How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
Would it be the worst thing in the world if nothing happened at all, if they all stayed together in this generous house? Carmen prayed hard. She prayed while standing near the priest in hopes it would give her request extra credibility. What she prayed for was nothing. She prayed that God would look on them and see the beauty of their existence and leave them alone. (5.205)
The terrorists as well as the hostages find their hopes and dreams being changed by the new world they've entered into. And rest assured praying for "nothing" means praying for the big, fat something of living in an impossible paradise for all eternity.
Quote #5
For the rest of Gen's life he will remember this night in two completely different ways.
First, he will imagine what he did not do: In this version, he takes Carmen's hand and leads her out the gate at the end of the front walkway. There are military guards on the other side of the wall but they, too, are young and asleep, and together they pass them and simply walk out into the capital city of the host country. Nobody knows to stop them. They are not famous and nobody cares. They go to an airport and find a flight back to Japan and they live there, together, happily and forever. (8.198-200)
Gen is just starting to imagine a completely different future for himself with Carmen as the hostage crisis draws to an end. Here the narrator tells us about the future Gen didn't quite imagine in time. But would it really have worked if he'd thought to leave with Carmen at this moment? It's hard to believe they could really avoid being detained by the authorities, however much they and we might want to believe they could have a life together. Ah, the echoes of Romeo and Juliet…
Quote #6
Then he will imagine exactly what did happen: It did not occur to him to leave, as it does not occur to a dog to leave once he has been trained to stay in the yard. He only feels blessed for the little freedom he is given. Carmen takes his hand and together they walk to the place where Esmeralda held picnics for the Vice President's children, a place where the wall curves back and makes a pocket of grass and slender trees and there is no clear view of the house. Carmen kisses him and he kisses her and from then on he will never be able to separate the smell of her from the smell of night. (8.201-202)
Now Patchett tells us what Gen and Carmen actually got: not a whole future together, but an intense and brief time of being in love. Is their dream one so intense and different from everyday life that it could only last this brief time? Food for thought, Shmoopers.