Fear Quotes in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

How we cite our quotes:

Quote #1

I do not like people shouting at me. It makes me scared that they are going to hit me or touch me and I do not know what is going to happen. (5.5)

Sometimes Christopher is afraid of the things we're all afraid of: in this case, violence. He takes it one step further, though, and includes "touch" as a scary possibility.

Quote #2

It is like being in France, which is where we went on holiday sometimes when mother was alive, to camp. And I hated it because if you went into a shop or a restaurant or on a beach you couldn't understand what anyone was saying which was frightening. (67.4)

The literal language barrier serves as a powerful illustration of Christopher's difficulty with more subtle kinds of communication, like body language and tone of voice. And, of course, his fearfulness in France at hearing words he doesn't understand is dwarfed by the daily occasions in which people express themselves in ways he's totally unable to interpret.

Quote #3

So because it was a Super Good Day I decided to walk into the park with Mrs. Alexander even though it scared me. (97.73)

Isn't it amazing how Christopher can overcome his fears and limitations seemingly at will? Surely there isn't anything intrinsically special about having seen a few red cars in a row. What is that enables him to muster courage at these otherwise random moments?