How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"But it's different for the kids. Seems like they're all the time wanting just what they can't have, and they've got such a funny does of pride."
"No pride at all or too much, I can't tell sometimes." (12.107-108)
Bone cares a lot about what other people think of her. But what if she didn't? There are the obvious reasons why she might want something that other people have, like a big house or black patent Mary Janes (who doesn't want those?), but she also wants those things so that people can't look down on her. What she has, in this case, starts to define how she thinks about herself. Does she ever learn to just accept herself as she is?
Quote #5
I was locked away and safe. What I really was could not be touched. What I really wanted was not yet imagined. Somewhere far away a child was screaming, but right then, it was not me. (12.134)
You might say that Bone's "happy place" is somewhere where she is not only physically safe, but also where she will not be judged for her feelings and desires.
Quote #6
Everything in my life was just as uncertain. I too could be standing somewhere and find myself running into the wall of my own death. (14. 4)
The realization that you are never too young for death is a hard thing to handle, and it's kind of a game-changer for Bone. She starts to think about her Life-with-a-capital-L and who she wants to be as a Person-with-a-capital-P. Do most kids think this way? Do they have to? Does Bone's early exposure to life's hardships have any positive effects?