How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph.Page)
Quote #7
"You should do it," she said.
And that's all he needed. He decided to go further, though, and found a rowboat on the boat, and put it on the river and himself in it. He figured he would row deeper into the river, and jump from the boat into the deep. (XX.58-59.177)
Ruby dares Alan to dive into the alligator-infested waters around their riverboat. Of course, Alan has to go one better and take a leaky boat far away from the riverboat, increasing his chances of being digested by a hungry critter. It's an important illustration of Alan's impulsiveness and lack of forethought, something that gets him into major trouble in both his personal and professional lives.
But it's also something that we empathize with and admire. To dare such crazy things is endearing, and makes us hope that the gators of the world won't swallow him up.
Quote #8
He felt like he would pass out. But he stood, and he pushed the needle further. He knew he needed an inch at least. He pushed and twisted and the pain, miraculously, diminished […] He removed the needle and stared at it, expecting something grey or green, the colors of debasement. But he only saw red, viscous red, as the blood poured down his back in tendrils as it had before. (XXIV.54-55.202-203).
This is self-exploration of the most graphic kind. Not satisfied with his first steak knife exploration (or with Dr. Hakem's opinion), Alan has another go at his lump with a needle. We know that Alan likes to figure things out for himself and that he likes to work with his hands, so these little self-surgeries are not a surprise.
But it makes us wonder: what is he trying to achieve? Does he really want to reassure himself that the lump is no biggie? Or is he perhaps trying to punish himself for something? We don't have an exact answer, but we do know that Alan's version of self-exploration will always be excruciating.
Quote #9
They spent the next few hours driving lazily through the valleys, up and down the terrible roads. Along the way they passed a succession of improbable rock formations. Two-story stones that had been half hollowed, sitting like empty helmets. They drove to the upper ridge of the valley of Yousef's father and looked down on the village. (XXVII.74.263)
Alan gets down to some hardcore exploration of the Saudi Arabian desert with Yousef and Salem. The landscape is unlike anything Alan's ever seen; it sends him into some pretty heady contemplations of life, the universe and everything. He's satisfying his desire to be part of something very different from anything he's ever known, but the experience is also demanding a lot from his philosophical stores.