Synthesis Essay Sample: What is the Allure of Fear

According to the American Psychology Association (APA), fear is defined as "A basic, intense emotion aroused by the detection of imminent threat, involving an immediate alarm reaction that mobilizes the organism by triggering a set of physiological changes.". Fear is an emotion that humans are naturally attracted to. There are several reasons why humans are attracted to the allure of fear, and for some, it is the fact that it brings a sense of adrenaline to conquer it, and for others, it may be that it makes them feel stronger and more emotionally attuned when in the presence of fear. Since primitive times our bodies have used fear as a defense mechanism to keep us safe, which has adapted into our everyday lives. Therefore the allure of fear is a natural process that humans use to succeed in life.

Foremost, the allure of fear can be as simple as things in our daily lives that people are worried about and want to conquer. "Being But Men" by Dylan Thomas is about the fear of losing childhood innocence when growing up. Thomas writes about how people fear growing up; however, he acknowledges that people will find happiness through conquering chaos when growing up. The poem's main idea is that people should embrace their childhood while they have it; then, as they grow up, learn to find happiness in chaos. To display the theme, Dylan Thomas writes, "For fear of coming, Noiselessly into a world of wings and cries "… "Out of the chaos would come bliss, That, then, is loveliness, we said" (Thomas 1). Therefore, "Being But Men" by Dylan Thomas successfully displays the allure of fear. In the poem's context, the allure of fear is conquering the transition from childhood to adulthood in which people may lose their childhood bliss. Through this representation, Dylan Thomas successfully showed why people are attracted to their fears of growing up; to find bliss again.

In another source, "The Feather Pillow" by Horacio Quiroga, the short story's main idea is that when life does not meet our expectations, it causes us to lose motivation and stop giving life our best effort. Humans are not attracted to a life of misery; therefore, there is no allure for it. For example, in the story, when Alicia's marriage with Jordan was not what she was expecting it to be, it caused her to lose motivation because all she wanted was tenderness from him. Horacio writes, "Their honeymoon was one long shudder. A blonde, angelic and shy young thing, her childhood fantasies of being a bride had been chilled by her husband's stern nature" (Quiroga 1). Alicia did not want a marriage that was unaffectionate and cold. Because her marriage did not meet that expectation, it eventually caused her to put less effort into her marriage. This was not something Alicia was allured to; if anything, she despised it. However, even though humans are not allured to a life of misery, it does display the fear of not meeting expectations in life. Therefore, when looking from a particular perspective, "The Feather Pillow" by Horacio Quiroga answers the essential question of "What is the Allure of Fear" because people fear a life of misery; therefore, they are allured to prevent it.

In the final source, "The Dream Collector" by Steve Meltzer, photographs are used to capture the fear of not being able to thrive and succeed in life. Each photograph is a staged story used to scare the reader, but when digging deeper into the meanings of each photo, it can be seen that the theme is that the world is a challenging and scary place to live in, but humans are allured to conquer and survive in it. For example, in the marriage photo, the message behind the picture is that marriage can have two sides displayed by the half man and half female person. If the two sides of the marriage do not coexist, the marriage will fall to ruin just as the chapel did behind them. Therefore this specific example displays how humans will try their best to succeed in relationships that may have benefits even though it may be challenging to coexist. Therefore, in conclusion, "The Dream Collector" by Steve Meltzer answers the essential question of what is the allure of fear because the photos display how people are allured to conquer and survive in life even though it can be challenging and scary.

In conclusion, the allure of fear can be many things; it could be to conquer growing up, to prevent a life of misery, or even to thrive in the world. Humans will always be allured to fear due to our instincts rooting back to primitive times. Fear enables us as humans to overcome many situations, which is why it is so important. If humans were not allured to fear, people would not be cautious and would be unable to protect themselves from harm. Therefore fear is a fundamental emotion for humans to process, and without the allure, humans would not be as successful as they are today.