How we cite our quotes: (Story.Section.Paragraph) or (Story.Paragraph)
Quote #1
They want what you got but they don't want you. They want what I got only it ain't mine. That's what makes 'em so hungry for me when I sing. They getting the flavor of something but they ain't getting the thing itself. They like a pack of hound dogs trying to gobble up a scent. (Nineteen Fifty-Five.127)
Traynor laments that his fans don't really know what they're screaming for. The song they love so much isn't his—but they could never accept and adore Gracie Mae, even though the song is a reflection of her life and experiences. Traynor also feels empty because they don't really adore him, and on top of that, he can't write his own music based on his own life. In fact, there's nothing genuine or authentic about his life.
Quote #2
Mama worked in private homes. That's how she described her job, to make it sound nicer. "I work in private homes," she would say, and that sounded nicer, she thought, than saying "I'm a maid." (Lawyer.2)
Sometimes it's easier to tell a story about ourselves than to face the truth. That's clearly what this young woman's mother is doing to keep her dignity intact—at least in front of her daughter.
Quote #3
The experience undercut whatever solid foundation Elethia had assumed she had. She became secretive, wary, looking over her shoulder at the slightest noise. She haunted the museums of any city in which she found herself, looking, usually, at the remains of Indians, for they were plentiful everywhere she went. She discovered some of the Indian warriors and maidens in the museums were also real […]. (Elethia.8)
After Elethia makes the discovery that Uncle Albert's "effigy" is actually Uncle Albert's stuffed body, the world becomes a more sinister place. She moves through the world with opened eyes and a traumatized heart. She sees the truth, which is ugly: humans are very willing to objectify to do violence to others to suit themselves.