How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"Play with murder enough and it gets you of two ways. It makes you sick, or you get to like it. It got Noonan the first way. He was green around the gills after Yard was knocked off, all the stomach gone out of him, willing to do anything to make peace." (20.25)
The Op explains to Dinah that all the bloodshed is starting to get to Noonan. Does this mean that we're starting to see a sympathetic side to the corrupt cop? Has Noonan broken so many rules and killed off so many people that he's finally experiencing feelings of guilt and regret? Maybe. Or maybe not.
Quote #5
I wondered if the little gambler had done it, or if this was another of the wrong raps that Poisonville police chiefs liked to hang on him. It didn't seem to make much difference now. It was a cinch he had – personally or by deputy – put Noonan out, and they could only hang him once. (22.42)
The Op is referring here to Whisper and whether he had killed Noonan. We almost feel sorry for Whisper because the police keep trying to hang "wrong raps" on him. Where do your sympathies lie? Do you think the police are more at fault for taking advantage of their position of power, or do you think the criminals already get away with too many crimes and deserve whatever punishment comes their way?
Quote #6
I was making one of my favorite complaints – that newspapers were good for nothing except to hash things up so nobody could unhash them. (23.80)
As if it weren't already bad enough to find dishonest policemen running Personville, the Op also complains about the corruption of the media. Elihu owns all the newspapers in town and can control what gets printed. Not much freedom of the press in this neighborhood.