How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
But if she wasn't nursing or trying to keep up with the bigger ones, she was by herself. (1.2.35)
Mick is the odd-one out. There's no doubt about that. But why is she by herself so much? Is it just a matter of personality? Or could it be because she's stuck between childhood and adulthood, taking care of her younger siblings while trying to keep up with her older ones?
Quote #2
"Some things you just naturally want to keep private. Not because they are bad, but because you just want them secret. (1.3.36)
Secrets secrets are no fun, unless you are a part of one. We've been taught that secrets are almost always bad because they isolate and exclude people. But here, Mick seems to think that secrets are a good thing. Why?
Quote #3
She wandered aimlessly up and down the hall and kept pushing back her rumpled hair with the palm of her hand. "Hell," she said aloud to herself. "Next to a real piano I sure would rather have some place to myself than anything I know." (1.3.124)
A piano and a place to herself. That's all Mick wants, and it's not exactly a tall order. Here, music is associated with alone time, which makes sense. When Mick is by herself, she can pay attention to the music in her head, maybe even write some. She needs that solitude to fuel her creativity. But it's hard to come by in a small house with a big family.