Fear Quotes in Delirium

Ah, this is a textbook technique in any fear-mongering society. Here, the futuristic government of Delirium is engendering fear in the people by creating a bogey man the government can "protect" the people from: love.

Romeo and Juliet is a little scary in a way. If everyone acted as emotional and irrational as those two, we'd never get anything accomplished in this world. And it can be read as a cautionary tale, we think. But not as a dictum that all love should be abolished in the world.

Lena believes that her fear of love is fine and rational and good for everyone. She projects it onto everyone else, thinking they all want to be saved from the deliria too. There's kind of a religious connotation to the idea of being "saved" as well. Do you think Lena is right? Does everyone want to be saved, whether they say they do or not?

The fear of love is so strong in Delirium, we feel like World War Z could break out at any moment. Of course, we'd rather live through World War Z than everyone acting like Romeo and Juliet. Zombies are more predictable than people in love.

Lena says she's scared for Hana, but we think she's scared for herself. What is going to happen to Lena if Hana goes through with this party idea of hers? What about breaking the rules seems to terrify Lena so much?

Hana and Lena come at the issue of fear from two opposite viewpoints. Hana thinks Lena should face her fear, because by overcoming her fear, she can be her "true self". Lena thinks her fear actually helps her—it keeps her from doing stupid, dangerous things. They both have valid points. Whose side are you on?

Lena believes the world of the Invalids to be a world without fear. But everyone lives with fear, even the people who live outside the oppressive city's walls. The difference is that they're afraid of the elements, animals, starving to death, etc. Lena is afraid of saying the wrong thing in front of a boy, and getting beat up by the Regulators.

Lena is so scared of embarrassing herself in front of Alex, she's contemplating literally running away from him. Kind of like Anna Faris in Scary Movie.

Everyone in Lena's world pretty much lives like they have a cop on their tail. Except in Lena's world, that cop is likely to rear end you, beat you, and take all of your stuff. We said this is dystopian literature, right?

Girls (and boys), don't take after Lena in this case. Or in many cases, really. But you definitely should not be afraid of your boyfriend. We think Lena is really afraid of what Alex represents to her, though: the big, scary, seemingly rule-less outside world.