How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Still, I liked imagining that the chain of that broken compass was long enough to stretch all the way back into his pocket, with him at one end and me at the other. (1.5)
That compass connects more than just Abilene and her daddy. How are Miss Sadie and Ned and Shady connected to them through it, too? And does having a connection like this make them family—all of them?
Quote #2
I remembered all those things about Gideon, but I couldn't remember if he'd said the words or if I'd only imagined them. Those words I'm coming back for you. (11.5)
Based on what you know about Gideon, do you think he ever actually said those words to Abilene? If so, why would he lie? If not, why would she be so certain that he was coming back for her?
Quote #3
"It's just that Mother doesn't feel she knows a person until she knows their aunts, uncles, and second cousins twice removed." (16.18)
When Pearl Ann says this to Ned, he gets pretty upset—the poor guy doesn't even know his aunts and uncles himself. As a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Mrs. Larkin is pretty convinced that you can know a lot about a person's character based on their family. But are Pearl Ann and her mom really all that similar?
Quote #4
Ned's shoulders stiffened. It was this whole notion of lineage and background that had sent him back into the mines for a second shift. (16.19)
Mrs. Larkin's concern with bloodlines really gets Ned's goat. Especially since her buddies at the mine use the same thing—Ned's unknown background—as an excuse to force the poor guy to work a double shift. But isn't there more to a person than genetics? Moon Over Manifest certainly seems to think so.
Quote #5
I wondered what Gideon was doing right then. […] On a good day, a man eating at the counter might buy him a sandwich and a cup of coffee. It always helped to have a little girl in tow. He needed me. (18.16)
Finn used Jinx in his cons, and now Jinx uses Abilene to get sympathy and free handouts. He doesn't mean to, but it's the only life he knows. What do you think: is that an okay excuse?
Quote #6
Jump on, jump on, jump on, the boxcars taunted. I reached out my hand. Reaching for the only home I'd ever known. Reaching for Gideon. Then the sound died down and the train moved on. (20.41)
Whew. We can't help but feel bad for Abilene. Being with her dad is all she's ever known, and not she's totally separated from him.
Quote #7
The Hungarian woman plunked her shot glass down onto the bar top and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Do you forget where you come from?" She stared them down. "What about the others who depend on us? Those who are left behind?" (22.59)
At the town meeting at Shady's place, Miss Sadie's words really hit home. It sounds like immigrants feel it's their duty to succeed in America because their family back in Europe sacrificed to send them there. Do you agree?
Quote #8
"At Ellis Island, the inspector asks my friend Milo, 'What is your last name?'
'Zoutsaghianopoulos,' he says. The inspector asks him if he wants to change it to make it easier to pronounce. My friend gives this much thought. After all, this is his family name." (25.16)
Tons of people changed the spelling of their last names when they immigrated to America. It says a lot about how willing they were to truly start over, to change something so fundamental to their family. Would you be willing to change your name?