How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
In my middle years, I have exchanged the position of the fetus for the position of a corpse. (5.189)
Reality has become macabre for Slocum. He substitutes images of life for those of death, and in an eerie way, he seems somewhat comforted by this.
Quote #5
I know at last what I want to be when I grow up.
When I grow up I want to be a little boy. (5.83-84)
Slocum wants another chance, and then another, and perhaps even a few more after that. He claims that when he grows up, he wants to be someone who is dignified, tasteful, and important—and who enjoys what he does. Like William Shakespeare. Huh? Yup, that's what he says.
Quote #6
"Mr. ______, your boy is lying on the floor of the living room and hasn't breathed for fifteen seconds."
That was precisely the way the words were floated to me in my dream or beclouded waking moments. (5.199)
Slocum's dreams occasionally tear at him. They transform into nightmares that he could never bear to see become reality—although that's exactly what they do.