How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
But the snail had created such a beautiful design in the sand, like a kare-sansui, a Zen garden. Yet not created, Manjiro realized—traced. The snail had taken its long, arduous journey to trace—"My face!" Manjiro whispered. (1.2.86)
Here, Manjiro is meditating on the snail and the snail is "meditating" on Manjiro's face (or the shadow it casts over it). Together, they create art: the snail "traces" and Manjiro interprets it as beautiful. Pretty cool, huh?
Quote #2
In Japan there was an artist named Hiroshige who made beautiful pictures of everyday scenes. Manjiro had seen some of these prints: two men seeking shelter from rain that fell in cold, slanting streaks; three travelers lighting their pipes by a fire so real it seemed to glow; several geishas in such find kimonos, you could almost hear the silk rustling. Forever afterward, when Manjiro thought of what happened that day, he would remember it in sudden, vivid scenes like Hiroshige's prints. And yet unlike those pictures, because nowhere in any of them were there scenes as strange as these… (2.3.1-2)
Just for context, Manjiro goes on and lists all the things that are completely weird to him when he gets rescued. Things like: shoes made out of animal skin, eyes of different colors, big noses. Things clearly not Japanese. Question: Why does Manjiro bother to mention Hiroshige's art when what he really wants to do is to go on and tell us all about the difference between Hiroshige's art and what he experiences?
Quote #3
The captain picked up a funny-looking musical instrument. A violin, he called it, then played something on it that Manjiro realized must be music. It was a strange sound, a little sad.
As he listened, Manjiro's eyes drifted around the room, taking in the many unusual objects, finally resting on an open book on the captain's desk. Maybe the captain even knew how to read! (2.6.42-43)
Manjiro's reaction to the violin music is all a little funny: He is ignorant of what the violin even is, yet he also wonders if "the captain even knew how to read."