How we cite our quotes: (Page.Paragraph)
Quote #4
'I don't want to make pretty drawings, Mama.' (28.8)
This is essentially Asher Lev's credo. He doesn't want to make pretty drawings: he wants to paint the world as he sees it, which is a place full of pain and suffering and indecision.
Quote #5
I drew a book burning. Then I drew a pile of books burning. Then I drew houses burning. Then I drew the Ladover building burning. And my mother was no longer asking me what it all meant. (121.2)
When Asher learns about the tragedies in the past of the Jewish people, he begins to draw things on fire. Fire and destruction remain themes in his paintings—super un-pretty themes. This is another example of Asher painting things as he feels them, rather than as they really are.
Quote #6
'I made the Rebbe look like a being from the Other Side.' (125.8)
When the Rabbi orders Aryeh to go to Vienna, Asher gets pretty furious about it. He ends up taking his anger out on the Rabbi by drawing an unflattering caricature of him in his Chumash. This is one really sacrilegious thing to do, and it causes quite a stir in the Ladover community.