How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph) or (Page Number)
Quote #1
I wish it would reely work alredy so I coud get smart like evrybody else. (8.24)
Does Charlie just want to change to conform to the status quo? Is that such a bad thing?
Quote #2
Miss Kinnian says Im learning fast. She read some of my progress reports and she looked at me kind of funny. (9.37)
Even if Charlie doesn't register that he's changing, his gal pal sure knows the score. Sometimes it's the people around us who notice our shifts before we do.
Quote #3
You're beginning to see and understand things. (11.78)
Charlie's change is super-gradual, but we eventually see him trying to make sense of the world around him. What does he notice that he never did before?
Quote #4
I was a person before the operation. In case you forgot— (11.89)
Don't make the mistake of thinking that Charlie wasn't worthy of attention before he got all smart on us. We get so excited every time new Charlie defends old Charlie.
Quote #5
But you're changing emotionally too. In a peculiar sense I'm the first woman you've ever been really aware of—in this way. (11.92)
Charlie's on a short leash, emotionally speaking, and he has a hard time letting himself have a relationship with other women because it's just one more way he'll get away from his roots.
Quote #6
Charlie has stopped watching us. (14.211)
Why do you think old Charlie stops watching new Charlie have sex? Is it just not that exciting anymore, or are there some changes afoot?
Quote #7
I smiled to myself at the thought of how it would be if they brought me back here as one here as one of her children. Would I be tidy enough? (16.229)
Charlie's getting comfy with the idea that he's going to go through another radical transition, which is pretty big of him. So comfortable, in fact, that he can even find some humor in this big impending shift.
Quote #8
He's had several experiences of perceiving himself as he was before the experiment—as a separate and distinct individual still functioning in his unconsciousness—as if the old Charlie was struggling for control of his body— (16.248)
Well, this is awkward—the old Charlie handles change by trying to take back control, like some kind of freaky science fiction novel.
Quote #9
I'm not a guinea pig any more. I've done enough. I want to be left alone now. (17.288)
You know what's weird? We never figure out why it takes so long for Charlie to stand up for himself. Has he reached a new stage in his emotional development?
Quote #10
I'm not myself. I'm falling apart, and I don't want you here. (17.300)
Looks like Charlie prefers to cope with change privately. He may have found a soul mate in Alice, but he still needs to do the important stuff on his own, which makes sense since he's kind of always been on his own anyway.