How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)
Quote #4
"I ain't had a thing to do today. Maybe I won't have supper tonight." (48)
Compare the tinker's dissatisfaction (he's literally hungry and in need of a job) with Elisa's more emotional lack of fulfillment. While Elisa has probably never gone without a meal, her hunger nevertheless seems somehow more hopeless than the tinker's.
Quote #5
Kneeling there, her hand went out toward his legs in the greasy black trousers. Her hesitant fingers almost touched the cloth. Then her hand dropped to the ground. She crouched low like a fawning dog. (75)
It seems to us that this moment could have forever altered Elisa's life. What if she reached out to the man and he reciprocated? Or what if she touched his leg, and he shrugged her off? Either way, she would have acted, and broken out of her passive lifestyle. She might have taken the first step on a path to a new kind of fulfillment. But she's too scared, and now we'll never know what might have been.
Quote #6
"I wish women could do such things." (82)
You know what's weird? If you stop and think about it, you realize that women can do such things. The fact that they don't is not for lack of ability. So what's really stopping Elisa from answering her restlessness? Some other force in her life must be stronger than her general dissatisfaction. But what?