Surrender Versions of Reality Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #1

I am Gabriel, the messenger, the teller of astonishing truths. Now I am dying, my temperature soaring, my hands and memory tremoring: perhaps I should not be held accountable for everything I say. (3.3)

Is this because he can't be trusted, or because he's about to spill the beans? Gabriel is upfront with the fact that he can't be trusted, and we soon see why. We think this might be the only thing he tells us that's factual.

Quote #2

I remember how keen I was to assure him it wasn't his fault, that I didn't blame him for the scarlet welts striping the back of my knees; I remember how my skin prickled to see him, how I flew to the fence at the sight of him swaggering along the street, unkempt and unshod as he'd been two days earlier, leggy as a jackal. (5.1)

After Finnigan (or Gabriel) steals the money from his mom, Gabriel tries to make Finnigan feel better about it. If you think about it, though, this means he's trying to console himself about what he's done. He doesn't want to feel guilty over taking something that's not his, so he blames Finnigan in his mind.

Quote #3

I remembered Finnigan's vow to protect and give me courage, and I supposed that he had lied. I might have believed I'd invented him, that I had indeed patted the tiger in the dark, had it not been for the misshapen word carved into the front fence, six small letters on which my faith hung. (7.1)

As Gabriel starts to realize that not everything is as it seems, we question reality right along with him. How can we know when Gabriel or Finnigan can be trusted, and when they are just serving their own purposes?