How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
The kid Mick picked at the front of her blouse to keep the cloth from rubbing the new, tender nipples beginning to come out on her breast. (1.2.125)
Biff creepily hones in on Mick's discomfort with hitting puberty. Biff might be recognizing discomfort in Mick because he himself has a lot of discomfort with his sexuality. Frankly, we do, too, because he spends far too much time in the novel eyeing the young Mick.
Quote #2
"That's why I wear shorts. I'd rather be a boy any day, and I wish I could move in with Bill." (1.3.82)
Mick bucks at the convention that she look or act a certain way, or become a wife and mother in the future. She doesn't want to be assessed as a typical girl. She has her own path in mind.
Quote #3
She stood in front of the mirror a long time, and finally decided she either looked like a sap or else she looked very beautiful. One or the other. [...]
She didn't feel like herself at all. She was somebody different from Mick Kelly entirely. (2.1.47, 49)
Though Mick often defies stereotypes, in this scene, she's just like your typical girl in a classic teen movie. You know, the ugly-duckling-who-suddenly-becomes-a-swan scene? But we can't forget that she has more on her mind than winning over Freddie Prinze Jr. In this scene, she seems more worried about what her new look says about herself. She is experiencing what it means to be feminine and beautiful for the first time.
Quote #4
He wanted to reach out his hand and touch her sunburned, tousled hair – not as he had ever touched a woman. In him there was an uneasiness and when he spoke to her his voice had a rough, strange sound. (2.2.1)
Biff, dude, did you learn nothing from Humbert Humbert? Biff isn't nearly as creepy, of course, but his physical reactions to Mick point to an odd sort of attraction, and it makes both Biff and us very uncomfortable.
Quote #5
And on that subject why was it that the smartest people mostly missed that point? By nature all people are of both sexes. (2.2.91)
Biff is not exactly the most progressive, forward thinking guy on the planet. But he does seriously question the way society views gender and sexuality in a way that was certainly ahead of his time. He starts transforming his own identity and pushing the boundaries of what's considered proper.
Quote #6
"And Father, that sure is one bad, wicked place. They got a man sells tickets on the bug – but they also got these strutting, bad-blood, tail-shaking n***** gals and these here red satin curtains and – " (2.3.13)
Portia's description of the bordello where Willie gets into serious trouble reveals class, gender, and race bias on her part.
Quote #7
Certain whims he had ridiculed in Alice were now his own. Why? (2.8.8)
After Alice's death, Biff takes on some of her feminine qualities, and we never get a real explanation for it. Perhaps that's because Biff himself doesn't really understand his new habits and whims. Sometimes, he seems downright ashamed of them.
Quote #8
It was like her head was broke off her body and thrown away. And her eyes looked up straight into the blinding sun while she counted something in her mind. And then this was the way.
This was how it was. (2.11.99-100)
Mick seems almost dissociated from her body when she loses her virginity. It's a huge moment for the teenage girl, but she seems too young to process it properly, as if her body has grown up before her mind has.
Quote #9
They both took off their bathing-suits. Harry had his back to her. He stumbled and his ears were red. Then they turned toward each other. Maybe it was half an hour they stood there – maybe not more than a minute.
Harry pulled a leaf from a tree and tore it to pieces. "We better get dressed." (2.11.85-86)
This scene focuses on the emotional content and the small details of Harry and Mick's encounter, rather than the big picture of what is actually happening. As it turns out, this is pretty much how the novel deals with sex overall – with averted eyes.