Altering Environments Affect the Psychological State

During the 1950s, the decade subsequent to the publishing of Eric Ambler’s Journey into Fear, Graham Greene’s The Ministry of Fear, and Henry Green’s Back, a new subfield of Psychology was established: Environmental Psychology. This subfield “studies the relationship between environments and human behavior and how they affect one another” (Conaway). The experiences of these novels\u27 protagonists parallel the research in this field. These characters’ actions, thoughts, and beliefs undergo alteration due to the physical or emotional setting that they are in. In Journey, Graham’s ability to take action increases only after he transfers from the novel’s dominant boat setting to the minor setting on land. Through his movement from a London flat to a rural mental facility, Ministry\u27s Arthur Rowe finds both his psychology and ability for romantic engagement altered. Conversely, Charley, Back\u27s returning World War II veteran, remains in a single setting. He physically returns to the home that he knew before the war, only to find it uniquely altered by his lover\u27s absence. Research in the field of environmental psychology and critical analysis of these characters reveals that all three of these men experience a subconscious reaction to their differing environment