How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
It was hard to dominate people when you didn't know what they were talking about. (3.76)
If you need a lesson in how to behave, just look at what Robert does at the beginning of this book—and then do the opposite. If you just read this sentence, where would you think Robert is? Engaged in a political conspiracy? Working through the criminal underworld? No, he's at dinner with his family—and he's still thinking about dominating and crushing other people.
Quote #2
"My guess is I'm way, way down. That's how it is with most affiliances. But I can pay real money for each answer I pipe upwards." The creature named a number; it was enough to ride the freefall every day for a year. A payoff certificate floated in the air between them, showing the named amount and a bonus schedule. (4.66)
One form of community/business that is at the heart of Rainbows End is affiliance, which is a word our spellchecker hates. Affiliance is more like a contract than a friendship, but it's a type of social relation that, here, gets certain people talking to each other. Note that this is the only time that Juan thinks about what he can afford with this affiliance's pay. The rest of the time, the money issue fades into the background.
Quote #3
"Mom died two years ago—and dumped you decades before that. But maybe you should wonder about other things. For instance, where are all your old pals from Stanford?" (8.25)
Bob is a little mean here, but maybe you have to be mean to get through to Robert. Here, Bob reminds Robert that he has no community to fall back on: he never had any real good friends, he drove away his wife, and now, with the Ezra Pound Incident, he's driven away the one person who really wanted to help him—Miri.