Ship Breaker Loyalty Quotes

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 considers whether or not to rescue Nailer, she understands the repercussions for her betrayal of both the spoken crew loyalties and the unspoken code of conduct for ship breakers. The ease with which she betrays Nailer is pitted against Nailer's loyalty to his crew and his friends.

Quote #2

Bapi had put his knife through her light crew tattoos himself, disowning her completely. She'd never work as a ship breaker again. And probably nowhere else, either. Not after breaking blood oaths. She'd proven that no one could trust her. (5.19)

Here, because of Sloth's actions, we see how valued trust and loyalty are. Nailer and Sloth took blood oaths to become crew, so Sloth's betrayal of the oath means that her life is pretty much over. With no trust, she's got no way to survive. Loyalty can be the only thing keeping someone alive.

Quote #3

"Dog DNA would be a step up for her," Pearly said. "At least dogs are loyal."

Every animal they considered was an improvement over the creature who had betrayed them. Ship breaking was too dangerous not to have trust. (5.97-98)

Here we see a little more social hierarchy. As the crew discusses Sloth's disloyalty, they think that she might sell her eggs to help create half-men. Not only does betrayal mean a life of unbearable hardship for Sloth, it means that she becomes less than human in the eyes of those she betrayed.