How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"She doesn't talk much. Her name's Margaret." […]
"Well, that may be, but the name's too long. I'd never bother myself. I'd call her Mary if I was you." (16.14, 19)
A rose by any other name is probably pretty upset that you called it a weed. Names are a source of identity. By refusing to call Maya by her name, Mrs. Cullinan and her friend are wiping away part of her core.
Quote #5
Signs with arrows around the barbecue pit pointed MEN, WOMEN, and CHILDREN toward fading lanes, grown over since last year. […] So when the urge hit me to relieve myself, I headed toward another direction. (20.12)
This is what we call an identity crisis. Correction: a major identity crisis—she can't even decide which bathroom to use. Since she was raped, people have told Maya that she isn't a child anymore, but Momma always tells her not to be "womanish." Her solution? She goes with a fourth option, marching to the beat of her own drummer.
Quote #6
I don't think she understood half of what she was saying herself, but, after all, girls have to giggle, and after being a woman for three years I was about to become a girl. (20.22)
What does it mean to be a girl? Seems like a simple question, but even today—or especially today—it can get some pretty heated debates started.