How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
Two days after the fire, I thought I saw Robby in the hospital room. "The ostrich died," he told me, his voice a hiss. "You killed it." But when I asked my mother where Robby went, she said, "He was never here." (51.1)
Pearl imagines seeing Robby even though he never visited her. Why? We think this is a manifestation of her guilt. She blames herself for Hoyt's death, and Robby does, too. She pictures him telling her about the ostrich dying as a way of coming to the realization that she had a hand in Hoyt's death.
Quote #5
Three days after the fire, I woke up and Hoyt was still dead. I didn't hope Robby would visit; in fact, I feared now that he would. (52.1)
Before this, Pearl desperately wants to see Robby and for things to go back to the way they were before the fire. At this point, though, she stops wishing for that. She knows it would just make her feel worse—if that's possible.
Quote #6
I wanted, when I felt the ability to want anything besides not having killed my uncle, to go to the river and look for Amiel. (55.16)
Even though the fire burned their house and killed her uncle, Pearl still thinks about Amiel. She's not entirely certain he's alive and wants to check on him. Okay, okay, we get that. But it seems like she's more interested in Amiel than she is in piecing her family back together. We get that she loves him, but we think her mom needs her at the moment, too. Is that too much to ask?