How we cite our quotes: (line number)
Quote #4
The room beyond my beaverboard wall is occupied by a colored queen who always keeps his door open; well, not always, but always when he's plucking his eyebrows, which he does with Buddhist concentration. (108)
Jerry refers several times, derogatorily, to the black, gay man who lives in his building. Jerry is gay himself, though, so his contempt for the other gay man seems like it could also be contempt for himself. Does Jerry dislike himself? There is some evidence for it (like the suicide).
Quote #5
PETER: your parents…perhaps…a girl friend…
JERRY: You're a very sweet man, and you're possessed of a truly enviable innocence. (115-116)
Peter suggests that Jerry might have pictures of people he loves, like parents or a girlfriend. Jerry says that Peter is innocent. That could just mean that Jerry's life is empty and loveless, and Peter is innocent because he doesn't understand the depths of Jerry's despair. But it could also mean a more specific innocence; Peter is assuming that there would be a girlfriend, rather than a boyfriend.
Quote #6
I was a h-o-m-o-s-e-x-u-a-l. I mean, I was queer…(Very fast)…queer, queer, queer…with bells ringing, banners snapping in the wind. (124)
This is the most explicit mention of homosexuality in the play—a mention that has "bells ringing, banners snapping in the wind." It's both uncomfortable and celebratory. Jerry seems torn between those two attitudes.