How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"Why would he do a kindness to me?" Manjiro asked.
"Why shouldn't he?"
"Because I am just a boy and he is a grown person. I am a poor nobody and he is a rich important person."
"And why can't a rich man be kind to a poor 'nobody'?" (3.15.31-34)
Manjiro's asking Captain Whitfield why this old guy—a total stranger—would defend Manjiro against a bunch of ignorant white bullies, and what's evident in Captain Whitfield's answer is how different his principle of common goodness is from what Manjiro is used to.
Quote #8
"You will find out that, like Jusuke says, 'the nail that sticks up gets hammered down.'"
Manjiro pointed to the sky. "Look," he said. Pink light rimmed the eastern horizon and ran down onto the sea. "Doesn't it look like the light from another world, spilling through a slightly open door?" (2.11.49-50)
Goemon is telling Manjiro to go with the (Japanese) flow and not go to America—to not be different. It's interesting that Manjiro replies with the opposite of a hard principle, instead offering up a question based on pure wonder at a simple sunrise.
Quote #9
"You deserve a proper upbringing, John, and you shall have it." (3.15.65)
Captain Whitfield is all about committing to John, and that means giving him a farm to live on, a horse to ride, and a mother to raise him. It's a principle that—in abstract—sounds familiar. Sure, these days father-figures might not be promising their sons horses and farms. But they might be promising the kid a stable home and a solid education. Times change but maybe intentions can stay the same.