How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
when i get back to the living room, pride & prejudice is almost over, which means that everyone knows pretty much where they stand with everyone else. usually my mom is a crumpled-tissue mess at this point, but this time there's not a wet eye in the house. she pretty much confirms it when she turns the dvd off […]
mom: it's getting old, isn't it? mom at home on a saturday night, waiting for darcy to show up.
me: there's not an actual answer to that question, is there?
mom: no. probably not.
me: have you actually asked this darcy guy out?
mom: no. i haven't actually found him.
me: well, he's not going to show up until you ask him out. (4.46, 51)
Watching Pride and Prejudice on TV usually makes will's mom feel romantic and swoony, but tonight it's just reminded her about what she's missing. Some fictional character isn't going to rush in and sweep her off her feet. Of course, will is in the same position. He's head-over-heels for Isaac, who turns out to be a fictional character in the end, too. Whoa.
Quote #8
"So I used to date this boy and I knew he was going to be at the concert and I wanted to go with you partly because I knew Randall would be there but then I wanted to go even without you because I knew he would be there and then he saw me while MDC was playing 'A Brief Overview of Time Travel Paradoxes,' and he was screaming in my ear about how he had an epiphany and he now knows that we're supposed to be together and I was, like, I don't think so and he quoted this e.e. cummings poem about how kisses are a better fate than wisdom and then it turns out that he had MDC dedicate a song to me which was the kind of thing that he would never have done before and I feel like I deserve someone who consistently likes me which you kind of don't and I don't know."
"What song?"
"'Annus Miribalis.' Uh, he's the only person who knows my locker combination, and he had them dedicate it to my locker combination, which is just , I mean, I don't know. That's just. Yeah." (9.41-43)
Wow—this one hurts. Will wanted to do something both romantic and musical and it's blown up in his face. He picked Jane's favorite song, and this Randall guy picked an e.e. cummings poem. Which would you like more if you were Jane?
Quote #9
tiny: it's a musical i'm working on. it's based on my life. i think one of the songs might help right now.
we are on a street corner in front of a porn shop. there are people passing by. chicagoans—you can't be less musical than chicagoans. i am in a completely demolished state. my mind is having a heart attack. the last thing i need is for the fat lady to sing. but do i protest? do i decide to live the rest of my life within the subway system, feeding off the rats? no. i just nod dumbly, because he wants to sing this song so badly that i'd feel like a jerk to say no. with a dip of his head, tiny starts to hum a little to himself. once he's gotten the tune, he closes his eyes, opens his arms, and sings […]
tiny doesn't just sing these words—he belts them. it's like a parade coming out of his mouth. i have no doubt the words travel over lake michigan to most of canada and on to the north pole. the farmers of saskatchewan are crying. santa is turning to mrs. claus and saying "what the f*** is that?" i am completely mortified, but then tiny opens his eyes and looks at me with such obvious caring that i have no idea what to do. no one's tried to give me something like this in ages. except for isaac, and he doesn't exist. whatever you might say about tiny, he definitely exists. (10.28-29, 41)
Yes, Tiny definitely exists. He also does not care one bit what people think about him, unlike will, who actually does worry about this stuff. This is one of the things that both Will and will like about Tiny. His ability to embrace the things he loves—in this case musical theater—and not really worry about what other people think about it inspires both Will Graysons. You go, Tiny.