How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)
Quote #4
"Do many men kill themselves, Daddy?"
"Not very many, Nick."
"Do many women?"
"Hardly ever." (52-55)
Notice how vague answers seem to be a thing with Nick's dad? It's like he's diminishing the reality of suicide for Nick. Sure, he's not going to say "People kill themselves every day, Nick. Lots of people. Now go outside and play with the other kids." But as adults (and young adults) reading this story, we see how he might be sugar-coating it a wee bit.
Quote #5
"Is dying hard, Daddy?"
"No, I think it's pretty easy, Nick. It all depends." (62-63)
Is this supposed to be comforting? Nick's dad seems to be assuaging Nick's fears by telling him that death isn't as scary as it might seem, but it's also a foreboding statement, taken on its own: the word "easy," instead of, say, "painless," makes death sound like it's something that can easily happen.
Quote #6
In the early morning on the lake sitting in the stern of the boat with his father rowing, he felt quite sure that he would never die. (65)
Wow, what an ending! And what a way to wrap up with the idea of death. Has death won in this story? Remember, Nick is a young kid, so he comes with that naiveté that lets him ask questions like "Is dying hard, Daddy?" So when he feels like he will never die, we know that it's coming from that same naiveté; at the same time, there is something about it that makes us agree, or want to agree, with Nick. He shouldn't have to face the fact of his own mortality just yet, and maybe the only way for him not to right now is by continuing to see death as a personal impossibility.