How we cite our quotes: (Poem.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Harley didn't use to like beer at all, and maybe this was something that was different about him now, after the war. He drank a lot of beer now. (V.45)
We're introduced to Harley's alcohol abuse in a really nonchalant way, as though it's no big deal. That's probably because Harley himself tries to downplay his addiction.
Quote #2
He spent the rest of the afternoon spitting into the river, and they had to keep laughing because he kept saying, "Ugh! Awful! It tastes like poison!" (V.49)
By depicting Harley's experience of his first taste of beer, the novel suggests that liking beer isn't something that comes naturally. Developing a taste for beer is associated with the corrupting influence of white culture and the war.
Quote #3
People called it "going up the line," and the bars were built one after the other alongside 66, beginning at Budville and extending six or seven miles past San Fidel to the Whiting Brothers' station near McCartys. (V.71)
"Going up the line" really seems excessive, doesn't it? Over the course of the novel, we see several characters "go up the line," and it always means trouble.