How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Many people are afraid of the procedure. Some people even resist. But I'm not afraid. I can't wait. (1.2)
This is one of the first lines in the book, and it tells us a few things. Even though the love cure has been around for a while, some people don't blindly give into it. Lena, however, is one of the dull sheep that is ready to be led wherever the government wants her to go.
Quote #2
"Every choice is limited," I snap. "That's life." (3.50)
Lena is totally fine with all of the regulations the government has imposed upon her life. No choices? No problem. Her middle name might as well be Doormat.
Quote #3
I'm glad the choice is made for us. I'm glad I don't have to choose—but more than that, I'm glad I don't have to make someone else choose me. (4.10)
This line illustrates why some people just sit back and let their rights be taken away: it's easy to do nothing. And people love easy. This line also illustrates Lena's biggest enemy in Delirium: herself. If Lena got some self-esteem, she might be in a better place to make decisions about her future. Just saying.
Quote #4
It's so strange how life works: You want something and you wait and wait [...] then it happens and it's over and all you want to do is curl back up in that moment before things changed. (5.43)
Lena is surprisingly resistant to change, even when that change involves something she she wants. She prefers to maintain the status quo at all costs.
Quote #5
I comfort myself by thinking that in less than two months this will seem like nothing to me. All of it will fall away and I'll rise up new and free. (8.87)
Lena is much more comfortable going with the flow at this point in the book… and that flow is leading her right toward a love lobotomy. Swim upstream, girl. Swim.
Quote #6
I wish I [...] could wake up tomorrow and ride over to Hana's house, could lie out at Eastern Prom with her and complain how boring summers are, like we always do. Could believe that nothing had changed. (9.74)
Instead of going to parties, Lena would rather complain about how boring summer is with Hana. Why is summer so boring? Not because Portland is boring. Because passive Lena is super boring and doesn't want to do anything fun.
Quote #7
Sometimes I feel like if you just watch things, just sit still and let the world exist in front of you—sometimes I swear that just for a second time freezes and the world pauses in its tilt. (10.21)
This is a nice sentiment, and it explains why Lena holds onto her passivity so much. There is a certain kind of beauty to just watching your life go by, when you think about it this way.
Quote #8
I just have to believe that Alex will come and rescue me—like in one of the fairy tales he told me about [...] where the prince springs a princess from a locked tower. (27.5)
This is Lena's grand escape plan: wait for a guy to save her. We'll be eagerly awaiting Lena's Disney Princess doll in stores for the holidays.