How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"I would have the wrong haircut. Everybody would remind me that I don't quite belong. 'Oh, honey,' they'd say, 'you're still here? I heard you were on your way to Rio de Janeiro to have tea with Princess Grace.' And I'd say, 'No, I've grown up to be the new Doc Homer. I've moved into his house and I'm taking over his practice so I can save the town.'"
"Save us from what, Great White Mother?"
"Oh, shit, you guys can all just go to hell." I laughed, since the other choice was to cry. (16.95-7)
This is probably the most explicit conversation around race that Loyd and Codi have. What does whiteness have to do with either Hallie's or Codi's relationships to the things they're trying to "save"?
Quote #5
Hallie, [...] I feel small and ridiculous and hemmed in on every side by the need to be safe. All I want is to be like you, to be brave, to walk into a country of chickens and land mines and call that home, and have it be home. How do you just charge ahead, always doing the right thing, even if you have to do it alone with people staring? I would have so many doubts—what if you lose that war? What then? If I had an ounce of your bravery, I'd be set for life. You get up and look the world in the eye, shoo the livestock away from the windowsill, and decide what portion of the world needs to be saved today. You are like God. I get tired. Carlo says, "Let's go to Denver," and what the heck, "I'm ready to throw down the banner of the Stitch and B**** Club and the republic for which is stands. Ready to go live in Denver and walk my dog. (17.94)
It's true that this is one of the whinier letters any person, fictional or real, has ever composed and actually sent. Even so, it brings up a pretty interesting point about "saving" things: is that what heroism is about? Animal Dreams ultimately takes a different tack: here, it's not about winning; it's about fighting.
Quote #6
I am like God, Codi? Like GOD? Give me a break. If I get another letter that mentions SAVING THE WORLD, I am sending you, by return mail, a letter bomb. Codi, please. I've got things to do.
You say you're not a moral person. What a copout. Sometime, when I wasn't looking, something happened to make you think you were bad. What, did Miss Colder give you a bad mark on your report card? You think you're no good, so you can't do good things. Jesus, Codi, how long are you going to keep limping around on that crutch? It's the other way around, it's what you do that makes you who you are. (18.223-4)
Codi, you have been schooled. And you totally deserved it. You treat Hallie like she's a separate kind of human being. We suspect that Codi does stuff like this because she's afraid to hold herself to Hallie's standard—she doesn't think she can live up to it.