How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
But I'm not an engine, she thought. Engines don't cry. Engines don't need friends to talk to, to play with, to share. Reaching out, she tried to pretend Fourth Cousin was there. (4.23)
Father compares Shirley to an engine—she'll start working (think: feeling better) soon. But Shirley, insightful, knows that she isn't automatic like a machine. She has emotions, wants, and needs, unlike a piece of machinery, so though her parents dismiss her feelings and say she'll just bounce back, Shirley knows she's more complex than they're giving her credit for.
Quote #2
Perhaps someone would come to her rescue. But no one passed. She was alone. (2.131)
Shirley gets lost in Brooklyn on her first day. This symbolizes the loneliness she'll feel for a long time—no one will come to rescue her from her loneliness, despite how her parents try to help. Her dad finds her and brings her home, but Shirley ultimately has to rescue herself from isolation by making friends.
Quote #3
Day by day, week by week, little by little Shirley shrank until she was no more. It was the only explanation. Why else did the class, which welcomed her so warmly at first, ignore her so now? True, she could only speak a few words at a time, and most often no one could even guess at the meaning of those. (4.1)
After her first day in school, Shirley feels like no one pays any attention to her; she shrinks away until no one even acknowledges her. They've turned away from her and have stopped helping her try to fit in, which causes Shirley to remove herself even more from her classmates—if they don't want to reach out to her and won't acknowledge her, she feels insignificant.