How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I am very ready to be a man now, though I realize I will lose all that I have been. All of my memories, all of my experiences. I would like to take them with me into my next life—there is so much I have gone through with the Swift family—but I have little to say in the matter. What can I do but force myself to remember? Try to imprint what I know on my soul, a thing that has no surface, no sides, no pages, no form of any kind. Carry it so deeply in the pockets of my existence that when I open my eyes and look down at my new hands with their thumbs that are able to close tightly around their fingers, I will already know. I will already see. (1.4)
Enzo's belief that humanity isn't just about being human, but also knowing what it means to be a good human, is apparent here, and it's a topic that he comes back to throughout his story. In our opinion, some people could learn from this dog about how to be people.
Quote #2
I also believe man's continued domestication (if you care to use that silly euphemism) of dogs is motivated by fear; fear that dogs, left to evolve on their own, would in fact, develop thumbs and smaller tongues, and therefore would be superior to men, who are slow and cumbersome, standing erect as they do. (5.10)
Conspiracy theories about the domestication of dogs aside, Enzo does touch on a good, if embarrassing, point about humanity: on the whole, we tend to be a little leery of things we don't understand. As history will tell us, our track record for embracing new things isn't stellar. Unless it's food, because you can slap a new recipe on Pinterest, and we'll love it on principle.
Quote #3
I work at my human gait, for instance. I practice chewing my food slowly like people do. I study the television for clues on behavior and to learn how to react to certain situations. In my next life, when I am born again as a person, I will practically be an adult the moment I am plucked from the womb, with all the preparation I have done. (12.4)
This notion that being a human is something you can prepare for is repeated often, but it seems like when Enzo says he prepares, he's focusing more on what he thinks humans are, rather than what they actually are.
Quote #4
Here is why I would be a good person. Because I listen. I cannot speak, so I listen very well. I never interrupt, I never deflect the course of conversation with a comment of my own…Learn to listen! I beg of you. (19.12)
Okay, he's got us here. Listening is a good skill to have, and it does make for better communication. In fact, that reminds us of a story when we were—oops, never mind.
Quote #5
So much of language is unspoken. So much of language is comprised of looks and gestures and sounds that are not words. People are ignorant of the vast complexity of their own communication. (23.37)
Enzo makes another valid point here: being a human is one thing, but understanding how to converse as a human is another. There are so many variables: the words themselves, tones, gestures, facial expressions, all of which work together to convey a message. And don't even get us started on shared inside jokes, references, or sound effects, because we'd be here all night trying to explain it.
Quote #6
I marveled at them both; how difficult it must be to be a person. To constantly subvert your desires. To worry about doing the right thing, rather than doing what you is most expedient. (23.68)
Enzo realizes that sometimes being a human means needing to put other people's needs before your own, and he wonders whether he can handle it. That is one big thing that makes humans human—and not all humans are able to do it.
Quote #7
I missed Eve so much I couldn't be a human anymore and feel the pain that humans feel. I had to be an animal again. (28.10)
To Enzo's mind, humanity also comes at a cost. When he learns of Eve's death, the price is too high for him, and he reverts back to what he calls his baser animal instincts to escape it. Turning off bad feelings sounds like a pretty sweet deal, but do you have to eat a squirrel to do it?
Quote #8
We are all afforded our physical existence so we can learn about ourselves. (38.25)
Enzo's right: self-exploration, self-identification, and understanding are keys to what it means to be human, to think like a human. If Enzo can trot out philosophical stuff like this, he's well on his way to being a human himself.
Quote #9
When I return to this world, I will be a man. I will walk among you; I will lick my lips with my small, dexterous tongue. I will shake hands with other men, grasping firmly with my opposable thumbs. And I will teach people all that I know. And when I see a man or a woman or a child in trouble, I will extend my hand, both metaphorically and physically. I will offer my hand. To him. To her. To you. To the world. I will be a good citizen, a good partner in the endeavor of life we all share. (58.13)
If Enzo has learned anything about being a human, it's that humans, while sometimes capable of selfishness and cruelty, are also capable of incredible compassion, understanding, and love. We'd like to think we taught him everything he knows.
Quote #10
And I wonder: have I squandered my dogness? Have I forsaken my nature for my desires? Have I made a mistake by anticipating my future and shunning my present? (58.42)
This is how, it seems, we can tell Enzo is ready to be a person: self-doubt and the fear of wasting time, or of losing or missing out, are common human insecurities. He's nailing them here.