How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"What really happened to your eye?" Wahoo asked.
"I told you. I fell down."
Mickey said, "That's bull. Somebody slugged her."
[…]
Mickey bent down and whispered, "Was it your old man?"
Tuna pulled away. "So what if it was?"
"Has he been drinkin' tonight?"
Her eyes welled up. "Every damn night," She said quietly. (9.30-38)
In this scene, Tuna is running away. We come in contact with some of the effects of alcoholism in a family, and even though we don't hear much about their situation, we can imagine what life must be like for Tuna. What should Mickey do?
Quote #2
Tuna puffed her cheeks in sympathy. "I know all about banks. That's how we ended up living at the Walmart. But here's the difference, Lance: nobody's drinking up your mortgage money the way my old man did. At least your dad's out there trying." (11.79)
Getting a bit of back-story, we learn that Jared Gordon's alcoholism is part of the reason they are in severe poverty, because instead of paying the bills, he's spent their money on getting drunk.
Quote #3
"Before the bank took our house, I'd just go in my room, lock the door and start Googling like a fiend. Some nights I worked on insects. Other nights it might be fish or amphibians, whatever. I'd sit there and say their scientific names over and over again until they stuck in my head."
"Too much like homework. I couldn't do it," Wahoo said.
"Sure you could—if your old man was trashed out of his skull and acting like a maniac. Then you'd find a place of your own to hide," she said, "and something to keep your mind off all the craziness." (14.27-29)
Hearing about Tuna's life with a little more detail is really hard for Wahoo—it makes his stomach hurt and he leaves the tent to walk around and think. It seems like alcoholism has torn Tuna's family apart. On the other hand, Tuna has coped with it by making herself smarter and studying a ton.
Quote #4
As her revved the engine, something stung him sharply below his right shoulder blade. He grunted and turned to glimpse a stranger in a football jersey standing on the neck of the canal. With one arm the man was aiming a stubby black pistol. His other arm was locked around the neck of Cray, the animal wrangler. (19.90)
Being drunk totally messes with your mind. We don't know what Tuna's dad was trying to do by shooting at the airboat, but he ended up injuring Link pretty badly. This is a crime in its own right, not to mention the fact that he could have easily killed any of them, even his own daughter.
Quote #5
"Okay, hotshot, slow down!" Tuna's dad commanded hoarsely.
Mickey stopped the boat. Jared Gordon unhitched himself from the driver's seat and threw up over the side, somehow keeping the handgun aimed at Mickey.
"Gimme a beer," he said, wiping his mouth on the sleeve of his Bills jersey. (21.35-37)
As if shooting Link weren't bad enough, Jared also kidnapped Mickey at gunpoint and then vomits. Gross. Alcohol does a lot of bad things to human bodies, including making them want to keep drinking more.
Quote #6
Then he turned slowly to Tuna. "Why'd your pappy try'n kill me?"
"It wasn't you, Link. He was just shootin' wild, like a whacked out fool."
Then, in a rueful voice, she added: "He promised me on a stack of Bibles that he pawned that stupid gun. Obviously he lied." (21.95-97)
Another thing that we see alcoholism can do is turn someone into a liar. Tuna cannot trust her dad and is more than disappointed—she is shocked, ashamed, and whole list of other hard feelings. What could Tuna do?
Quote #7
Tuna lowered her voice so Derek wouldn't hear. "I'm really sorry for all this. You don't know how sorry."
"It's not your fault," Wahoo said.
"I'm the one who dragged you guys into this mess. I should never have run away. I should have stayed hidden at the Walmart." (23.90-92)
Besides tearing up a family, alcoholism can cause everyone else to feel shame and guilt, as if what the alcoholic family member does is their fault. Tuna certainly feels responsible for the situation even though Wahoo realizes that it isn't her fault at all.
Quote #8
"Maybe it was an accident, like you said."
"No, he's totally gone off the deep end. What if he kills someone, Lance?"
"Wahoo didn't look up. "My father can take care of himself."
"Well, my father…" Tuna laughed bitterly. "My father can't even take care of breakfast—" (23.98-101)
Tuna realizes that her father is now past all boundaries of human decency and that he could, at any moment, do something totally unforgivable. Actually, he already has. Also, we see the contrast between Mickey and Jared. While Mickey can fend for himself in the Everglades with wit and skill, Jared is incapable of basic needs like making food.
Quote #9
"But if the pills are only sugar, why do you need them?"
"Oh, I feed 'em to Daddy. Sometimes it quiets him down," Tuna said. "He gets lots of 'headaches,' too. And back pains, chest pains, neck pains, you name it. He thinks Raguserup is some sort of fantastic miracle drug. That, and the booze." (24.41-42)
If there is anything we've learned about alcohol so far, it is that the mind is affected as much as the body. In order to have an excuse to drink more, Jared thinks he is always in pain and needs alcohol to feel better. Also, the alcohol probably causes a lot of pain by damaging internal organs and his brain.
Quote #10
"Daddy, leave him be," Tuna pleaded. "He's sort of sick in the head."
"Yeah, well he's fixin' to be dead in the head."
Wahoo's father hastily stepped in front of the gun. "Don't waste a bullet on that crazy kid."
"You're right," said Gordon, and shot Mickey Cray point blank. (25.79-82)
In this scene, when things really start to get bad, we see the biggest difference between Jared and Mickey. Jared is ready and willing to kill anyone—even a kid—and Mickey is ready and willing to give up his life to save his son. The craziest thing Jared does in this book is purposely shoot Mickey.