How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I wondered why humankind seemed so dead set on destroying all of its accomplishments. We draw on cave walls, spend thousands of years developing complex language systems, the printing press, computers, and what do we do with it? Create a cash register with the picture of the burger on it, just in case the cashier didn't finish the second grade. (1.10)
Sam's evaluation of our own culture may be a little harsh, but seriously—how did we go from complex literature and printing technology to pictograms?
Quote #2
By his sixteenth year, Douglas had learned all his aunt could show him. While most boys his age were chasing skirts, he practiced summoning and speaking to spirits. He could raise the dead. (3.33)
If you've got real ambition, being a teenager in necromancer culture looks really different from our normal culture. Training and practicing your spirit summoning skills takes too much time—to paraphrase the Soup Nazi, no prom for you.
Quote #3
If I was ever going to sleep, it was time to bring out the big guns, and my protection bag was a big gun. My mom had made it for me when I was really little and kept having nightmares […]
"For protection," she said. "You leave that thing on and you'll have nothing to worry about." (4.68-70)
The fact that Sam is a necromancer raised by a witch is rich with possibilities when it comes to family traditions. While he doesn't know the intended purpose of his medicine pouch at this point in the book, Sam does know that it's crucial to balancing his comfort level, as well as his bad dreams.