How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"Is Momma crazy?"
Dicey turned her head to look at him.
"The kids said so, at school. And the way the teachers looked at me and loaned me their own books and talked to me. And Maybeth. Craziness can run in families."
Dicey felt a great weight settle on her shoulders. She tried to shrug it off, but it wouldn't move.
"Dicey?"
"She loves us," Dicey muttered.
"But that's the only reason I can think of that might be true."
"There's nothing wrong with Maybeth. You know that."
"It runs in families. Hereditary craziness."
"Well, you don't have to worry about it, do you? You're the smart one, with A's in school and the science projects that get entered in the state contest."
"Yeah," James said. He settled his head back on the seat. (1.1.73-83)
James is definitely the thinker in the family, and he's given this a lot of thought. Why would Momma run off and leave them? There has to be some reason. But he isn't just worried for Momma, he's worried for his family. Maybe they all have a little bit of craziness in them?
Quote #2
Maybeth spoke when Dicey didn't. "Momma's gotten lost. That's what I think."
"How could she get lost?" Sammy asked. "She knew where we were."
"Not lost from us," Maybeth said.
"Lost from who?" Sammy asked.
"Not lost from anyone," Maybeth said. "Just lost." (1.3.105-109)
This is a pretty good description of what has actually happened to Momma: She's lost her way; her brain has just stopped working like it should. Poor Momma.
Quote #3
"I think she got so worried about so many things, about money and us, about what she could do to take care of us, about not being able to do anything to make things better—I think it all piled up inside her so that she just quit. She felt so sad and sorry then, and lost—remember how she'd go out and not come back for hours? I think she got lost outside those times, the way she was lost inside."
"Amnesia," James suggested.
"Maybe. So she decided that she'd ask Aunt Cilla to help us, because she couldn't help us anymore. And maybe, when she went off into the Mall, maybe she'd run out of money and she couldn't take us any farther and all the things that had piled up inside her head sort of exploded there. And she just forgot us. Like amnesia, where you forget everything, even who you are. She couldn't stand to think and worry anymore. Everything she thought of, every place she went to, it all looked so sad and hopeless and she couldn't do anything about it—so it all exploded and left her brain empty." Empty. That was the way Momma had looked those last months. As if she were far away from them. (1.9.21-23)
Dicey learns the toll that caring for little kids with no resources takes once she's in charge. It's pretty interesting that she doesn't blame Momma, but instead sympathizes with her. Their situation had been rough, so it makes sense that Momma might not have been able to handle things mentally.