The Great Brain Community Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #7

Mamma lay his head gently on the pillow. Dr. LeRoy closed Abie's eyelids. Mamma pulled the sheet up over Abie's head. Then Mamma walked slowly into our parlor which was filled with people. She looked as if she had just lost one of her own loved ones.

"Abie is dead," she said as tears toppled down her cheeks. "Three times he fell carrying his cross, just as Christ did, and we were too blind to see. May God have mercy on us." (6.55.56)

We don't want to take away from the seriousness of this moment, but what is the deal with people just walking on into the Fitzgeralds' house all the time?

Quote #8

"Let us assume," Papa said patiently, "that Dave Teller, who is a bachelor and cooks his own meals, suddenly stopped buying meat from Mr. Thompson. You can bet Mr. Thompson would have made it his business to find out why. And let us assume that Dave Teller suddenly stopped buying groceries from the Z.C.M.I. store. You can bet Mr. Harmon would have worried enough about it to find out why. And let us assume they found out Dave Teller was broke. You can bet they wouldn't have let Dave Teller starve to death. And if Dave Teller had fainted three times, you can bet the people in this town would have insisted on taking Dave to a doctor whether he wanted to go or not. But Abie was a Jew and so nobody worried about him. May God forgive us all." (6.72)

We have to agree with Papa here. Abie fainted three times and everybody just kind of shrugged? Is nobody in this whole town a Good Samaritan? The community doesn't look nearly so kind and inclusive when we consider their treatment of Abie.