How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Henry doesn't care what happens to Henry. […] Staring up at him, I could see it in his eyes.
Henry didn't care. (1.38, 40)
A lack of self-preservation sure seems like an unhealthy mental state to us.
Quote #2
"You guys are both whacko." (1.56)
Says the guy who just punched another guy out of the blue, for no reason whatsoever.
Quote #3
"Are you crazy?" (7.58)
Jason says this to Magda after she dumps the Brainblaster in his lap. We're just pointing out how easily we can throw the word crazy around…
Quote #4
"I could get killed. This is crazy!"
"Crazy? Man, you want to see crazy?" With a maniacal laugh, Henry drops over the edge of the catwalk and hangs by his hands. "This is crazy." (10.33-34)
What's up with this guy? Does he get a rush from the adrenaline? Does he have a death wish?
Quote #5
Chutengodianism is important to me. But that doesn't mean I think that a big steel tank propped up on a few I-beams is omnipotent. I might be a religious zealot, but I'm not crazy. (15.2)
When Jason makes this point, it foreshadows Shin's slip into fanaticism.
Quote #6
"He talks to me, you know. I hear what he says." [Shin] looks toward the tower.
"Shin, you're scaring me."
His face reddens. "You think I care if you're scared?" he shouts. "He doesn't want you, he wants me!" (24.36-38)
Shin's madness creates a sense of being special, set apart, called—which must feel kind of good for a kid who's generally a bit of an outcast.
Quote #7
Shin was happier when he was his own god—the Pod God. […]He's not a god anymore, he's just a cult of one, listening to voices in his head. (26.7)
Shin was better when he was in control of something else. Now something is controlling him.
Quote #8
Shin has spun off into some strange Shinnish reality. (27.29)
It's hard to put concerns about mental health into words. The way Jason phrases this makes it seem that, though things are strange with Shin, they are within Shin's typical bell-curve of strangeness. Perhaps Jason doesn't want to look at things full on, or call it like it is.