Quote 31
Like so many of Archie's words, they seemed not to enter through my ears but to settle on my skin, there to burrow like tiny eggs awaiting the rain of my maturity, when they would hatch and I at last would understand (19.39).
In this really cool simile, Leo compares the way you typically receive knowledge (through you ears) to how you get wisdom from Archie (through little eggs that enter your skin and hatch at a later date). Has someone ever told you something that made absolutely no sense to you till much later?
Quote 32
"He says it all boils down to this—if I'm translating correctly: Whose affection do you value more, hers or the others'?
The Señor says everything will follow from that."
I wasn't sure I understood the Señor any more than I understood Archie half the time, but I said nothing, and I went home (19.52).
This is a great example of how good a teacher Archie really is. He has Leo actually thinking (at least momentarily) that the cactus and Archie are two separate people. Hilarious. Of course the Señor is hard to understand; he's a cactus, for Pete's sake. The thing can't actually talk. But in the comedy of the moment it's a reminder that the right question can be so very important in learning.
Quote 33
In bed that night, as the moonlight reached high tide under my chin, I realized that in fact I understood the question perfectly. I just didn't want to answer it (19.52).
Sometimes, we're our own best teachers. Leo spends some quiet time in the moonlight (thanks again, nature), and comes to his own realization about his Stargirl situation. Of course, he wouldn't have gotten to this moment if it weren't for Archie and Señor Saguaro.