How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Line)
Quote #1
Congress bars you from high school. You join the poor, like my family. You'll probably either drown while working the water turbines or get steamed to death in the power plants. (1.1.39)
Options for poor children in the new Republic are pretty grim. They can hardly get ahead in life because if they don't do well in the Trial at the ripe old age of ten, they're pretty much sentenced to a life of poverty and misery.
Quote #2
The third, a girl who couldn't have been more than ten years old, stayed where she was, trembling when she saw me. She was skinny as a rail, with a tattered shirt and trousers. (1.9.18)
Day connects with Tess as soon as he meets her because she comes from a background like his. She's poor, and in this cold unfeeling world there's no one around to take care of her.
Quote #3
I can't believe how filthy the streets are here. Probably even worse than the dilapidated outskirts of Los Angeles. The ground sits low against the water (not unlike the other poor sectors, which all seem to look the same), so that whenever there's a storm, the lake probably floods all the streets lining the shore with dirty, sewage-contaminated water. (1.10.39)
June's certainly been sheltered from the harsh realities of life by living in the richer sectors. The truth of how most of Los Angeles lives shocks her—and makes her feel like maybe she's been spending and consuming in excess this whole time.