How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
When the laughter settled back into silence, Sadima glanced at him. Her brother. She loved him more than she would ever love anyone. He was her best friend—her only friend. Papa didn't even allow her to visit Mattie's daughters. (9.25)
Sadima has a lonely childhood. We're not sure if her dad was as overprotective and paranoid before her mom died, but whatever the reason, he doesn't allow her to have friends. At all. Luckily Sadima and her brother are pretty close, so it's not like she's completely isolated from human contact.
Quote #2
And she knew she couldn't explain. She had tried, and she had learned: Neither Micah nor Papa would ever believe her. It scared her to think it, but she knew it was true: No one would ever believe her. She wasn't like anyone else. (9.70)
Not only does Sadima grow up feeling pretty isolated due to not having any friends, she also has to come to terms with the fact that she's different from other people because of her affinity with animals. No one else is like her, and no one believes her when she tries to explain it. Poor kid.
Quote #3
The sensible thing was to take the rest of the herd with her and come back for Rebecca. But the old doe would be terrified at being left behind. She might kill herself trying to follow, or wolves might find her. (11.4)
It's not just humans that crave companionship, but goats, too. Sadima realizes that she should've left this particular goat, Rebecca, at home, because she's simply that pregnant. And now that they've been out grazing, she doesn't know what to do, because Rebecca's too weak to go with the rest of the herd back home. It makes sense for goats to be afraid of being alone: they've got natural predators. For humans, though, fear of isolation is a bit more complex, isn't it?