How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
For the Killburn houses, sheds and barns were grouped to form an enclosure. This compound was in no way extraordinary to look at, at first sight. The sheds and barns were weathered silver, sagging and almost shapeless. The houses were not the unpainted crate construction of most hill houses, but on the order of rambling, frame farmhouses. They had been added onto at the rear each time a child was born; and they had been painted once, all the same color. A dark, deep brown trimmed in blue. There was still a thin covering of paint on the houses, although they hadn't been retouched in years. (11.150)
This is a far cry from the Higgins' house. For one, the Higgins only have one house. The Killburns have houses—a whole compound of them. The houses show a few things: That the Killburns are unlike other families in the hills because the Killburns farm and the are unified to the point of being identical (all those houses, built the same way and in the same color). They also don't seem to care much about superficial aesthetics since they haven't retouched the paint in years.
In other words, the Killburns are kind of like a back-to-nature, 1950s suburb (only way more tight-knight; they are a family after all).
Quote #5
The sound of chatter spilled over him and through him.
And he remembered with sadness, with regret, that the Mound had been the happiest place he'd ever known. No mountain to worry. No past. No ghosts. (11.168-169)
The Mound does sound like a pretty cool place, what with being full of kids running around and playing and people working the land. Plus it's full of food, which is something the Higgins definitely lack. M.C. is only thirteen years old, but that's irrelevant when you're heir to a mountain that's slowly transforming into a pile of rocks and rubble. It's a reminder of how much of a childhood M.C. has missed out on.
Quote #6
The effect from guidelines to hub was one of an enormous web or net, or even a green and tan sunburst. In the hub were many children of various sizes and ages. Most had the light, sickly complexion of Killburn people. With a color range from orange to reddish-brown hair, they looked like a fresh bunch of bright flowers jumbled and tossed by breezes, their stems dangling through the square shapes of the hub. (12.6)
Sure, M.C. thinks the Killburn kids have a "light, sickly complexion" but they also seem a happy bunch—"like a fresh bunch of bright flowers jumbled and tossed by breezes." It's a nice image that coincides with the cheery and innocent ways of the Killburn children. They also make the Killburn compound a lot less sinister and a lot more welcoming.