How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"We'll fix this," I said. (2.2.15)
Margo Roth Spiegelman gives Quentin a little more drive than he had before their memorable night out. He decides to stop the school bullies in Margo's absence, and he doesn't stop until he succeeds.
Quote #2
"We are supposed to go to Margo's room and unscrew the lock from the door and unscrew the door itself from its jamb." (2.5.61)
Quentin and his pals are more determined (and resourceful) to find Margo than Scooby-Doo and the gang are to solve their mysteries.
Quote #3
The clue was mine. The doors were mine! (2.7.24)
Instead of giving up after finding nothing in Margo's door, Quentin keeps thinking about the clue, and even tries something completely ridiculous (because, really, how would Margo hide anything in his door?)… and it works.
Quote #4
I don't know who she is anymore, or who she was, but I need to find her. (2.8.37)
Quentin doesn't know anything it seems. Why does he want to find her? Would he be this determined to find someone else he knew so little about?
Quote #5
"There's a way. There has to be." (2.9.8)
Where there's a will, there's a way… and where there's a Margo Roth Spiegelman, there's a Quentin Jacobson obsessing around the clock trying to find her.
Quote #6
"If you move as though your hand will go through the block, and if you believe that your hand will go through the block, then it will." (2.9.12)
Ben says he got this bit of wisdom from a martial arts instructor, but it sounds like it came from a Karate Kid movie. Despite it sounding completely ridiculous, Ben gives it a shot anyway.
Quote #7
"You can argue […] that Ahab is a fool for being obsessed. But you could also argue that there is something tragically heroic about fighting this battle he is doomed to lose." (2.11.9)
Replace "Ahab" with "Quentin" in this sentence, and Margo Roth Spiegelman can be the whale (Moby Roth Spiegelman). What do you think? A fool, or a tragic hero?
Quote #8
I put aside Margo's blanket and shouted, loud enough for all the rats to hear, "I Am Going To Find Something Here!" (2.12.37)
Quentin is so determined to find something (and going a little crazy from isolation) that he tells the rats he's going to make a discovery. Either that, or he's trying to pull a Cinderella and get them to help.
Quote #9
I leave, and the leaving is so exhilarating I know I can never go back. But then what? Do I just keep leaving places, and leaving them, and leaving them, tramping a perpetual journey? (2.19.25)
There's an inertia that develops whether you're staying in a place or leaving it. Quentin doesn't want to leave his hometown, but once he sees how exciting it can be, he can't stop. But he's not as persistent as Margo Roth Spiegelman is—she seems to want to live this lifestyle forever.
Quote #10
"The good news is that we will be stopping. The bad news is that it won't be for another four hours and thirty minutes." (3.1.20)
The road trip is the ultimate endurance test for everyone in the car. The have to push through to each scheduled stop, because they don't have time to stop whenever they want.