How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"She's always had a hankering to see the hermit; Mama used to say he'd grab us good if we didn't act proper. But lately I've come to think he's just somebody grown people made up." (1.5.55)
The connection between belief and coming of age is kind of interesting here. When Florabel was a kid she just believed what her mother told her. Now that she's growing up, she starts to question the threats that adults make to keep kids in line. What's funny is that we know that Little Sunshine is real; Florabel is old enough to question the stories, but not quite mature enough to decide whether or not they're real.
Quote #8
"Lord, Lord," said Zoo, disengaging herself, "you is nothin but a kitty now, but comes the time you is full growed…what a Tom you gonna be." (2.6.12)
Joel's hug attack seems innocent—he's a poor kid who recently lost his mother and has come to live in a house full of strangers. But Zoo recognizes the manly potential behind his hugs—she's old enough to know about that kind of thing, and compares him to a cat. Right now he's a kitten, but when he gets older he'll be a tomcat, which is a way of saying he'll be a player, basically.
Quote #9
Now at thirteen Joel was nearer a knowledge of death than in any year to come: a flower was blooming inside of him, and soon, when all tight leaves unfurled, when the noon of youth burned whitest, he would turn and look, as others had, for the opening of another door. (2.7.14)
Wait, what? The narrator is getting all philosophical on us. Why on earth would Joel, at age thirteen, be closer to death than any other year? This is a way of saying that "youth is wasted on the young." He is just old enough to start feeling as though he understands it all… but not old enough to start realizing how much he doesn't have a clue about.