How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Bonnie and Clyde.
Quote #1
CLYDE: He tried to kill me! Why'd he try to kill me? I didn't want to hurt him…. I ain't against him. I ain't against him.
Clyde says this right after he tries to rob a grocery store and the butcher attacks him with a meat cleaver. He is shocked that someone would try to kill him just for stealing a few food items from the store. But, to escape, he also hits the butcher, injuring him enough for him to be hospitalized. From this point on, the crimes and the violence will escalate.
Quote #2
CLYDE: This afternoon, we killed a man, and we was seen…and that's murder and now it's going to get rough.
When a bank hold-up goes awry, Clyde impulsively kills the manager. Bonnie doesn't seem to be too bothered by this, but Clyde realizes that things are going to get much more difficult for them. In addition to being a thief, he's now a murderer.
Quote #3
BUCK: Listen, it was either you or him, wasn't it?
CLYDE: What?
BUCK: The guy that you killed—it was either you or him?
CLYDE: He put me on the spot.
BUCK: You had to.
CLYDE: I had to.
When Buck and Blanche join the gang just after the murder, Buck questions Clyde about the murder, probing for a justification. Clyde makes it seem like self-defense, which is clearly untrue. The man he killed was unarmed. After this, Clyde begins to see more of the killing he does as self-defense, whether it is or not.