How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph), (Chapter.Figure)
Quote #1
When I get to the room, Dad is sitting on the floor, holding his ear. The officer's leather belt creaks as he turns to look at me, his eyes bloodshot. (5.16)
It's all in the impressionistic details here. We don't see Sasha's dad get hit, but we still know it happened. His dad holding his ear and the creak of the belt imply what has just happened.
Quote #2
The guards pull out the drawers and dump our things on the floor. They shake loose pages out of our books. They cut up Dad's mattress and feel inside it. They tap on the walls, listening for hidden places, and open part of the floor where the nails are loose. Soon what we have is in a pile, torn and wrecked. The only thing they don't touch is a framed picture of Stalin. But they look behind it. (5.17)
Even though no one is getting smacked around right now, this is a major violation of Sasha and his dad's living space, so it's a sort of figurative violence. Let's face it: they don't have much anyway, and now what they do have is trashed. Makes you glad we have things like constitutional protections against illegal search and seizure in our country, huh?
Quote #3
The officer spins and slams the front door shut with such force, I have to pull back fast so it won't smash my face. (5.27)
Here we get a compact view of the unkindness and downright brutality toward children in this society. Who slams the door on an orphan?
Quote #4
But when the Kremlin guards see me, they run across the square, shouting and tugging at their sidearms. One slides on the ice and bumps into me. He swears, steam bursts out of his mouth, and he plunges his enormous mitten into my face. (8.3)
It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye. These Kremlin guards seem to be just a bit too free with their weapons if one ten-year-old boy sounds their alarms. Even though Sasha doesn't get shot, he apparently gets knocked around a bit by this guard. Check out the illustration at 8.F1.
Quote #5
Several kids join Vovka and line up into a firing squad. They hurl snowballs at Four-Eyes, who's backed against a wall. He doubles over and covers his face to protect his glasses. (12.2)
These kids sure are playing a grisly game. We've heard kids say, "Let's play cops and robbers," or "Let's play vampires and werewolves" (Team Jacob!), but it'll take a lot of convincing for us to believe kids are clamoring to play firing squad. Here, it's one symptom of the larger problem of violence that is so common in Soviet society during this time.
Quote #6
Before I know what I'm doing, I grab the snowball from Vovka's hand and throw it at Four-Eyes. There's a loud pop as it hits him in the face. The eyeglasses snap, glass splinters, and one shard cuts his cheek. (12.7)
Rather than be labeled an outsider for refusing to engage in this violent game—and be labeled a "traitor" (12.6)—Sasha instead helplessly acts out against Four-Eyes.
Quote #7
[Vovka] grabs the banner out of my hands and jabs it around like a rifle with a bayonet attached. It's a drill we learned in our war-preparedness class. (17.5)
So, what's on your class schedule for next semester? We're betting it's not "War-Preparedness Class." And, yikes! Bayonets? This is no joke: even the children in this society are being trained for warfare (keep in mind that this story takes place during the Cold War, which could have turned hot at any moment).
Quote #8
Before anyone has time to answer, Vovka flies at Nina Petrovna, grips her by the throat, and begins strangling her. Nina Petrovna's face turns red and her eyes bulge. She makes gurgling noises and starts kicking up her legs. Nina Petrovna and Vovka knock things to the floor and bump into desks.
Everybody jumps up; some are screaming, but most are laughing. (22.12-13)
This is not the behavior of a normal child under normal circumstances. Instead, we see that Nina Petrovna and the system have pushed Vovka far over the edge. He's already grieving for his dad, who has been executed, and now the teacher is rubbing it in his face, in front of all the other kids. This is a truly disturbing moment that shows us just now normal violence was as a part of daily life here. Most of the kids don't really react, but instead just laugh. Eesh.
Quote #9
"Everybody confesses in Lubyanka. We know how to make people talk." (25.14)
Everybody confesses, because they're probably being subjected to cruel things like torture. Of course you're going to confess to a whole host of crimes that you may not have committed when you're in the worst pain you've ever felt.
Quote #10
"Step back!" barks the guard, yanking the rifle off his shoulder. I keep going, so he aims the rifle at me. He looks like he'd shoot a kid, so I stop. (30.3)
After everything we've seen so far, the fact that this guy looks like he'd shoot a kid completely fails to surprise us. Violence is just that much a part of this world.