How we cite our quotes: Chapter.Paragraph
Quote #4
Gigi and I stayed on our knees swaying for a long time. I don't know when Aunt Casey and Uncle Toole left because I had to concentrate on being just like Gigi. I kept waiting for Dane to reappear because it seemed to me that's why we stayed down there on the floor with our arms crossed over our chests moaning to the spirits. (2.27)
Whoa—this is a super creepy image, no? It's almost like Gigi is trying to conjure Dane up from the pile of clothes on the floor, or from wherever it is that people go when they melt. Of course, the whole thing about Dane melting is bogus to begin with, so our best guess is that Gigi's using this little ritual as a chance to perform for Aunt Casey and Uncle Toole.
Quote #5
"If you want to know something, you don't go look it up in a book. You put your question out there, out into the universe, and then you wait, and sure enough the information comes to you." (4.16)
Not only does Gigi discourage Miracle from asking questions, she is now also telling her that books are a bad source of information. She takes away both Miracle's power to ask questions and to seek information. Fittingly, then, it's ultimately a book—the Emily Dickinson poetry collection—that sets Miracle's mind free. Ha. How do you like them apples, Gigi?
Quote #6
I went to church a couple of times, back when Gigi listened to what other people told her, and they told her I needed religion. We stopped going, though, because Gigi said there was more to it than the preacher was letting on. She said it was like the way the government doesn't admit that there are aliens from other planets roaming the earth. "That preacher's hiding too much up his puffy sleeves is what I think," she said. "He's got cards he ain't showing." (4.66)
More than likely, Gigi heard something at the church service that made her feel a little uncomfortable. Perhaps the preacher spoke out against the occult or made a statement that contradicted something she wanted Miracle to believe. Thus, this scene isn't as much about what the preacher is or isn't sharing with people, as it is Gigi's fear that conventional religion will disrupt Miracle's image of her—and her own fantasy world.