How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
With the thumb and forefinger of my right hand, I star pulling at the nail of the second toe of my left foot. (3.2.376)
This is a really bizarre scene in which James pulls his own toenail off, rinses off his foot, and then puts his shoes back on and goes on as though nothing happened (and as though it doesn't even hurt to walk). This is one way he's found to vent his Fury, which has raised up after meeting with Parents, although in this case he seems to be more angry at himself than at them for a change. Maybe he's always been mad at himself. We should note, too, that pulling your own nail off looks an awful lot like a symptom of the same self-loathing that has probably caused James's drug abuse in the first place.
Quote #8
[Mother] reared back to slap me. I saw it coming, so when she swung I grabbed her hand […] She couldn't hit me because I had her arms, so she tried to kick me. As she did, I let go of her hands and she lost her balance and fell to the floor and she started crying, crying really hard. (3.3.287)
Talk about sadistic. James drives his mother to violence and then uses his strength to restrain her. He also manipulates her angry kicking so that she'll fall. He even says right after this that "part of [him] still thinks it's funny" (3.3.291). Yeesh.
Quote #9
I press. Into the soft flesh. I look into the man's eye. I let him know that I could kill him. (3.4.275)
This is one of the last times James really rages at someone, but he justifies it by the fact that he's defending Lilly's reputation. He basically strangles the man who talks about what happened to Lilly. Even though that man was telling the truth, James doesn't feel it was his story to tell.