How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
He'd overheard Mother and Dad marveling that the people moving into the new houses were not just going to be city people, but Barons. Barons were unbelievably rich, Luke knew. They had things ordinary people hadn't had in years. Luke wasn't sure how the Barons had gotten rich, when everybody else was poor. But Dad never said the word "Baron" without a curse word or two in front of it. (7.3)
We're not sure either, but we are sure of one thing: if a few people are rich while everybody else is poor, then someone's been doing something hinky—and it's not the poor. We're not revolutionaries or anything, but we're definitely on Mr. Garner's side here.
Quote #2
This room was different. It reminded him of a word he'd never heard, only read: "pristine." Nobody had ever stepped on these white rugs with manure-covered boots. Nobody had ever sat on those pale blue couches with corn-dust-covered jeans. (14.8)
Cleanliness is next to godliness—or at least wealth. When Luke experiences first-hand the difference between Barons and non-Barons, he realizes that one of the benefits of money is that it lets you be clean.
Quote #3
"They weren't trying for anything," he said. "I was a surprise. Luck."
Jen nodded. "I didn't think they paid for you," she said. Then she put her hand over her mouth. "That sounded really terrible, didn't it? I didn't mean anything by it. It's just--you're the first person I've met who wasn't a Baron."
"How do you know I'm not?" Luke asked stiffly.
"Well--" Jen waved her hand in a way that made Luke even more aware of the contrast between his ragged flannel shirt and patched jeans, and Jen's perfect house. (16.45-48)
Luke has preconceptions about the Barons—they're rich, probably corrupt, definitely snobbish—and he seems to be right on at least two of those. But Jen has preconceptions of her own. She doesn't go too far into them, but we get the point: to Jen and her social equals, non-Barons are pretty much just dirty peasants. Nice.
Quote #4
"This says the Population Law was totally unnecessary and cruel. It says there was plenty of food, even during the famines, except that the Barons were hoarding it." Belatedly, he remembered that Jen was a Baron. "Sorry."
Jen shrugged, not the least bit offended. (19.33-34)
This is actually really cool of Jen. Her family may have money, but she knows that something's wrong with this huge class gap. We have a feeling that if Jen was a Baron during the famines, she would be the last one hoarding food.
Quote #5
"And one of the kids had a dog he brought with him sometimes, and we all took turns feeding it dog biscuits."
"These people had pets, too?" Luke asked incredulously.
"Well, you know, they were Barons," Jen said. (21.25-27)
Barons don't have time to bother with trivial things like obeying the law. But honestly, if we had to choose between following the law and having a Great Dane best friend named Puppy, it'd be a tough call. A really tough call.
Quote #6
Who did she think she was? He tramped up the stairs. She'd always thought she was better than him, just because she was a Baron, showing off with her soda and her potato chips and her fancy computer. So what? It didn't mean she was special, just because her parents had lots of money. (23.1)
It's easy to take cheap shots when you're angry, but Luke points out something important. Technically, Jen doesn't have money: her parents do. Would Jen feel differently if the money were hers?
Quote #7
"When General Sherwood came to power, he promised law and order and food for all. By then, that was all the people wanted. And all they got." [...]
"Barons got more," he blurted, then blushed because it sounded so rude.
Jen's dad laughed. "True. You noticed. I know it's not fair, and I'm not proud of it, but...Government officials made a conscious decision to allow one class of people to have special privileges" (28.30-33)
Typical scumbag Government, intentionally creating a segregation of class. And would you believe it, all those Government officials are part of that one class with special privileges. What a coincidence.
Quote #8
"But when you don't find anything--and you won't--you know that I'm entitled to the Illegal Search and Seizure Benefits granted to Barons, and I will press charges." (29.23)
Sometimes (uh, all the time), it's nice to have special privileges. Here, Jen's dad takes advantages of his special privileges at just the right time, while Mr. Talbot is hiding Luke. It's good to have friends in high places—but this also makes us realize just how wrong it is that some people get special privileges while others don't.
Quote #9
Maybe he could succeed where Jen had failed precisely because he wasn't a Baron--because he didn't have her sense that the world owed him everything. (29.70)
Who wouldn't want to be treated like a special snowflake all the time? Well, maybe Luke. It turns out that Jen might actually be at a disadvantage in the "real" world, because she's never experienced real hardship or been quite scared enough of the Population Police. And guess whose fear of the Population Police keeps him alive at the end of the book?
Quote #10
No more ragged blue jeans and hand-me-down flannel shirts for him--he had a whole suitcase in the trunk full of the same kind of fancy Baron clothes he'd laughed at all those months ago. (30.2)
Not so funny now that those clothes are in your suitcase, hm? It's going to take Luke some time to get used to this new costume, especially since it involves behaviors and manners that he used to laugh at, too. But we bet he's going to get used to those clean pants and shiny shoes pretty quickly.