From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler Truth Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

All he needed was a chance to investigate. Without the guards hurrying him. He would know, but would his opinion be accepted by the experts? (5.44)

Jamie has a fear that even if he does discover the secret behind the angel, people won't take him seriously because he's a kid. After all, a bunch of old, balding art historians have already taken a crack at figuring this out.

Quote #5

Angel was that way. An answer to running away, and also to going home again, lay in Angel. She knew it was there, but she didn't know what it was. It was just escaping her as the answer to the question on the test had… except this was even harder. (6.47)

The truth to something serious isn't as straightforward as just reciting facts during a test; it's a lot more difficult to dig it out. Claudia, who's never been one to get her hands dirty, has to really dig deep for the truth about the angel statue and what it all means.

Quote #6

"I feel as if I jumped into a lake to rescue a boy, and what I thought was a boy turned out to be a wet, fat log. Some heroine that makes. All wet for nothing." (8.53)

Ah, the evasiveness of the truth. Like Harry Potter looking for the truth behind who betrayed his parents (and being misled a couple times), Claudia thinks she's got it all figured out, only to find that she's fallen short. Poor thing.