How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph), (Chapter.Figure)
Quote #1
Then a song comes on, "A Bright Future is Open to Us." (1.2)
Soviet media was closely controlled by the State, so it's not surprising that pretty much the only thing Sasha gets to listen to are patriotic songs and passionate speeches about how great Stalin is. This is just one more example of how the system controlled its citizens—by controlling their entertainment.
Quote #2
Forty-eight hardworking, honest Soviet citizens share the kitchen and single small toilet in our communal apartment we call komunalka for short. We live here as one large, happy family: We are all equal; we have no secrets. We know who gets up at what time, who eats what for dinner, and who said what in their rooms. The walls are thin; some don't go up to the ceiling. We even have a room cleverly divided with shelves of books about Stalin that two families can share. (2.1)
That's a whole lot of people living in a small space! Sasha at first makes the komunalka sound all homey and nice. They're "one large, happy family" (2.1). And the illustration certainly supports this notion; a lot of the people seem to be smiling and laughing while they eat (2.F1). But, as we continue reading we find out that there's a dark side to this: no one has any privacy at all. No privacy makes it easy to spy on people, which is just standard operating procedure in Sasha's society.
Quote #3
I take small bites of the carrot to make it last; the carrot is delicious. When hunger gnaws inside my belly, I tell myself that a future Pioneer has to repress cravings for such unimportant matters as food. (3.2)
That whole Communism utopia thing doesn't seem to be working out so well right now, since apparently there are people going hungry. Sasha's brainwashed into putting bodily needs—such as hunger—second to more philosophical needs, such as remaining politically pure. This comes out when he imagines how those poor kids in capitalist countries haven't even tasted a carrot (3.2).
Quote #4
Scarlet bursts out as I unwrap the package. The scarf of a Young Pioneer! The triangle of simple red cloth that every Pioneer must wear, but how beautiful it is and how long I have wished for it. Tomorrow, when I become a Pioneer, I will wear it for the first time. (4.10)
The Pioneer scarf that Sasha's father gives him symbolizes to Sasha everything that is warm and fuzzy about the Communist system. It also becomes a symbol of his admiration for his dad, and his connection to him (for more on this, go check out the "Symbols" section). So, when he rejects the Pioneers at the end of the book he is rejecting some aspects of his father. And it's no wonder. He's not such a stand-up guy, it turns out.
Quote #5
I turn to the window, where a giant statue of Stalin gleams under searchlights. The statue is made from the steel of fighter planes and stands taller than any building. You can see it from every window in Moscow. (5.3)
Joseph Stalin was thought of as larger than life. Here, that's pretty literal, since his statue towers over everything else in Moscow. Also, the "steel of fighter planes" that is used to build the statue associates Stalin with strength and power. He's literally made of the machinery of war. If that's not intimidating, we don't know what is.
Quote #6
Maybe I don't need a room. Not everybody has one. Marfa Ivanovna doesn't have a room. She lives in a cubbyhole next to the toilet. Semenov sleeps behind the curtain in the corridor, and nobody's complaining. (7.3)
Ah, here's yet another glimpse into the cracks that lie behind the veneer of perfect Communism. Even Harry Potter had a cubby underneath the stairs all to himself, but poor Marfa is stuck sleeping next to the toilet. Sasha finds it comforting that "nobody's complaining," but really? Who would they complain to, and what do you think might happen if they did? (Hint: nothing good.)
Quote #7
The sidewalks are crowded. Citizens rush to work, line up for food rations, push into the streetcars. On the corner, a loudspeaker blares our country's anthem. They always play it at 8:45 sharp. (11.2)
Amidst the images of crowds (of people waiting for rations and the mass of people clinging to the streetcar that Sasha later gets on) we also see that the society is very strictly regimented. The national anthem plays at precisely 8:45 in the morning. Talk about a wake up call.
Quote #8
I have three marksmanship awards from the war-preparedness class, so everyone wants me on their team. (12.1)
Yep, the Soviet education system sounds pretty different than the American one. Do American schools have anything close to this "war-preparedness" class? Last time we checked, not so much. Although dodgeball can get pretty heated during P.E.
Quote #9
As I march, I imagine the parade on May Day, my favorite day of the year. I hear the crashing brass of a marching band and I see crowds of people applauding and waving red flags and shouting, "Long live Comrade Stalin!" Under my feet, the ground rumbles as the mighty Red Army tanks roll onto Red Square, and up above, a formation of fighter planes, flying in a cloudless sky, shapes six giant letters: S-T-A-L-I-N. (15.4)
The May Day parade is pageantry on a grand scale. Why? Because it's meant to show Soviet citizens the might of Stalin and his Communist regime. While it's clearly a show of power, we also think it might be a bit of a positive outlet for the citizens—after all, folks are applauding and waving, right?
Quote #10
What I see when I round the corner, I don't expect. It's a line of people who must be waiting to see prisoners. The line runs along the building and across the street and down the next street and up the next one, and by the time I reach the end, I pass thousands of people waiting. (30.8)
The illustration that goes along with this passage really hits you in the gut. It stretches over the course of several pages, and shows a seemingly unending line of people waiting to get into Lubyanka prison, presumably to see their loved ones (30.F2-5). You get a real sense for just how many people were imprisoned under Stalin's system, and how this affected so many people.