How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
If we had listened for more, had thought about what we heard, what a nauseated couple we would have been. Away from the sovereign territory of our nation of two, we talked like the patriotic lunatics all around us. (10.19)
Campbell and Helga are just a crazy pair of lovebirds surrounded by crazy Nazi patriots. Everyone's mad in this story; it's just a matter of what your madness makes you do.
Quote #5
Only one thing counted —
The nation of two.
And when that nation ceased to be, I became what I am today and what I always will be, a stateless person. (10.20-23)
So, why exactly is Campbell so hell-bent on seeing himself as a stateless person? Like, we get it, but it's super interesting that he chooses to lose himself in love rather than, say, be secretly super patriotic toward the U.S.
We're not naïve. We get that he's seeing the horrors of ideology run amok first hand. But he's also getting a kick out of playing into that writing wacky propaganda.
Okay, we've got no concrete answers here, but we do want to say this: the state of Campbell's statelessness is a choice. He chose to make Helga his homeland, and he chose to always be stateless ever after. But does the world let you choose like that? Is it possible actually to be stateless?
Quote #6
The object of the weight was to give schoolchildren something to exercise with, in between classes. The ad pointed out that the physical fitness of American children was below that of the children of almost every land on earth. (12.31)
No self-respecting patriot would be content if his or her country were anything less than number one in the world in any category. Give those children weight training, are we right? How can America say it's number one if they're objectively ranked last?