How we cite our quotes: Paragraph
Quote #4
"I wasn't as old as I thought," she said. (13)
Age is just a number, yo. Phoenix vacillates between moments when she considers herself to be old as dirt and moments in which she acknowledges that she still has a lot of life in her.
Quote #5
There she had to creep and crawl, spreading her knees and stretching her fingers like a baby trying to climb the steps. But she talked loudly to herself: she could not let her dress be torn now, so late in the day […]. (15)
This is one of those moments with a blurry distinction between young and old. In the space of two sentences, Phoenix's movements are compared to those of a baby, but at the same time we are told that it is late in the day, a reminder that it is late in Phoenix's life, oo.
Quote #6
"I ought to be shut up for good," she said with laughter. "My senses is gone. I too old. I the oldest people I ever know. Dance, old scarecrow," she said, "while I dancing with you." (20)
Oh, Phoenix—one second you're telling us you're not as old as you thought, and the next you're telling us you're too old. What's the deal, yo? Though Phoenix is pointing out her extremely advanced age, she's making a joke about it. Later on in the story, we hear some sadness from Phoenix about her age, but here she is lighthearted. Why do you think she can have both perspectives on aging?