How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
Thinking about all that now, riding in Browning's hearse, I had about worked myself into hating the whole world. Old people in particular. Why couldn't things just be wrong, and let it go at that? Lots of unfair stuff happened all the time. Lots of things that weren't right happened. (12.1)
Riding in Browning's hearse gets Karl thinking about the time he wanted to be a Communist, and thinking about his dad's anger over the issue gets his mind on the subject of hating old people for being backward. Not only is he hating his own past but whatever past experiences led the older generation to develop the attitudes they have. Whoa. That's a mind-bender.
Quote #5
I guess if there was really a low spot in my life it wasn't so much when Dad died as when Mom threw that party. It was the start of booze and cats, and the point where I stopped being able to keep the house all the way nice. Also although by that time, my old Mom was mostly gone, replaced by Flying Saucer Lady, Beth with the Boots, or Neil's Old Lady, somehow that party was like the wake for the mother I'd grown up with. (14.1)
Losing a parent to cancer is pretty bad, but having your mom turn into a drunken crazy cat lady only makes it worse. Karl watches as the mom he grew up with dissolves into Beth—and gradually loses control of his life as a result.
Quote #6
I just stood there, so confused I wanted to slap myself. My pathetic little savings account had been home to my birthday money; my first paycheck from my paper route […] I felt like I remembered every deposit there had ever been, and the much less frequent withdrawals. It was childish of me to feel that it wouldn't be the same when she put the money back, like a little kid worrying about having the exact same dollar bill Grandpa gave him. (14.21-22)
In spite of the fact that his childhood really seems to have stunk like a skunk, Karl still has some memories he's attached to, and being a kid who was good with money seems to be one of them. Probably because his bank account was one area of his life he always had control over—and then his mom blazed in and messed that up, too.