One theme that can be seen in “Grenade” by Alan Gratz is how fear impacts human behavior. 

Ray’s squad decides to investigate a sea cave near a cliff. One of the men throws a grenade into the cave to flush any people in it. Native Okinawans come out screaming. Instead of surrendering to the Americans they rather take their lives by Jumping over the Cliff. “Suddenly, people came streaming out of the cave… but it was a woman holding a baby… he watched as people ran away screaming from the Marines. They went straight for the edge of the cliff…” pg 54. During WWII the japanese sent propaganda to the Okinawans that stated that the U.S were monsters and would brutally slaughter any civilians that came in their path. This was incorrect but the civilians believed it. As a result the civilians’ fear overcame them and fueled their decisions about whether they should live or die. 

We can also see this kind of behavior in Ray. When he gets chosen to be on Guard duty he hears a Japanese soldier approach him and he has a split second to react. “‘Bonzai!’the soldier screamed, charging at Ray and Big John. Ray flinched and pulled his trigger -PAKOW- and the bullet hit the soldier.” This shows that fear impacts your actions and how you behave. If he didnt of shoot the soldier he and Big john would have been dead. Fear also plays into your fight or flight instincts how in  a split second you have the decisions to run away or to fight back.

The theme fear can be seen in both the Okinawans and Ray. How fear can influence your decisions and behavior in so many ways. When people become afraid their instincts kick in. Fear can cloud your judgment and people can make mistakes when they’re under the influence of it. People might regret what happened in the moment because they tried to protect themselves and might’ve protected others. Fear can help live or die in dangerous situations.