How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
I answered him right away. I told him that he would do just fine in basketball. I put twenty dollars in the letter for him.
It was good having Kenny need me. I almost cried as I thought about him. It had been tough on me not being able to go to college, but things had been tough on him, too. In a neighborhood where you had to be tough just to get to the store with money for a loaf of bread, Kenny wasn't tough at all. (9.86-87)
Look at Perry, being a good older brother. He's the kind of guy who wants to help his kid brother, even though he went through the same problems as a kid, and never had anyone to help him. That's the sort of "show, not tell" moment to prove that Perry may have his flaws, but he's pretty swell overall.
Quote #5
"This reminds me of a Harlem night," I said. "Sometimes the little apartment we lived in would be so hot you couldn't sleep for days." (12.35)
Perry probably has more he can relate to in Vietnam than someone like Lobel does, just because Perry grew up poor and had less modern luxuries than the richer guys in the army. It's one of those silver lining kind of things.
Quote #6
"Like a trip to friggin' hell," Monaco said.
"No, man, this is like the projects in Chicago," Peewee said. "The police can't protect your ass from the muggers and s***, and the muggers don't protect your ass from the police." (14.120-121)
Because Peewee has lived in poverty, he gets what the Vietnamese villagers are going through more than the other soldiers do. They're basically stuck in the crossfire of gang warfare. Kind of a reminder that huge, violent problems aren't limited to an official war zone—they're happening back at home, too. It's a bit of a downer.