How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I know all that goes on in the houses we pass. I tell Surrender about it as we trundle along. Everything here belongs to me: I reign, I infect this town. I'm the unexplained noises, each mislaid bit and piece. I'm the murmur, the shadow, the creaking floor. I'm the blackout, the echo, the scratcher-at-the-door. (4.3)
We're scared just hearing about Finnigan's relationship to the town, and we don't even live there. That overwhelming sense of fear that Finnigan creates in us as readers is mimicked in the people he actually interacts with.
Quote #2
I had feared and feared he wouldn't come, had traced his name with my fingertips hoping to cast a returning spell. I had chewed my nails to the quick. (5.1)
Gabriel is scared of the possibility of Finnigan showing up. Translation? He's scared of who he becomes when he's angry and wants revenge for something. Even though we don't know it yet, Gabriel and Finnigan are one and the same.
Quote #3
He was mine—my concern. Away from him, I worried. I would run home from school hysterical with fear that one of my imagined tragedies had overtaken him. (7.12)
Vernon creates a sense of panic in Gabriel, not over what he might do, but what might be done to him. Gabriel knows his parents hate Vernon and never miss an opportunity to show it, and this makes him worried about what they might do to his brother.
Quote #4
To begin with, I was afraid. I was afraid of getting caught, afraid my treachery glowed like a corona around me. Then, when I did not get caught, I grew to love the fear. It sang in me like wires. (9.86)
Notice how Gabriel's fear shifts over time: At first, he's scared of getting in trouble, but before long, he relishes the fear. Call it Finnigan's influence, or his inner mean kid coming out—either way, Gabriel becomes an adrenaline junkie.
Quote #5
Evening always finds me at my illest, most ill: Sarah writes on my chart that I'm fretful. And why shouldn't I be? It is not nice to die. (11.1)
We might expect Gabriel to be agitated when he's not feeling well. But fretful? That's more about being anxious and fearful. At this point, it doesn't make much sense to us, but later on we understand that he's afraid Finnigan might rear his ugly head again, and he's not sure what he'll do if Finnigan shows up.
Quote #6
The first few days after he'd jumped the fence and gone, I'd kept an eye out for Finnigan. He had departed in such a rage that part of me feared I would never see him again—and part of me feared I most certainly would. (17.14)
Whenever Finnigan disappears, it's nerve-racking, because Gabriel is never certain when he'll show up again. When we understand that Gabriel is talking about his evil side coming to the surface, though, we understand that he is so not in control of it that he can't even predict when it will appear again.
Quote #7
He was separating me from her without saying a word. I shivered in his angry shadow, chewed my nails till they bled. At night I thought of Surrender running beneath the moon, of the heat of the chase, the smell of the fear, the violent pleasure of the kill. When I slept I dreamed of Vernon, heard the soft thumping of fists. (17.15)
It's clear Finnigan has a big influence over Gabriel, whether Gabriel wants him to or not. We see that his influence comes in the form of nail biting and sleepless nights—since Finnigan is inside Gabriel's head, he can infect Gabriel the most.
Quote #8
It had burbled and snuffled in a way that seemed friendly: suddenly it became angular and jarred. Two or three voices fluttered up, like sparrows fleeing a dogfight; the music skidded to a halt. Evangeline looked toward the door; fear splashed like lava in me. (19.57)
When he's warning Evangeline, he tells her he's worried about what Finnigan might do. And this is the truth. But check out how he's scared… of himself. His fear is boiling up inside of him, already ready to cascade over the edge unless someone does something.
Quote #9
"I'd never known such terror, my heart never beat so hard. And when I saw it was my mother, not you—it was a relief. I was more afraid of you than of her. And I hadn't thought it was possible, Finnigan, to fear someone more than I feared her. It was, though—it was you. After that I started to wonder what good you are, if any." (21.12)
As Gabriel explains why he wants to kill Finnigan, we start to understand what he's been experiencing all these years. Maybe he really does want to save everyone from Finnigan, but it's also pretty clear that Gabriel wants to save himself from having to live in fear any longer.
Quote #10
He understands perfectly why this must happen—after all, he is the spruiker of fear. He is the shadow in the cupboard and the whisper in the wall. Fear is Finnigan's currency, his daily wine and bread. Now he's made the mortal error of drowning himself in it. "I can't live in terror of you," I say. (21.18)
The imagery here helps us picture the scary lengths Finnigan will go to in order to get what he wants; we can see the shadows and hear the whispers. In case we haven't gotten it this whole time, Gabriel gives us one last, meaty description so we're on the same page: Finnigan is scary.