How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)
Quote #4
"You don't compete with anybody around here. You just set around." (28)
That Hazel, always offering an encouraging word. Hey, if there were a "setting around" competition, George would take home first prize. (Hm, does that mean he wouldn't be equal anymore?) But George is clearly not intended to be a role model of any kind, unless you're vying for the Couch Potato of the Year award.
Quote #5
"If I tried to get away with it" said George, "then other people'd get away with it—and pretty soon we'd be right back to the dark ages again, with everybody competing against everybody else" (29)
We're pretty sure there were competitions after the dark ages. Less deadly ones, too—in the dark ages, there were no runners-up in the Boiling Hot Tar Drop competition. Maybe the fact that George is so adamantly against competition shows his insecurity. Someone who is afraid of losing will never be a winner.
Quote #6
"He tried to do the best he could with what God gave him" (39)
Hazel, talking about the stuttering TV reporter, sounds like the type of mom who thinks that everyone deserves a trophy. Is "A for Effort" an award you should be proud of? And if you stutter, maybe you should become a writer. (We're just saying. We're on this side of the computer screen for a reason, here, and it isn't our stunning good looks.)