How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
I wish I could tell you that the Baudelaires' first impressions of Count Olaf and his house were incorrect, as first impressions so often are. But these impressions—that Count Olaf was a horrible person, and his house a depressing pigsty—were absolutely correct […] Even though Count Olaf's house was quite large, the three children were placed together in one filthy bedroom that had only one small bed in it. Violet and Klaus took turns sleeping in it, so that every other night one of them was in the bed and the other was sleeping on the hard wooden floor, and the bed's mattress was so lumpy it was difficult to say who was more uncomfortable. To make a bed for Sunny, Violet removed the dusty curtains from the curtain rod that hung over the bedroom's one window and bunched them together to form a sort of cushion, just big enough for her sister. However, without curtains over the cracked glass, the sun streamed through the window every morning, so the children woke up early and sore each day. Instead of a closet, there was a large cardboard box that had once held a refrigerator and would now hold the three children's clothes, all piled in a heap. Instead of toys, books, or other things to amuse the youngsters, Count Olaf had provided a small pile of rocks. And the only decoration on the peeling walls was a large and ugly painting of an eye, matching the one on Count Olaf's ankle and all over the house. (3.2)
Seriously? This guy is trying to give some of Dickens's villains a run for their money. He really treats these kids pretty heinously.
Quote #5
The children knew, as I'm sure you know, that the worst surroundings in the world can be tolerated if the people in them are interesting and kind. Count Olaf was neither interesting nor kind; he was demanding, short-tempered, and bad-smelling. (3.3)
Oh, Baudelaires—even if they lived in a rundown house, these kids could still be happy. Well, if Count Olaf weren't such an unpleasant person and prominent part of their lives…
Quote #6
"Could we perhaps borrow a cookbook?" he said. "Count Olaf has instructed us to make dinner for his theater troupe tonight, and we can't find a cookbook in the house."
"Goodness," Justice Strauss said. "Cooking dinner for an entire theater troupe seems like a lot to ask of children."
"Count Olaf gives us a lot of responsibility," Violet said. What she wanted to say was, "Count Olaf is an evil man," but she was well mannered. (3.32-34)
Manners will never do well in the face of evil. By the time Violet goes to see Mr. Poe, she has dropped all her politeness. Yes, Count Olaf is so awful that he's turned these polite children into plain-speaking, frank people.