How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
Already he's met a boy down the street his own age and I should be happy for him, but I'm not—I'm sad for myself. […] For me, as usual, nothing! A big fat nothing, and probably just what I deserve. (22.2)
It's okay to throw a pity party every now and then—it can be pretty cathartic to wallow in your own terribleness until you have to laugh at how maudlin and absurd you're being. The problem is that Alice never reaches that catharsis. She is stuck in woe-is-me mode and that's a dangerous place to be.
Quote #5
It's amazing, because during school I really longed for the time to stay in bed and just loaf, loaf, loaf and read, read, read and watch Tely and do the things I want to do, but now I've run out of things. Oh, sheer agony. (42.2)
Can Alice ever be happy? She finally gets what she wants… and it's not good enough. Unfortunately, we've all been there—the grass is always greener, as the saying goes—but to quote someone from roughly the same era: Only boring people are bored.
Quote #6
Actually I don't need the sleep as much as I need the escape. It's a wonderful way to escape. I think I can't stand it and then I just take a pill and wait for sweet nothingness to take over. At this stage in my life nothingness is a lot better than somethingness. (63.1)
Things must be pretty bad if nothingness is better than somethingness, but how bad does she really have it? If only Alice could have some perspective—you know, without having to go through an overdose, massive mental breakdown, and subsequent hospitalization.