world around us seems to be comprised of individual human beings--- each having a psychological history related to the world they are interacting with. These psychological problems and psychosis of mind deeply affect an individual's personality without even knowing him. Sigmund Freud's most lucent insight is that mankind is stimulated even excite and driven by fears, anxiety, wishes, issues, and need of which they are unaware in their unconscious.  Freud is of the opinion that repression doesn't eliminate and annihilate the torturing experiences and feelings. Freud opines that fear, anxiety and depression arising from the traumatic and disturbing experiences in a person's childhood or past life, which is presently hidden from consciousness, may cause personality disorders or neurosis in adulthood. Freud (1894) further asserts that when an individual suffers from person different type of anxieties and depression, then the defense mechanisms help to reduce those anxieties in a variety of ways.  One of the defense mechanisms is fear of Intimacy, in this phase of psychosis; the person has an unwavering and steadfast belief that his friends and close ones will definitely betray him. The other defense mechanism is fear of betrayal, the most irritating and unreliable feeling at all times is that the person has no trust in his loved ones or close ones. All these things jumble up and finally lead towards psychosis of mind in an individual. It is actually the anxiety and fear that he is suffering from that can make him aware of a great deal he is facing and all the anxieties around hThe mental makeup of any individual can be analyzed by the interpretation of Dreams and dream symbols. Hence the frequent dreams or frequent images show our unconscious concerns in a more reliable and authentic way. Moreover, in nightmares, the person may wake up as the dreams are too frightening. This is what actually happens when a person is suffering from anxiety and fear. Along with other psychological experiences, the concept of death also plays a vital role in personality development. Death is actually a fear which is always there in individuals in a divergent way. It varies according to their religion, society, culture, and above all their psychological experiences. The fear of abandonment as well as the fear of intimacy is the result of the fear of death. The intense psychological torment is when he has a fear of losing a very close relationship or a loved one. Fear of death is not just The fear of biological death is not just related to the fear of death  but it is also transforms into loss of attention, loss of job, loss of health, loss of money, loss of looks, loss of care, loss of love and so on.  So, at the unconscious level emotional death is more disturbing other than biological death.

By considering the framework to be used in the present research, the focus is mainly on the research questions. The study will generalize answers to the questions related to the novel of Muhammad Hanif’s “A Case of Exploding Mangoes .The present research will focus on: What are the effects of fear and anxiety on the personality of an individual? Why do individuals suffer from fear and anxiety? By applying Freud's theory of personality development and psychoanalysis, the researcher will explore personality development as well as destruction, internal desires, hopes, depressions, fears, anxieties, and apprehensions, is applied by the Freud's theory of psychoanalysis and personality development as analyzed by Muhammad Hanif.

Analysis of the Novel “A Case of Exploding Mangoes” by Muhammad Hanif

“A Case of Exploding Mangoes” is written by Muhammad Hanif. The novel became very popular despite of the severe criticism. The present novel is the 1st novel of Muhammad Hanif, the main aim is on conspiracy, betrayal, tyranny, atrocity, and family-coercion. Many different levels can be studied regarding this novel. “A case of exploding mangoes” by Muhammad Hanif, gives us an opportunity to easily probe into the elements fear and anxiety in the character sketch of Zia-ul-Haq, the Commander in chief and the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. From the very start of the   novel, Hanif has portrayed Zia as a very religious-minded person and even in his high rank decisions seek guidance from the divine powers. In order to seek guidance from Allah, Hanif has shown him as a person who opens the Holy Book time and again to seek guidance from God Almighty. He has used Holy Quran as a self-protection umbrella under whose shadow he can survive and protect his identity. His religion has also become his shield to cover him from his enemies and the world around. He is suffering from inner guilt and religion seems to be his final refuge. This is exactly the same defense mechanism of Freud's repression, as mentioned in his theory of psychoanalysis (1916-1917). As Freud says, in repression, the person wants to repress his fears and anxiety to depict himself as courageous and bold and unaffected and undisturbed by the overwhelming feelings of fear and anxiety. In order for the anxiety to be repressed Zia took refuge of religion. Freud (1894) theorizes that when a person has psychosis of mind, the repressed condition always remains repressed, the reason behind all this is that he doesn't have the power to handle the circumstances; which he always faces.  Zia is a very relevant example of it. The translation of the Holy Quran was the source of his guidance. The translation of the verse of Jonnah, one early morning, had torn him from within; his mind was in a state of conflict and fear. The translation was;

“There is no god but thou: glory to thee: I was indeed wrong” (p.31).

In fact he had repressed his fears and felt save under the shield of religion. This special state of mind in which the individual seeks some shelter to protect himself was a kind of defense mechanism. The translation of the verse of the Holy Quran was making him aware of his sins but in his state of internal fear, he was not accepting it. Freud's theory in which he has delineated the Denial well suits here. In the Denial phase of the mind the person wants to see things according to his own perception. So, the perplexing state of mind well portrays Zia's psychological state of mind in which he is passing through the denial and rejection mechanism of Freud. The present condition of fear has taken control over his thoughts and wanted to escape from this state of mind. In his inner self he is well aware of the reality but he is not ready to accept it. The main character of the novel, Zia was acting in the same manner. The phenomenon is the same here, the third stage of denial; projection is there in his personality. In this phase of denial the person expresses his hatred and uncomfortable feelings towards others but in his hearts of heart, he knows well that the other persons don't feel comfortable with him and feel displeasure and have unlikely feelings. This type of fear and anxiety is the result of such feelings which Zia is showing towards the people around him. He always thinks that he is right and taking all his decisions in a perfect manner. The fact is that he is not ready to face the reality and the actuality of the circumstances. He doesn't want to see his actual face. So, in the case of Zia he defends and proves himself right in his decisions by taking shelter in the Holy Quran. Now that day the very opening of the verse has disturbed him and he is not ready to accept it. In order to further prove his actions right he takes another volume of the sacred book, the Holy Quran, and acts the same by moving his index finger on the open page while his eyes are closed.He got appalled as he was not expecting the same verse to come again before his eyes. He suffered from deep anxiety and a wave of trepidation, panic and fear ran across his body. He began to tremble. He had never experienced the same condition of fear and anxiety in his life. During this state of mind, operation Fair play came to his mind, eleven years ago before the start of the operation he looked towards Holy Quran for guidance. After that, he dismissed then Prime Minister Bhutto and took the control of the country. That time his index finger on the open page of the sacred book guided him and he got the reply according to his own wish. Two years later again he moved his index finger on the open page of the Holy Quran while his eyes were and after getting the answer signed the death warrant of Bhutto. He warded off the international requests for Bhutto and satisfied his conscience under the umbrella of the Holy Quran. He was always giving peace to his conscience that his decisions are in the benefit of the people and the country and his decisions are not purely his own but rather the result of his consultation from the Holy Book. He was actually satisfying his inner self and covering his wrong acts. But deep somewhere in his sub-conscience, he considered that he was wrong and his people are not benefitted. Freud has related this condition with the third phase of denial which is the projection. The defenses of denial and projection lead the persons toward anxiety and fear. The same is the case with Zia, his anxiety and too much fear have made him to become suspicious of the people around him. He wanted him to be more secure and safe in his life.  His anxiety, fear and trepidation are exposed in his perplexing mood and his tone while talking to his generals privately. He wanted to know the thoughts of his generals about him. His fear was not directed towards the common people but more towards his generals. He doesn't want to trust even his close generals in the matter of his security. He was suspecting hidden conspiracies against his life. He was scared and had an unknown concern about his safety. His crying during the prayers was a usual thing, so no one noticed it when he was crying behind the imam in the company of General Akhter. No one had any idea about his sobs of crying, whether it was the result of the burden of his responsibilities, threats of his life, fear of Allah or something else.  They never came to know why General Zia was weeping; because of his responsibilities, threats, fear of God or anything else. But it disclosed after the end of the sacred prayers when Zia gripped the hand of General Akhter and said: 

„Can you please raise my security level?.Raise it to level red please? (p,45)

The very talk of him clearly shows that he had extreme fear and anxiety about his life when he was offering his prayers behind the imam. 

The enigma of the personality was that on one hand he was seeking guidance from Allah in the form of the Holy Quran and on the other hand in the matter of his life he does not trust HIM. Here his deep trust is on his officials. In fact, he doesn't know to whom he should trust. Zia is depicted by Hanif as a character who in his feelings of anxiety and fear has lost trust. His mind is always speculating over unexpected fears and traumas. This condition is shown in his giving of orders in a state of anxiety Freud (1895) used the term Neurosis anxiety’ is a term which is Freud elaborates to express this condition.  When a person has extreme fear and anxiety at the same time it means that he is suffering from neurosis anxiety. Zia the main character of the novel suffers from this state and it is deeply visible in his taking of steps, thinking and in his speech. Freud (1921) explains that in a certain traumatic circumstances the ego of a person is also dazed but he is not in a position to do anything; hence handicapped. This condition is described by Freud as automatic anxiety.   In the case of signal anxiety, as elaborated by Freud, the ego shows its response to traumatic and fearful situations in the form of warnings and sees that an unending dangerous situation is unavoidable and responds to it in the forms of defense mechanisms. In the most risky and critical circumstances, the person feels himself helpless and wants the support of others. The peril of castration, which is a basic exigency, is more closely linked to the risk of being attacked and assaulted. Zia's conflicting state of mind and anxiety is uncontrollable and beyond his endurance. He thinks that his security personnel is the one in the whole world who is the protector of his life and can help him in every traumatic situation. 

 Zia’s security was in the hands of Brigadier T.M. In his condition of anxiety and fear he says to T.M: 

“You are the only man in this country I can still trust” (p,67)

Zia feels that there is a network of conspiracy in his near about.  Freud postulates that when a person suffers from traumatic anxiety he is in the hands of others for his protection. General Zia is also in a state of traumatic anxiety so considers his officials as a source of shelter and safety. At times he becomes also suspicious about his security in his state of fear and anxiety. So, he inquires, “Who wants to kill me?”(p70).

He doesn’t want to expose his inner fears and anxiety. So he says all that in a controlled manner not to expose his disturbing mind. As Freud explains that a person is at the mercy of the defense mechanism to overcome his hidden fears and anxiety. So Zia here also take the help of the defense mechanisms not to expose his inner fears. He is asking all this in a balance tone and low voice.  But he is much disturbed and drenched in the unknown fear and anxiety, so becomes very furious at his security chief and says to him to disclose the very facts of the suspicion that he himself also smells around him. He shouts and aggressively says,

“You are my shadow, you should know…It’s your job to protect me….Who is trying to kill me?” (p71).

The chief of security was well aware of the fact that;

“…this raised voice, this demanding tone, was actually the voice of fear… they pretended they were not scared” (p72).

By seeing the aggressive tone of General Zia Brigadier TM took no second to judge that he is suffering from acute anxiety and fear. His is much restless and disturbed due to his inner fear. General Zia was authoritative and he asked his security official in a very commanding manner and tone. Brigadier TM knew well that such sensitive questions requires straightforward replies. He was a man of nerves and this type of matters was part of his training.

General Zia shudder with fear and anxiety and it was very irritating for him, when Brigadier TM replied;

“Everyone” (p72).

The outburst and the uncontrolled reaction of Zia was well noticed. He jumped at his standing place and cried at the top of his voice that his spit was coming out in the form of drops to sit on TM's face. Zia was much furious and became insane in his anger. The security in-charge Brigadier TM had no fears about the suspension of his job as a security official .as he knew that he had his own job of training his boys in which he felt much more comfortable. In his extreme rage and anger he forced TM to tell the truth and he said;

"I suspect everyone. Even my own boys." He told Zia that he was replacing those commandos every six weeks and a new bodyguard joined him."(p.73)

General Zia began to see that danger is all around him, discomfort, restlessness, the pinching noises all accumulated together to enhance his anxiety. He had the feeling that he was continuously dissolving his being in the stream of fear and horror. The sensations of fear and anxiety were disturbing him but he had no way to escape from them all. On one hand Brigadier TM had warned him of the coming danger and on the other hand, Jonnah's verse had aggravated his anxiety and fear. He knew well that something unexpected is waiting for him to occur but he was unable to tell exactly. 

When General Zia-ul-Haq had ordered the girl who had committed to fornication to hit her by stones, internally he was scared if he had something wrong. Later American Newspapers highlighted the issue after her trail in the court. It became the talk of the town. General Zia wanted no one to be against, so when he came to know that the New York Times was of a Jewish owner he in his anxious state of mind ordered his information minister to tell the world that there was not a single truth in the case of Zainab- the blind girl as it was just propagated by Jews. He was not satisfied with this act, to cover his fears he also wanted to have a meeting with Sulzberger in a friendly environment. He commanded his information minister: 

“And next time we go to America, invite Sulzberger for lunch. Take a large Persian carpet for him”(p,172).

This kind of talk clearly exposes that he had in inner anxiety. He was fearful and not wanted any kind of criticism against him and his rule of law. The presentation of a Persian carpet was in fact a bribe. By taking the gift he would not write anything against his orders or government. He also wanted to justify the decision of the Pakistani court. He was of the view that whatever decision he took should be justified and no govt. or country should see it critically. In order to justify his acts and decisions and give comfort to his anxiety he made a meeting with Qadi of Masjid Al Haram- Khana Qaba seeking his help. General Zia wanted to convince Qadi that Zainab had deliberately acted in fornication, so she must face the Islamic trial. When Qadi asked him about the no of persons involved he told him that she was raped by three persons repeatedly. Qadi further said that she should not be considered innocent as there is no difference between a seeing and blind one in case of rape. General Zia's long meeting with the Qadi and in all that his way of convincing. He wanted to show the people that he was doing nothing against the Islamic rules and the punishment of sins. So he ordered to take Zainab out of the black cell. After her taking out of the cell Zainab- the blind girl cursed General Zia badly. Already fearful Zia became extremely terrified after the curses. She said and a curse.“May worms eat the innards of the person who is taking me away from my home. May his children not see his face in death” (p, 214).

The very curse of Zainab on Zia had aggravated his anxiety and fear. The curse and bad words for him had made him to become suspicious on everyone and every act. He was fearful that he may not become the victim of Allah's wrath. For that sake and to keep himself safe he wanted to consult the Holy Quran to prove him innocent. But here the open page was directing him toward the Jonah's verse. His perplexing state of mind was making him more fearful. The curses were haunting his mind. He did not know what to do. He did not know how to protect him. His condition is that he was not going to trust anyone even his close Generals. In his subconscious, he had a fear of betrayal leading to fear of death. He thought that his officials would betray him and he might be killed. He was afraid of some unknown forces and individuals. He didn't know them exactly but he was suspicious about all. Freud's demonstration of the fear of betrayal, which is one of the major core issues, is well suited here in the case of Zia. In his state of fear and anxiety, he had become suspicious against everyone. He had a fear of criticism, fear of conspiracy and finally the fear of being killed by unknown factors.  

On the National Day Parade, he was much fearful and anxious. His fear of his death had aggravated and was at its peak. His anxiety was visible on his face. Freud (1895) has defined this condition as a signal anxiety. It is a type of anxiety in which the individual had a fear and anxiety at its highest when he is in a certain traumatic situation or event. It is the anxiety which warns the individual about some imminent danger. This feeling of danger was badly felt by Zia on the National Day Parade event. He was so scared of his death that he shared a dais with General Akkhter, just to satisfy his conscious that he was not alone. He was actually adopting defensive measures to avoid the situation. By standing with General Akhter he was repressing his inner anxiety and fears. In his subconscious, he had a thought about Anwar Sadat, the late President of Egypt, who was shot to death in the same way by some unknown person, while he was inspecting the parade while standing on a dais. The thought of Anwar Sadat had increased his fear and anxiety many times. According to reud (1895) anxiety is the result of the conversion of piled up thoughts, especially fearful thoughts. He did not want the tanks to move their barrels towards him for the sake of salute on the National Day Parade event. He was also scared from his own troops and tanks. When it happened, to see the barrels of tanks focusing towards him the glimpse of the injured body of Anwar Sadat after the shot came to his eyes. In his sweat of fear he wanted that all the event may pass quickly.“He wished he could fast-forward this parade and have Brigadier TM at his side…. the screen showed the General offering a somber salute with a limp hand” (p242,243).

By sitting on the high official ranks politicians always think of the conspiracy theory all around them. The conspiracies especially behind the assassination of the high profiles can't be explained. Even the assassination of Kennedy, the former President of America, is still unsolved and unexplained. The persons having anxiety and fear were the outcomes of the threats that they face and that reach to them through their security officials. They start to weave their own suspicion and protect their ego. Their thoughts could be well depicted through their tone and attitude even through their gestures. General Zia could be viewed by General Akhter as:

“-fattened, chubby-cheeked and marinating in his own paranoia”(p223).

As General Zia had lost his trust even on his own security officials, he suspected them to be indulged in his plan of assassination. He always observed and watched them with suspicious eyes. Zia inner fears and anxiety had made his mind to think in a suspicious way. In fact he didn't want to spare his officials, and so repressing his fear and anxiety in this way. His thoughts before the Pak One accident were:  

“I have got the mall. There is strength in numbers. If someone wants to kill me, he must be here too. We will all god own together” (p353,354).

The novel is the debut novel of Muhammad Hanif. It also comes under crime fiction."A Case of Exploding Mangoes" is about the assassination of General Zia ul Haq who ruled the country for ten years as its President. 

When taking control of the power of the country Zia had a strong believe in his officials and Generals. But his decisions and the threats and curses of the people had made him suffer from anxiety and fear. He held the chair and made a speech to his Generals as: 

"I need governors for the provinces; I need ministers to run the ministries. Whom can I count except the professionals gathered around this table?"(p.42). 

The main focus of the intelligence agencies and military organization was the protection of General Zia. Even the chief of ISI General Akhter was focusing on the protection of Zia’s life rather than focusing on the country’s borders. The smallest event announced by General Zia needed the full security by his security officials as on the"National Cleanliness Week":

“gutters were disinfected and security checked before the president could show up to get his picture taken” ( p. 197). 

Discussion

The discussion of the whole study results in the depiction of fear and anxiety in the major character of the relevant novel. The anxiety and fear is the outcome of the observation and the feelings of the character of his environment he is living in. The focus of this study is, What are the effects of fear and anxiety on the personality of an individual? Why do the individuals suffer from fear and anxiety?  The characters of the novel are taken from the society they are living in. So, they identify the people to whom they are interacting with. One can observe that the traumatic, stressed, harsh and forceful conditions make the persons to bear fear and anxiety.  

In the novel, “A Case of Exploding Mangoes” General Zia suffers from fear and anxiety. He was fearful about his assassination by some unknown enemy. He became very anxious in every kind of dangerous conditions. He had a fear of his death in his subconscious. He was so fearful and scared that he forced his security officials to give him more security. The novelist has given the detailed account of the dictatorial rule of General Zia ul Haq over Pakistan. Although he had got the most powerful position in the country, yet he was unable to come out of his inner fears and anxiety. He had hijacked the position with the help of his own officials but later he was not ready to trust them.The study exposes and makes it clear that the ordinary people living in the society are dragged by the drastic, unfavorable and most stressed conditions to face fear, stress, depression and anxiety. The main character of the novel “A Case of Exploding Mangoes” is Zia. General Zia is the character which is the real character of the society. Muhammad Hanif, the writer of the novel, has given reality to the novel through the character of Zia. The fidgets of anxiety are seen throughout the novel whenever General Zia is found in the whirlpool of drastic situation. He is not ready to accept any reality. He is not ready to accept anything against his will and mind. He wants to repress his inner fears and anxiety through many ways. He wanted to live as a free man away from all those threats of his life but his psychosis and his subconscious is making him aware of his fears. His fears are there to make him more anxious in the unfavorable situations. Zia has committed sins and mistreated many people. He knows that he has done many wrongs in his life. So his conscious was making him aware of his guilt. He had given his signatures on the death sentence of Bhutto, instead of the international requests to free him. He is now fearful about his own death. The blind girl, Zainab had cursed him, he suffers from uneasiness and anxiety because of her curses on him. He had taken control of the Government with the help of his officials, illegally. These were some of the reasons of his stressful condition leading towards anxiety and fear. A noticeable change is there in the tone, attitude and body language of Zia. He is always in a state of nervousness. He is haunted in his subconscious by his sins. It is not clear from his anxiety and fear that whether he is scared of his life or he doesn’t want to lose his Presidential seat. As on one hand he wants to please everyone who criticizes him or his government by presenting them different gifts and on the other hand he asks his security officials about the person who wants to kill him. The rising and aggressive tone while giving orders to his officials, his crying during the prayers, his restless mind all show his fear and anxiety. He wants that both the national and the international people to be happy with him and his decisions. In this way he is trying to repress his anxiety and fears.  

The restrictions are always employed in all the studies of investigation. The present study is limited just to one selected novel. Specifically the novel 

“A Case of Exploding Mangoes” is selected for this analysis rather than the other novels of the novelist. The major character of the respected novel is chosen to study the feelings of anxiety and fear in the novel. The restriction is limited to the major character of the novel rather than the minor characters.The personality development and the frequency and variations of anxiety and fear is the main stream of this present literary research. The researcher has given keen observation by considering the character in mind. The same study can be done on different levels. It can be done as a comparative study on the people living in the developed and the under developed countries. It can be more elaborative by taking into consideration the other factors of personality development rather than fear and anxiety. Freud’s theory is a vast field of research. Academies can help the researcher in the analysis of children in different age groups by focusing on Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis or other psychologists.

References

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