How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"How could you be reading it, then?" Something about it worried her. "Don't they still shoot people for reading—"
"It depends on your racial group. On the good old armband."
That was so. Slavs, Poles, Puerto Ricans, were the most limited as to what they could read, do, listen to. The Anglo-Saxons had it much better; there was public education for their children, and they could go to libraries and museums and concerts. (6.104-6)
We don't spend a lot of time in Nazi-controlled Europe and eastern America, so our only insight into that area is times like this, when people think about how things are. And if you're dark skinned or Slavic, things are bad. We hear about that in general a few times, but this moment shows us some particulars. There are harsher laws for some ethnicities and more restrictions on education and cultural events.
Quote #8
Very shortly, as he ascended the stairs to the Kasouras' apartment, he thought, Here I am, not invited in a business context, but a dinner guest. He had of course taken special pains with his attire; at least he could be confident of his appearance. My appearance, he thought. Yes, that is it. How do I appear? There is no deceiving anyone; I do not belong here. (7.4)
Oh, Childan. Whether he goes to a business meeting or a social dinner, he obsesses over how to appear socially correct. But even though he's so interested in engaging socially with this young Japanese couple (see the first quote above), he seems almost more pessimistic here that any social unity can exist. And purely because he's a white man.
Quote #9
"I'm always happy to see you, Robert," Paul said, in a tone that held—Childan thought—perhaps a trace of aloofness.
Or perhaps it was his imagination. Childan glanced cautiously over his teacup. The man certainly looked friendly. And yet—Childan sensed a change. (11.67-8)
Check out those em dashes ("—") and "perhaps"s all over Childan's thoughts. Here's an area where his uncertain thoughts get expressed in uncertain—and fragmented—sentences. (See what we did there?) This might be one of the costs of a fractured society. Childan lives in constant anxiety about upsetting the Japanese. Thankfully, by the end of this scene, he'll be less anxious—and less jerky.