How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
He could see well enough out the window and what he saw made everything inside him grow quiet for the first time in weeks. It was more than he could have dreamed. (3.5)
Thomas dreams seem to include very scary looking houses. In the very next line he says the house looks "at odds with everything living" (3.6). What does your dream house look like? Does this book help you figure that out.
Quote #2
The frightful head looked down. Thomas saw its angry face. The eyes of it caught the fire lights and glinted emerald and wet. (6.43)
Thomas is so scared he doesn't know what he's seeing. We would be too. So, what is he seeing? Either Mayhew or Mr. Skinner being Mr. Pluto, Mr. Skinner's alter-ego.
Quote #3
My head is too big, he thought. But the suit is all right. Everybody will know it is a new suit. I will tell them I got it for my birthday. (9.13)
This is Thomas getting ready for church. Like many of us, he's concerned with his appearance. What are some of the things you tell yourself when you look in the mirror?
Quote #4
"That boy at the piano [Mac Darrow] […] he must be of the same family as the four men. He's got the same head and the same build. […] Yes, they are of a family, five of them. One of the four is the father." (10.45)
Mr. Small is very observant. He's helping Thomas see how to put things together about the people he sees.
Quote #5
He rubbed his eyes. "It keeps jumping at me," he said. "The whole town just keeps jumping around!" (11.20)
The new town in Ohio is very wet and it rains a lot there. This may account for the shifting feeling Thomas gets when he looks at it from the high window of his dad's office at the university. Sort of like look at a very good watercolor. It's also very new and different and he's trying to understand it all at once. Most importantly, he's hungry. Hunger can make almost anything look funny.
Quote #6
Babies shouldn't have to go to bed in their Sunday suits. It's like they're ready to run away in case something bad happens – like they didn't belong here. (12.48)
We think this line presents a striking image. We can really see the cute little babies in suits. Because of all the talk of running slaves, the warnings, and the danger, Thomas is afraid for them and wants to protect them.
Quote #7
"I'm Mayhew Skinner. I'm my father's only son." (14.11)
This is the moment Mayhew tells Thomas and Mr. Small who he is and why he's been dressing up like his dad.
Quote #8
"Child! […] You'll come tomorrow and maybe I'll feel like riding in the buggy. You want to still ride with a poor old soul?" (15.58).
Once he gets to know them, Thomas can't help but see what a wonderful friendship Pesty and Mr. Pluto have.
Quote #9
"You answer me. […] I been the devil for more years than you can remember and you think you can do him better than me?" (17.84-86)
We love the scene where Mr. Skinner and Mayhew fight over who gets to play Mr. Pluto. We suspect Mr. Skinner is a little bit flattered by his son's interest in the role. The scene brings out many appearance related motifs – masks, acting, role play.