How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
She blew a cloud of cigarette smoke into my room, and sighed. "I guess it's pretty weird that you're being all adult and I'm being the kid and wanting my freedom." (8.39)
Karl's mom may not be abusing or neglecting him in the same way his friends' parents are, but the roles in their family are reversed to a perverse degree. Karl is the parent and the provider, while Beth is the child. That said, she's certainly abandoning her duties as a mother.
Quote #5
[Marti had] never been anywhere long enough to have many friends, and her father hadn't really approved of her having the few she sometimes had. She'd gotten locked out a lot but had always spent the night sleeping in her car or at a diner. She couldn't remember a single interesting thing that had ever happened to her. (9.102)
Karl and Marti probably bond because both his mom and her dad have completely misplaced the idea of their children being able to have their own identities. While Karl is inhibited by his mom's drinking and stealing, Marti's dad degrades her for not being as smart as he expects her to be. Neither seems to realize that both of their children are going above and beyond to just survive.
Quote #6
"Laughing at everything is probably a good idea, considering what everything is like." (12.23)
Marti's words of wisdom have to do with the dark, perverse humor that the Madmen use to respond to the situations in their lives—not because they're deliberately trying to be inappropriate but because their lives are so bad that the only reaction is to laugh.