Fictional Characters With Phobias

When writing a fiction, it is very crucial to establish a link with the reader. Every good fiction requires four essential keys, commonality, originality, dichotomy, desire and peculiarity. The story should be representing the common man with the real and original life he lives. Certain kind of peculiarities comes by defining characters by their fears. Characters tend to gain popularity and credibility by showing elements of irrational behavior like hates, fears, phobias and superstitions.

There are many stories, fairy tales and movies where various different kinds of phobias have helped the writers to establish a link with readers and make them read and treasure the fiction.

Most common fictional characters with phobias are as follows :

• Sherlock Holmes was a drug addict with a phobia of disorder. All his crimes were solved on knowing the habits of criminals.

• Adam had a phobia of being chased away by timber wolves in the story Adam and Eves.

• Billy had a number of curious phobias like fears of hats, clouds and shoes in Silly Billy by Anthony Browne.

• Marlin has a particular phobia of sharks in the movie Finding Nemos.

• The fictional character Max Klein played by Jeff Bridges in Fearless developed some kind of phobia after the plane crash.

• Stephen Colbert, a fictional character created and portrayed by political satirist Stephen Colbert has a fear of alligators.

• Melvin Udall in As Good As It Gets suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder.

• Helen Hudson in Copycat suffers from agoraphobia resulting from a violent assault.

• Bob Wiley in What About Bob has the fear of germs, enclosed spaces, strangers and loneliness.

• Paul Vitti in Analyze This suffers from the fear of facing everyday tasks.

• Truman Burbank in The Truman Show shows the fear of water.

• John 'Scottie' Ferguson in Vertigo develops a fear of heights after a traumatic incident resulting in a colleague's death.

• Richard Thorndyke in High Anxiety shows the fear of heights.