募る: festival-helper recruitment and growing anxiety
Distinguish people recruited from the neighborhood to help with a festival from anxiety that keeps growing while no reply arrives.
People recruited and a feeling that grows
募る (つのる) means to recruit or intensify. The festival example concerns recruiting helpers; the reply example concerns anxiety growing.
Distinguish the object of recruitment from the subject of intensification. 祭りを手伝う人を identifies the people recruited, while 不安ばかりが identifies the anxiety that keeps growing.
Neighborhood recruitment and an absent reply
「祭りを手伝う人を町内から募った。」 (We recruited people from the neighborhood to help with the festival.) People were recruited from the neighborhood to help with the festival. The recruitment is reported, but the sentence does not add their actual participation in the event.
「返事が来ないまま、不安ばかりが募る。」 (With no reply arriving, my anxiety keeps growing.) Anxiety keeps growing while no reply arrives. 不安ばかりが is the growing subject, so this is not recruitment. The sentence gives neither a reason for the absent reply nor a confirmed refusal.
Identify the recruited object and the growing subject
募った in the festival sentence is a past recruitment action directed at people. 募る in the reply sentence describes continuing growth in anxiety. The shared verb has a different relation to its object or subject.
No recruitment total, later participation or reply time is supplied. Retain the recruitment and the continuing anxiety without substituting completed attendance or a definite refusal.
How do recruiting festival helpers and 不安が募る differ?
Show the answer and why
The first is an action directed at the people being recruited. In the second, anxiety is the subject that grows. Neither completed festival participation nor a definite refusal is added.