How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph), (Chapter.Figure)
Quote #7
"Finkelstein didn't do it," Vovka says.
"Not my problem. He confessed." Sergei Ivanych shuffles papers on his desk, then looks up at Vovka. (23.19-20)
Sergei Ivanych's words here really reinforce that The Powers That Be are not even remotely interested in finding out who really committed the crime; they just want someone to confess and so they get go about their business. Four-Eyes confessed, and that's all that matters. That a complete injustice was committed is hardly of the principal's concern.
Quote #8
"There's no place for the likes of you in our class," Nina Petrovna says. "Go sit in the back and don't stick your spy nose into anything." (26.1)
Welcome to Kolyma, kid. Hope you like cold weather, little food, and hard labor. After being The Golden Child for so long, it comes as a cold shock to Sasha to be stuck in the back row and labeled a "spy" when he has done nothing wrong. The experiences Sasha is having with injustice progressively get more and more personal: first Four-Eyes, then Vovka's dad, then Sasha's parents (as revealed by the Senior Lieutenant), and now it's happening to Sasha personally.
Quote #9
The guards twist Nina Petrovna's arms and drag her to the door. She screams and kicks and tries to hold on to nearby kids. They duck under her arms, laughing. (26.16)
Even though it's cruel, a type of justice is being carried out here. Nina Petrovna did not commit the crime that Vovka framed her for, but she's getting some poetic justice served to her because she's getting a taste of what she's so freely given out to others over the years. Still, we can't help but to feel the slightest twinge of pity for her.