How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
I shrugged. "Well, s***, I want out of Lightsburg. I'll always be the Shoemaker boy, here. And I'm not one of your peace-and-love never-comb-your-hair never-take-a-bath never-finish-a-sentence just be-be-be me-me-me free-free-free and love-me-'cause-I'm-so-mellow-groove-a-delic hippie freak types, anyway. A reliable paycheck with free bed and food, and a ticket out of town for good? And all they want me to do is char some babies? Well, all right then, a deal's a deal, line up the cradles, hand me the flamethrower, and fetch me the barbecue sauce." (8.92)
Ever live in a sibling's shadow? Worse, have you ever lived in a parent's shadow? Karl is doomed to forever be known in Lightsburg as "the mayor's kid"—make that "the drunken ex-mayor who wouldn't give his blessing to the plastic development neighborhood project's kid." What's really sad is that in a time when joining the Army was what most kids his age were trying to avoid, Karl is ready to hit the road for Vietnam tomorrow if they'd let him.
Quote #5
"In the first place, maybe I'm wrong and you're a turd, but you seem like a pretty decent guy. I don't think you have it in you to really cut off all your old friends, and I don't think you're going to like being normal. Here's a whole line of cars full of kids; how many of them are normal? Most of them, right, by definition? And if you threw a rock down the line what would be your chance of hitting a happy person?" (12.27)
In Karl's screwed-up world, the only person with a lick of reason is a skinny girl with braces who looks like a tree in a Dr. Seuss book. Marti may not be normal herself, but she at least knows what's what in terms of social politics.
Quote #6
Mom already looked real different than she had when Dad was alive. Her hair wasn't long yet, but instead of the ash-blonde pageboy, she now had an untidy mop of hooker-blonde yellow hair; she sort of looked like a dandelion smoking a cigarette. Just now, she was in a tie-dyed halter top that she'd bought the week before, and a lot of clunky jewelry, and very low tight jeans. It was like she was going to a costume party as Darla. (14.7)
Think Karl and his friends are the only characters searching for an identity? Think again. After Karl's dad dies, it's almost like his mom doesn't know where to go from there. So, she dyes her hair, starts going by Beth instead of Betty, and starts dressing like she leads a double life as a hippie and a working girl. She's going about it in a really messed-up way, but perhaps Beth really just wants to be normal herself.