How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
The second dead body I ever saw was my cousin Oslo's. I recognized his dirty brown shoes immediately as the woman wearing the bright white coat grasped the metallic handle and yanked hard to slide the body out from the silvery wall. (1.1)
What a way to start your day, huh? It's not easy being confronted by the dead body of someone who you knew as young and alive. Oslo may not be Cullen's favorite family member, but that doesn't mean that he wants to see him dead.
Quote #2
The phone call that afternoon. The drive to Little Rock. And then the revelation of death. It was all too real. Nothing idealistic about seeing your only cousin ghost white and stone dead. Not much to idealize when you know your aunt is crying herself to sleep next door and nothing can be done. (1.13)
There's no way to make death a good or positive situation, and no way to possibly prepare yourself for seeing a loved one laid out on a table. Things really aren't the same in the Witter household—nor in Cullen's head—after he sees his cousin dead.
Quote #3
Russell and Neil were the first people I had talked to that week who didn't tell me they were sorry for Oslo's death. And oddly enough, I found it kind of nice in that weird "I'd like to forget about real life and pretend that everything is okay" sort of way. (3.32)
Russell Quitman is a total jerk, but Cullen kind of likes that he doesn't express all the same sympathetic sentiments about Oslo's death. He doesn't act sorry at all, which makes things seem more normal.