How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
For the first time in my life, I was hungry and there was no food, I was thirsty and there was no water. I knew then as I had not known before that the room was real and that my home and my room and my bed had been a dream. (6.22)
Vahan goes from having a warm bed, a belly full of food, and some servants to help around the house, to having nothing. Did you notice how he says about his home seeming more like a dream than reality? That's because that is his reality now.
Quote #2
I thought, as I closed my eyes, that I was still Vahan Kenderian, son of Sarkis and Meera Kenderian, safe because I had always been safe. I did not realize that my brother and I had crossed a line, that we had lost more in the last month than the presence of our parents and the protection of our name. I did not realize that Bitlis was no more our home now that Kars or Van, and that the world did not very much care that we had once ridden in coaches and slept in fine beds whose sheets were changed three times a week by a houseman named Karnig. (9.16)
Since we only see Vahan in his home briefly before the problems start for his family, a lot of what we learn about his past comes through flashbacks. In a way, it makes his lack of home seem that much greater, since he used to have so much. During these moments when he has nothing, he reminds us that this is not how his life always is.
Quote #3
I stepped away and looked up at the windows, certain now that Pattoo and his family were dead and that I was standing in front of someone else's house, or no one's house. (11.4)
We've all heard the saying a house is not a home, but Vahan gets to experience this time and again when he sees houses that are no longer homes to people. Since the Turks take all the Armenians out of their homes and claim them (and the stuff in them) for themselves, it's hard to tell where home even is.
Quote #4
Instead I was greeted by the same house I had known all my life—the same walls and windows, the same pictures on the walls, the same smell and the same feeling. (11.6)
Phew. Vahan gets a big sigh of relief when he finds Pattoo's house just as he always has—almost. Mrs. Altoonian is different, and Mr. Altoonian has already been taken away. Still though, the home brings Vahan comfort because it's similar to what he remembers.
Quote #5
I was home. But, of course, it wasn't really home anymore. It was just another dead body, another deserted street. (17.26)
When he gets back to his house to serve Selim Bey, Vahan considers his home. Even though he's surrounded by his family's things in the house he grew up in, it doesn't feel like home. Why? His family isn't there, and in their place is a controlling, deceitful man.
Quote #6
At first I wanted no part of his generosity. I wanted only to be left alone, to eat and sleep and survive until it was safe for me to return to the Altoonians'. I was still an Armenian, after all, and he was still the enemy. (18.30)
There's no denying that Vahan has a more comfortable life with Selim Bey than in Goyran's Inn, but he just can't feel at home with the guy. Perhaps it's because he knows Selim Bey is off killing people left and right for no reason, or maybe it's because he feels guilty about his family dying or being help captive. Either way, it's clear that home isn't a building, but a feeling for Vahan.
Quote #7
I was not Galib, and this was not my home and these people were not my family. I had known that the instant I heard the shot. And when the prisoner slumped forward, I saw my father and my brothers and myself. I had known then that I was leaving, that I had to leave. (24.43)
Vahan—or should we say Galib—fits right in with the Turkish refugees by pretending to be a deaf mute. But it's not long before Vahan has to be honest with himself and come to terms with the fact that he doesn't belong with them.
Quote #8
Although my surroundings were new, they were not strange to me, and I felt very much at home, as though I were sharing a meal with my grandfather and a favorite cousin. (25.30)
Ara helps Vahan find a place to stay, so it's natural that he would feel comfortable with the guy. We can't help but notice that his connection to Ara is much more than that though—Ara reminds Vahan of his own family and home. Staying with Ara, Vahan finally allows himself to long for a home again, when he's just been focused on surviving up to this point.
Quote #9
"You are looking for a home, for a family. Do you know where your real home is? Your real home is here." He pointed at his heart. "Who you are and what you believe in is your real home, the only home no one can take from you, the only home that will last." (25.46)
Is this true—is home where the heart is, like Ara thinks? And if it is, then where do you think Vahan's home is? It seems like it's still back with his family.
Quote #10
"Thank you," I said, secretly thrilled by the mention of the word home. (25.71)
When Mrs. Fauld says they might be able to find a home for him, Vahan can't believe it—he's been running for his life for so long that he's forgotten what it's like to have a warm and comforting place full of safety. We celebrate with Vahan when he gets to live with the Tashians, but we wonder whether that will ever be home to him.