How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
It's not when you realise that nothing can help you--religion, pride, anything--it's when you realise that you dont need any aid. (2.16)
Mr. Compson’s advice to Quentin sounds like an existential crisis: when you don’t need anything, you probably don’t care about anything. For Quentin, that’s a terrifying prospect.
Quote #8
There was a clock, high up in the sun, and I thought about how, when you dont want to do a thing, your body will try to trick you into doing it, sort of unawares. (2.32)
Because he’s so focused on the past, Quentin’s insistent on forgetting time. His very body, however, won’t allow him to do that. Quentin wants to live in the past, but his body must live in – and change with – passing time.
Quote #9
"I dont care," she says. "I'm bad and I'm going to hell, and I dont care. I'd rather be in hell than anywhere where you are." (3.96)
Quentin’s resistance to her uncle sounds a lot like the rebellion of a small child. Her way to avoid responsibility for her own actions is to believe Jason’s words implicitly: he tells her that she’s worthless, and she believes it.