How we cite our quotes: (Daysbefore.Paragraph) and (daysafter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
How could I abandon my parents, who were nice enough to pay for my education at Culver Creek, my parents who had always loved me, just because I maybe liked some girl with a boyfriend? How could I leave them alone with a giant turkey and mounds of inedible cranberry sauce? So during third period, I called my mom at work. (58before.39)
Miles feels so guilty for so many things in this book, not the least of which is how he treats the people and the place that has been his home since he was born. So here's the struggle: does he have to pick one or the other? Florida or the Creek?
Quote #5
I thought of the one thing about home that I missed, my dad's study with its built-in, floor-to-ceiling shelves sagging with thick biographies, and the black leather chair that kept me just uncomfortable enough to keep from feeling sleepy as I read. It was stupid, to feel as upset as I did. I ditched them, but it felt the other way around. Still, I felt unmistakably homesick. (58before.41)
The funny thing about place is the memories and emotions that we associate with it. Miles is the one who chose to spend a traditionally home-centric holiday away from home, so why is it that he is the one who feels ditched?
Quote #6
"So why don't you go home for vacations?" I asked her.
"I'm just scared of ghosts, Pudge. And home is full of them." (58before.48-49)
Giant clue about Alaska here—ghosts imply a lack of security, a lack of safety that we generally want to associate with home. What emotions, given what we know about her at this point in the book, does Alaska associate with home?