How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
At the beginning of summer, in a moment of weakness, Flora had made the mistake of signing a contract that said she would "work to turn her face away from the idiotic high jinks of comics and toward the bright light of true literature." (1.5)
What's so bad about comic books? According to Flora's mom, everything. Flora's mom sees comic books as the cause of her daughter's problems, and we can't help but wonder if some of her frustration with them comes from the fact that they are not anything like what she writes herself.
Quote #2
There is just no predicting what kind of sentences you might say, thought Flora. For instance, who would ever think you would shout, "You're going to vacuum up that squirrel!"? (1.25)
We're not sure if we'd be analyzing our sentences if we just saw a squirrel get vacuumed up, but this just goes to show just how important words and language are to Flora. Even in times of stress, it's what she thinks about.
Quote #3
Flora had decided that this was part of the reason her parents had divorced. Not the noise of the writing, but the writing itself. Specifically, the writing of romance. (10.2)
Hmm… ironic, right? It's crazy that romance writing could lead to a divorce, but the fact that Flora even thinks this tells us a lot about the weight of words in her life (not to mention romance).
Quote #4
She changed into her pajamas, lay down, and imagined the words A SUPERHERO SQUIRREL RESTED AT HER FEET, AND SO SHE WAS NOT LONELY AT ALL emblazoned on the ceiling above her. (12.3)
We wish our lives could be comic books, too. Flora is always imagining what her life would look like if it was a comic book and here's what we get. Notice how it's the words she thinks about, not the images that are usually highlighted in classic superhero comics.
Quote #5
All words at all times, true or false, whispered or shouted, are clues to the workings of the human heart. Listen. You must, if you care to understand anything at all, become a Giant Ear. (22.25)
This comes to us from The Criminal Element, another one of Flora's pleasure reads. We love the idea of becoming an ear, instead of merely saying eavesdropping. This is just one example of how the author puts together words in a different way to get the wheels in our head spinning.
Quote #6
But Flora's voice stood out. It was the voice of the person he loved. He concentrated on her words. He worked to understand her. (30.23)
In the diner, Ulysses focuses on what Flora says. Her words are really powerful for the little guy—they bring him back to life and encourage him to act instead of sitting on the sidelines.
Quote #7
What was the apostrophe doing there? Did the doctor own the Meescham? And what was it with exclamation marks? Did people not know what they were for? Surprise, anger, joy—that's what exclamation marks were for. They had nothing to do with who resided where. (36.2)
Again Flora attacks a sentence instead of acting. Her squirrel just ran into a door (literally) and here she is, worried about a misplaced apostrophe. This quirky habit of hers brings her comfort whenever she's in trouble.
Quote #8
I must admit that I have always had a certain facility with words. And I am terribly fond of the novel form. Though my interests lie less in the area of romance and more in the speculative nature of things. (45.5)
That's one way of putting it, William. Good old Spiver loves to think about the meaning behind words, how they are used, and critique the way people use them. So it's no wonder that he and Flora become friends.
Quote #9
Flora could see the squirrel's name—ULYSSES—flying out of the car and into the night, a single, beautiful word that was immediately swallowed up by the wind and the darkness. (59.10)
Flora sees her pal's name while she's racing to save his life. It's almost as though she's in a comic book. We love how she's always seeing words everywhere instead of just thinking about them. Perhaps that's why Ulysses is so fascinated by words, too.
Quote #10
Nothing/would be/easier without/you,/because you/are/everything,/all of it—/sprinkles, quarks, giant/donuts, eggs sunny-side up—/you are the ever-expanding/universe/to me. (epi.1)
The poem Ulysses writes Flora has all the words he's heard and loved in it. We never really noticed the word sunny-side up before, but Ulysses shows us how abundant and interesting words can be—even words we've heard a million times.