How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)
Quote #1
Is there a voice in your head directing you what to do? Is that how it gets done, what gets done? (54)
Where does the voice Will refers to come from? Himself? God? The universe? Fate?
Quote #2
Is it authority because it's in your head? Or is it in your head because it's authority? (55)
Will seems to be trying to understand where his own self-talk comes from. He questions whether he's running the show or some other power.
Quote #3
The tide will win. It always does. (540)
You can't argue with the ocean. Well, you can try, but you won't get far. In nature, there are forces beyond your control, just as in human life.
Quote #4
My dad drove off the road […] Into the water. With my stepmother. (685)
It's hard to tell if Will means his dad purposefully drove off the road or if it was an accident. This ambiguity is fitting since we're not sure Will's totally convinced one way or another either.
Quote #5
You are nobody's responsibility in the end after all, isn't that right? As nobody is really anybody's responsibility. (734)
We are only responsible for our own behavior, and we can't control how others react. But that doesn't mean we can't complain about it. Will's proof of that.
Quote #6
Can accidents be beautiful? Wouldn't you have to know what you are doing to achieve something worthwhile? (782)
Will struggles continuously with the idea of control and fate, and here he brings beauty into the mix. What do you think: Can accidents be beautiful?
Quote #7
Choice will. It can kill you. It is supposed to be what makes living worthwhile. It is what makes not living an option. (1104)
We think Will might be missing something key here: Most things that are worthwhile are at least partially valuable because they can be lost/given up/taken away. So it goes with life.
Quote #8
What they did they did. What your father did or didn't do he did or didn't do. Their choices. Your choices. (1136)
How have Will's father's choices determined the course of Will's future? What difference would it have made in Will's life if the police had proven that his parents' deaths were an accident?