How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"If you were going to invade, that'd be a good day to do it," Lee said. "Everyone's out celebrating. […] Who's running the country?" (4.44)
Lee uses what he knows about war to come up with a pretty decent account of what could have happened while the teens were blissfully camping. And you know what? He's right.
Quote #2
It was a pretty typical conversation I guess, but for some reason it was getting on my nerves. I got up and went down to the creek […]. (4.46)
Ellie's wisdom gives her an annoying feeling that something isn't right. Sometimes our minds recognize new knowledge before we're ready to fully accept it as a possibility.
Quote #3
Why did people call it Hell? I wondered. All those cliffs and rocks, and that vegetation, it did look wild. But wild wasn't Hell. Wild was fascinating, difficult, wonderful. (4.74)
Great show of logic here. Ellie reasons out that what something is called doesn't actually represent what that thing is, because things mean something different to different people. Some people are so afraid of uncontrolled places that the wilderness is Hell to them.