In the book, Grenade, by Alan Gratz the main character Hideki and the other Japanese and american soldiers are all impacted by fear and death. Fear and the fear of death has influenced many of Hideki’s actions throughout the book. Throughout the book Hideki’s main goal is to reunite with his sister. He has fear that in the process he might die. He realises that but the only way he’ll be able to find his last living family member is to risk his life. All the soldiers are motivated by fear. If they do something wrong there dead and due to this pressure they’ve cracked are not who they used to be. They’ve become monsters in a way. This idea can be seen through the end part of the book. Fear is a lead factor to many of the decisions they have to make. The consequences being death. Many of the Japanese military hid in natural caves and captured okinawans to become human shields and distractions. The Okinawans had no choice but to follow them. The japanese knew that they were not winning this battle but as long as they could take out as many American troops as possible and slow down the U.S then they’ll be able to slow the U.S.’s progress to mainland Japan. Also the American troops fear the Japanese because they’ve been hidden all around the Island and there just waiting to attack. Fear and death are one of the main contributors to what makes people good and what makes people evil. The fear of death can have a large influence on what others do and how they act. Sometimes the pressure can get to them and cause damage. While other times the need for survival and the will to live can benefit others in positive ways.