How we cite our quotes: (Page)
Quote #10
"Why wasn't it Gil?" he asked her. He was weeping uncontrollably. "The Second Mate I could understand. Even Officer So. Not the Captain. He followed every rule, why him? Why not me? I have nothing, nothing at all. Why should he go to prison twice?" (296)
It's not often that Jun Do rails against the universe for bad things happening. As one who is used to suffering, he mostly just accepts it. The loss of the Captain is a moment of awakening for him—it's when he finally understands that playing by the rules means nothing in a society built on cruelty.
Quote #11
Slowly, the car backed out, and as the tires shifted from grass to gravel, he heard the grab of the road and knew that the ultimate had been taken from him. The Orphan Master had bent his fingers back and removed food from his very hand... (373).
Jun Do/Imposter Ga watches as Sun Moon rides away to the Dear Leader's side. He assumes that she is being taken as a squeeze for Kim Jong Il, and feels real pain at this. But it's an old wound, one that's deprived him of the most basic needs for survival. The seeming loss of Sun Moon teaches him that there is more to life than simply surviving.
It's also important to note the nifty overlapping of identities that happens here between the Orphan Master (the man who regulated Jun Do's early life) and Kim Jong Il (figured as a father to all orphans and yet a totalitarian head of state). With friends like these, who needs enemies?