How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"Your uncle has quite an effect on you. You haven't been yourself since he walked into the practice room." "Or maybe I have been myself, and the other times I'm not myself." (12.21-32)
The first part of this quote implies that Po knows what Katsa's true self is like, and the second part implies that Katsa doesn't. Is that weird, or is it possible for someone else to know us better than we know ourselves? Po, of course, has the aid of his Grace, but even without it we get the feeling that he might be able to see Katsa's truths better than she can. What do you think? And what do you think of Katsa's portion of the quote? Explain.
Quote #8
[Katsa] knew her nature. She would recognize it if she came face-to-face with it. It would be a blue-eyed, green-eyed monster, wolflike and snarling. A vicious beast that struck out at friends in uncontrollable anger, and killer that offered itself as the vessel of the king's fury. (13.83)
Not a pretty picture. If we read a little further, we see that Katsa does recognize that she isn't always this monster, that in fact she is often "frightened and sickened" by her violence, that she gets down on herself for being savage, and that sometimes she rebels against this part of her nature altogether. She knows that sometimes she is a monster that refuses to behave as a monster, but then, what exactly does that make her? Poor girl. She's having a serious identity crisis here.
Quote #9
She felt suddenly and sharply that Po was smarter than she, worlds smarter, and that she was a brute in comparison. An unthinking and unfeeling brute. (16.72)
The comparison game is never a good idea. (Unless you're judging pies at a county fair. Then it's good to do as much comparing as possible. With ice cream on the side.) But comparisons between yourself and others to try to figure out where you stand in the world? Avoid it at all costs, dear Shmoopsters. The only person you need to worry about besting in this life is yourself.
Trying to rank yourself as better or worse than others is pointless. It's comparing apples and oranges. Apples and kumquats. Apples and koala bears. And it doesn't matter.