How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)
Quote #4
"I sure as hell wouldn't call it love," Mel said. I mean no one knows what he did it for. I've seen a lot of suicides, and I wouldn't say anyone ever knew what they did it for." (37)
It's important to Terri to believe that Ed killed himself because he loved her. But why? Mel seems to think that this might not be the healthiest way of looking at the situation. He might be concerned that Terri is unable to separate the love Ed might have felt from her from the psychological problems that contributed to his violence and his suicide. In any case, it's a big old mess.
Quote #5
"The old couple, they were alive, you understand. I mean, just barely. But they had everything. Multiple fractures, internal injuries hemorrhaging, contusions, lacerations, the works, and they each of them had concussions." (70)
While Ed's violence may have been personal, the violence these old folks experience is anything but. It's random, driven by neither love nor hate. But it does affect the love between them in powerful ways, maybe even making it stronger.