How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"Don't look at my size," I heard myself say, a little louder and more firmly than I intended. "I can do any kind of work you want me to do, and I can work as long as you want me to work. I am very strong." (26.31)
Once Vahan starts to imagine the possibility of a home, he can't let go of it. He convinces the Tashians to take him in because he's been hoping for a better, safer life since the police first took his father away.
Quote #8
And the more miserable we were, the more wondrous and fantastical Constantinople became, until finally it seemed more a creation of a genie than of architects and stone-cutters. (33.21)
Did you notice how amazing Constantinople is in Vahan's mind? When he gets there, he finds it's just like any other place—full of possibilities, but also full of grief for his family. It's clear that it's not about the city, but what it represents to Vahan: hope for a new life.
Quote #9
I had been a reflection of a safe and privileged world, and beneath me was a net as wide as my father's influence, as strong as my mother's love. Now I was only one of two hundred and fifty orphans, and my future was nothing more than a white canvas, a block of marble, a lump of clay. (35.5)
It's depressing to think that only 250 orphans are left out of millions of people—and yet Vahan looks at the future with promise. He's not just going to be an orphan or someone with a hard life; he's going to make something of his life, just like you can make something of a blank canvas or clay.