How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
Gen turned away from him and faced the people he thought of as his people. He watched their faces soften at the sound of his voice. "We are going outside," Gen said in English, in Japanese, in Russian, Italian, French. "We are going outside," he said in Spanish and Danish. Only four words but in every language he was able to convey that they would not be shot, this was not a trick. The group laughed and sighed and shook away from one another. The priest crossed himself quickly in gratitude for an answered prayer. Ishmael went and opened the door and hostages filed out into the light. (9.89)
Here, near the end of the book, going outside together is one of the biggest things that cements the community that has been forming among everyone in the house. Before, terrorists were allowed outside, but not hostages. Now everyone goes, and it makes people feel like equals even if, given the situation, they're about as un-equal as it gets.
Quote #5
Oscar Mendoza held out his dirty hand to Ruben Iglesias and they shook. "We're shaking for you," Ruben said, his voice betraying his happiness. "This seals the deal." He would have another son. The boy would be legally adopted. The boy would be known after that as Ishmael Iglesias. (9.146)
Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Here, Oscar and Ruben are so excited about their new community that they want to invite one of the terrorists into their ordinary one. Ruben wants to adopt Ishmael, and Oscar wants to give him a job. Pretty much unthinkable at the book's start. The community formed by the long time they've spent in the house and the presence of art is sort of like what happens in The Parent Trap, when being sent to a cabin together as a punishment is what lets the long-lost sisters bond and set up lifetime together as family. But one is (kind of accidentally) a terrorist instead of just being bratty and from Napa. (Oh, Lindsay, what has become of you.)
Quote #6
The soldiers played soccer with a ball they had found in the basement and some days there was an actual game, the terrorists against the hostages, though the terrorists were so much younger and trained into better shape that they almost always won. (10.18)
If we had any doubts about the community that's growing here, this proves it. Playing soccer together means the terrorists and hostages have really transformed from completely hostile groups into their own small world. What could be better proof than a good ole game of footy?