How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"Rabbit is everything we could want."
"He is more, Alfred." Günberk's gaze was steady. For all his youth, Braun had the stolid aspect of a turn-of-the-century German. He moved from point to point slowly, inexorably. "In setting up this operation, Rabbit has performed miracles on our behalf. His ability demonstrates that he himself is a threat." (17.13-14)
a) Although Braun may think of himself as a potential hero/savior, from Vaz's POV, Braun's identity is that of a stolid German. There's a lesson in there somewhere about how people see us differently than we see ourselves. b) Note how Braun's feelings about Rabbit have changed: Braun used to think Rabbit was a fourteen-year-old showoff twit; but now that Rabbit has demonstrated some real skill, Braun thinks his identity should be "threat."
Quote #8
For Robert Gu, these new exams were hard. It was not a foregone conclusion that he would max the tests and outdo everyone around him. The only similar situation from his past was in undergraduate school, when he had been briefly forced into real science courses. In those classes, he had finally met students who were not automatically his inferiors—and he had also met teachers who were not impressed by his genius. Once past the mandatory science curriculum, Robert had avoided such humiliation. (19.2)
It's sadly all too predictable that Robert, who used to love humiliating and hurting other people, would have "avoided such humiliation" himself. He could dish it out but not take it. That aside, we can see how much of Robert's identity was tied up with how other people treated him.
Quote #9
Juan looked back and forth between them. There was the beginning of shining pride on his face, though he seemed to guess that there were words unspoken going between Winnie and Robert. (34.11)
If Braun and Mitsuri have tragic stories, Juan's is something of a victory: he started out as a kid who thought of himself as a loser and a chump; and now he ends up with "the beginning of shining pride." Not only that, but he's gained a fair bit of skill, both in writing poetry (as shown by his final project) and in dealing with oldsters.