How we cite our quotes: (Act.Chapter.Section.Paragraph), (Act.Special Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
It's true. The Gangster's wife was—drumroll, please—Trujillo's f***ing sister! Did you really think some street punk from Samaná was going to reach the upper echelons of the Trujillato on hard work alone? Negro, please—this ain't a f***ing comic book! (1.3.14.1)
You've heard this old adage before: it's not what you know, but who you know, that matters. The Gangster has so much power because he married Trujillo's sister. Also, whenever a character is harmed in this book, it usually has something to do with Trujillo. We just can't escape this guy.
Quote #8
The Mongoose, one of the great unstable particles of the Universe and also one of its greatest travelers. Accompanied humanity out of Africa and after a long furlough in India jumped ship to the other India, a.k.a. the Caribbean. Since its earliest appearance in the written record—675 B.C.E., in a nameless scribe's letter to Ashurbanipal's father, Esarhaddon—the Mongoose has proven itself to be an enemy of kingly chariots, chains, and hierarchies. (1.3.18.38)
The Mongoose is a symbol of good in Wao. It helps out both Beli and Oscar when they're dying in the canefields. Our narrator also notes that the Mongoose is an enemy of kings, chains, and hierarchies. Seems like it's directly opposed to the Dark Lord Trujillo, right?
Quote #9
De la Maza, perhaps thinking of his poor, dead, set-up brother, then took Trujillo's .38 out of his dead hand and shot Trujillo in the face and uttered his now famous words: Éste guaraguao ya no comerá mas pollito [This hawk will not eat any more chicken]. And then the assassins stashed El Jefe's body—where? In the trunk, of course. (1.3.20.17)
This quote repeats the famous words of Trujillo's assassin, Antonio de la Maza: "This hawk will not eat any more chicken." says this zinger right after he shoots and kills Trujillo. Isn't that an amazing "in yo' face" to the dictator? Plus, Maza's metaphor gives us a pretty accurate picture of Trujillo's government. Trujillo was just a big, mean hawk tormenting a defenseless population.