How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I fall deep inside me and feel trapped. I fall through several layers of darkness, almost reaching the bottom, when a hand seems to pull me up by the throat and into the pain of reality. Someone is literally dragging me through the kitchen. The fluorescent light knifes me in the eyes, and the smell of pies and sauce makes me want to vomit. (2.2.26)
When the men are in his house with balaclavas, Ed thinks about what's happening in his life, but he doesn't bother doing anything about it. Even though he's decided to follow the cards to see what comes of it, he feels trapped, as if he has no other choice but to go to the addresses and help the people at them.
Quote #2
On Thursday night, I leave the card game at Audrey's early. A feeling clutters me. It makes me stand up and leave, almost without saying a word. The time has arrived, and I know I need to be standing outside that house at the end of Edgar Street— a house held up by the violence that occurs inside it almost every night. (2.2.47)
Check out the way Ed describes this: he needs to be at Edgar Street, as though that's already preordained. He doesn't think about choosing to go there or not; he feels he has to go and stat. What would happen if he didn't show up? Does he really need to go as badly as he thinks?
Quote #3
Clubs are no snack, my son. The question is, Are you up to it? Or is that question irrelevant? Surely you weren't up to the Ace of Diamonds. But you did it. (2.3.20)
In the letter he receives, Ed gets this backwards compliment. It's like saying "you look way better than usual." Thanks, we guess. But the real matter here is whether the question is "irrelevant" or not. On the one hand, of course it's not, because Ed can choose to go through with the cards or not. But on the other, it seems like he might be the one doing the choosing.