How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Once the eye-burning stench of greasewood was gone, the beggars would swarm back to the boardwalk. But by then the shopkeepers' dogs would be off their leashes. Most were half wolf. All were underfed… Once in a while, I heard someone scream. It always gave me the shivers—how could people live there? (2.2)
Hahp can see the slums of Limòri from the roof of his father's house, and it's not a pretty sight. It seems like Hahp is missing the point, too—it's not like people want to live there, it's that they have no other option. Just like in the world we actually live in.
Quote #2
Twice a year children from South End were brought here and allowed to play for a few hours, like puppies let out of a filthy run long enough to air. Then they were carted home again to tell stories of magic waterfalls and fish as bright as flowers and all the rest. I had gone, once, when I was six or seven. I had cried, watching the stick-thin children run in circles, half-mad with delight. (4.12)
Aw, looks like Hahp doesn't like to be confronted with the reality of how poor kids actually live their lives. We can't really blame him, because it is pretty sad, but ignoring something doesn't make it go away.
Quote #3
Messengers were street boys, always. No one else was hungry enough to accept a few coppers to climb the endless stairs. (6.9)
Again we see that being born poor in Limòri truly stinks. Being a messenger, for instance, means facing exhausting amounts of running around, all for the equivalent of a few bucks. Hahp seems to realize that there's something wrong with the system, but he can't really put his finger on what it is.