How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
And maybe you could rate the people you knew by how much you loved them, so if the device in the middle of the ambulance detected the device of the person he loved the most, or the person he loved the most, and the person in the ambulance was really badly hurt, and might even die, the ambulance could flash
GOODBYE! I LOVE YOU! GOODBYE! I LOVE YOU! (3.66)
This is a good example of how the boundaries between grief and love are still pretty porous for Oskar. This invention would make sure that you got to say goodbye to someone you loved before they died—something Oskar never got to do. Later, he makes a list and rates the people he loves. Dad, of course is first on the list.
Quote #5
When I was your age, my grandfather bought me a ruby bracelet. It was too big for me and would slide up and down my arm. […] Its size was supposed to be a symbol of his love. More rubies, more love. But I could not wear it comfortably. I could not wear it at all. So here is the point of everything I have been trying to say. If I were to give a bracelet to you, now, I would measure your wrist twice. (4.29)
This is the final paragraph from Grandma's letter from her own Grandmother. It's a powerful statement of love. Are you truly loving someone if your love doesn't "fit" them? Great-great Grandma seems to think it's not good enough to love someone… you have to love them the way they need to be loved.
Quote #6
One afternoon, I mentioned to Grandma that I was considering starting a stamp collection, and the next afternoon she had three albums for me and—"because I love you so much it hurts me, and because I want your wonderful collection to have a wonderful beginning"—a sheet of stamps of Great American Inventors. (5.57)
Oskar's Grandma is totally devoted to him and wants everything good for him. But her love's also tinged with grief; she knows that you can lose people you love.