Dread and its Defeat: The Sunlight Pilgrims as a Journey from Fear Towards Fearlessness

Abstract

Dread is a unique form of fear, which challenges the normal consciousness in human beings. The drastic change in climate depicted in The Sunlight Pilgrims (2016) by Jenni Fagan that takes place in the then future, is a glimpse of an ongoing eco-dread to the entire world at present. As the story progresses we see the characters dread but then overcome it by developing the coping strategies which are needed at present and in the future, on the part of each human being residing on earth. To substantiate my claims about the characters' fears and their departure towards fearlessness, I draw ideas from Desh Subba, R. Michael Fisher, Wayne A. Davis, Joseph LeDoux, Barbara Bickel and argue that even at the vortex of fear and amidst dread, humans revive their innate capacity to overcome fear and survive it.