How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
He knew he never should have let Zero dig part of his hole for him. He still could have taught him to read. If Zero could dig all day and still have the strength to learn, then he should have been able to dig all day and still have the strength to teach.
What he should do, he thought, was go out after Zero.
But he didn't. (31.2-4)
Why do you think Stanley is struggling so much with deciding whether to go after Zero? Certainly fear plays a role, but is there anything else going on?
Quote #8
Stanley wondered if Mr. Sir had left the keys in the ignition. […]
It's too late, he told himself. Zero couldn't have survived.
But what if it wasn't too late? (32.20-21, 27)
This is the first point in the book where we see Stanley taking the initiative and making a decision instead of waiting for the decision to be made for him. Why now?
Quote #9
He lay on the dirt staring at the truck, which stuck lopsided into the ground. He sighed. He couldn't blame his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather this time. This time it was his own fault, one hundred percent. He had probably just done the stupidest thing he had ever done in his short and miserable life. (32.39)
After trying to steal the water truck only to crash it into a hole, Stanley realizes he's done a stupid thing. But for maybe the first time in the book, he explicitly blames himself, instead of falling back on the curse. Is this the first time Stanley's really made a choice?