From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler Dissatisfaction Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

This was all Claudia needed. Something that had been smoldering inside her since she first saw the statue, that had been fed by the Times article, now flared into an idea. (4.51)

With all of the boredom, the kids need something to snap them out of their funk. Running away helps, but the ball really starts rolling when they find out about the angel statue. Here's a mystery worth solving.

Quote #5

A nasty letter or a sarcastic one can make you righteously angry, but what can you really do about a polite letter of rejection? Nothing, really, except cry. So she did. (8.40)

Poor Claudia. She has such high hopes for their adventure and thinks that they're going to be paraded around by museum officials as heroes. Instead, she finds that reality falls short of her expectations (as always).

Quote #6

"I didn't say differently, I said different. I want to go back different. I, Claudia Kinkaid, want to be different when I go back. Like being a heroine is being different." (8.61)

What does it mean to be different? Do you have to grow a tail, or win a million dollars, or cut off your ear like van Gogh? Claudia hasn't figured out exactly what this is yet, but she wants to feel changed when she goes home.