How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"I wanted to confound these sharpies, show them I wasn't as dumb as they thought I was." (22.96)
Jack's talking about the SATs here, which he aces. Could it be that he does so well because he's able to frame it as a competition (and thus a struggle for power).
Quote #8
"From behind my wound, I said things to Dwight that I never would have said before." (24.6)
The injury actually empowers Jack, since Dwight won't hit "a hurt kid" while anyone is looking. Ironic, isn't it?
Quote #9
"I stood in the darkness on the other side, silently hugging the rifle, sweating and shaking as in a fever." (31.2)
A last-minute reversal: Jack sues guns as a form of empowerment—to feel big and strong—but it doesn't help him when his dad's pederast friend shows up at the door. All he can do it hold it and shiver.