How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
Earlier a bobwhite had cried from the orchardside cliff, now here, now there, and his round notes swelled sorrowfully over the meadow. A bobwhite who is still calling in summer is lorn; he has never found a mate. (12.37)
To keep crying out for something you can't have can either be seen as boundless hope or prolonging your own suffering.
Quote #8
Is this what it's like, I thought then, and think now: a little blood here, a chomp there, and still we live, trampling the grass? Must everything whole be nibbled? (13.16)
After a few months at the creek, Annie realizes that almost every creature she sees is scarred in some way; most of the insects are missing limbs. Being whole, she decides, is the exception rather than the rule.
Quote #9
It was the way that frog's eyes crumpled. His mouth was a gash of terror; the shining skin of his breast and shoulder shivered once and sagged, reduced to an empty purse; but oh those two snuffed eyes! They crinkled, the comprehension poured out of them… (15.12)
Watching the life literally drain out of a creature's body is awful, but for Annie, watching the light go out of its eyes is the worst part. It's like watching someone pull the shutters on the windows to the soul.