How we cite our quotes: (Page)
Quote #4
The Second Mate reached up and untied the rope himself. He pushed off. Floating free, he said, "We're the ones at the bottom of the ocean. You helped me see that." (80)
The Second Mate has decided to defect because his exposure to the concept of the International Space Station (a project based on peace and brotherhood) undermines his perception of a hostile and depraved world bent on the destruction of North Korea. The propaganda of his homeland doesn't cut it anymore, and he certainly can't bear to suffer for an ideology that has no basis in reality.
Quote #5
"Duc Dan's retired," he said. "You all went to his going-away party. He moved to the beach in Wonsan. He's not in jail, that's a lie that he's in jail. He's painting seashells right now. You all saw the brochure he had." (202)
If you've read The Giver, this scenario may seem all too familiar: Duc Dan, a former member of the Pubyok, is not living it up on the seashore. There's no alternative utopian retirement society to which he's been "released." Rather, he's died a miserable death in the grim infirmary of Prison 33, from which Jun Do/Imposter Ga escaped. But his former colleagues can't bear the burden of the fate that will surely await them, to—so they spin a different end for their friend.
Quote #6
The Dear Leader folded the cloth and gave it to Ga for his nose. Then he lifted Ga's arm. "And here is the real Commander Ga. He has beaten Kimura, and now he will defeat the Americans." (258)
When Kim Jong Il designates Jun Do the new real Commander Ga, it's like we've entered an alternate universe. It's a place where the supreme leader can bend the rules of identity and personal will to create and un-create people on the spot—it's like Freaky Friday, but the stakes are actually high and real. As Jun Do learns, in North Korea, it's the story that's important—not the individual.