How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Either I saw him or I didn't and I'm crazy for real this time, she thought. (1.1)
This is the first line of the book. It's tricky because it tells you Connie might be crazy, but you don't really know what she's talking about, so you don't see her as mentally ill through that first chapter when she smashes Geraldo in the face. Does it change your reading of that chapter when you know that she may not be in her right mind? Should it?
Quote #2
"I went mad with fear. In the madhouse I met Bolivar and he was good for me in learning to say the initial 'I want. I want.'" (6.131)
Jackrabbit ends up in the madhouse because he has trouble deciding what he wants, and he gets afraid as a result. That makes madness seem like an everyday problem; something you and your neighbor and your Uncle Bob might experience, rather than something that only happens to messed up people like Connie.
Quote #3
"Do you tell everyone you meet that you've been mad twice?" (6.152)
Connie is envious. One of the worst parts of ending up in the asylum for her was being stigmatized; everyone thinks she's a horrible person because she was committed. It's hard to get better and live a normal life when the world thinks you're awful.