How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"I know you, Nailer. You'll tell Pima no matter what, and then I'm off crew and someone else buys in." Another pause and then she said, "It's all Fates now. If you got a way out, I'll see you on the outside. You get your revenge then." (3.13)
As Sloth leaves Nailer in the oil chamber, she understands that there might be repercussions for betrayal. Though she attributes her future to fate, her words imply that Nailer's choices are what will ultimately affect her future. So very early on, there's a complex relationship between fate and choice, between what's out of characters' control and what's in it.
Quote #2
Nailer balanced on the ledge, on the edge of decision.
Live or die, he thought. Live or die.He dove. (3.93-95)
If Nailer really believed in fate and that everything is predetermined, he would probably never make the choice to try to survive. So he chooses to take his survival in his own hands.
Quote #3
"You're lucky. The Fates were holding you close today. Should have been another Jackson Boy." She offered him the rusty shiv. "Keep that for a talisman. It wanted you. It was going for your lung." (5.3)
Many ship breakers treat fate as almost a religion and world view, and they accept that many of life's circumstances are beyond their control. So it makes sense that Nailer keeps the thing that might have killed him as a token of his luck.