Eleven Passivity Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)

Quote #4

"That's not, I don't, you're not … Not mine," I finally say in a little voice that was maybe me when I was four. "Of course it's yours," Mrs. Price says. "I remember you wearing it once." Because she's older and the teacher, she is right and I'm not. (10-11)

When Rachel does manage to speak, it is in a hardly convincing four-year-old's voice. Notice the difference between her dialogue and Mrs. Price's. Mrs. Price's simple declarative sentence leaves little room for doubt. I saw you wear it once, case closed.

Quote #5

I move the red sweater to the corner of my desk with my ruler. I move my pencil and books and eraser as far from it as possible. I even move my chair a little to the right. (13)

Unable to speak up and rid herself of the sweater, Rachel does all she can to distance herself from the embarrassment. Here, we see a hint of rebellion in her—she's really sticking it to the man.

Quote #6

Not mine, not mine, not mine. (13)

The short, declarative statements that give Mrs. Price and Sylvia certainty in their voice do occur to Rachel; they just occur in her mind. Notice how the repetition makes it more definitive than that four-year-old voice from the previous quote.