How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
She said we made a good pair because she couldn't write very well and I had the best handwriting she had ever seen for a little man. That's what she called me from the first day she came to live with us. Little Man. (1.13)
They're totally different, but Victor and Mam make quite the dynamic duo. She's not just a babysitter for him; she's also his friend and confidante. Without Mam, Victor would have a much harder time getting through life.
Quote #2
Mam is my best friend in all the world except when it comes to playing ball and then Rat takes over. His real name is Art. (1.14)
Victor's stuttering problem doesn't stop him from having real, meaningful friendships in his life. It may be hard for him to communicate like others do, but he still has best friends for life.
Quote #3
The way Mr. Spiro talked to me was exactly the way Mam talked even though the words they used were different. They both looked straight at me and made me feel like I belonged right were I was. (3.82)
Victor immediately likes Mr. Spiro and wants to be friends with him because of the way the man talks. He talks to Victor in a totally straightforward way and listens to what he has to say—which is exactly what a good friend should do.
Quote #4
And while Young Arthur is proud to be called your catcher, methinks he is more proud to call you his friend. Thus, all that is vital to know is that you have won and continue to earn the friendship and respect of a fellow traveler. That constitutes the tote and sum in my book. (3.101)
Mr. Spiro tells Victor that he's heard a lot about him from Rat (whose real name is Arthur). Apparently Rat doesn't talk about Victor's stutter or anything like that, though; he likes being friends with Victor because he's a good kid and an awesome baseball player.
Quote #5
Going to sleep would have been hard if I started thinking about Rat and all the great dirt-clod fights he was having on the farm with his cousins. I got the pillow from the other twin bed and put it on top of me and put my arms around it. Whenever I started feeling all alone it felt good to have something to hang on to. (6.67)
Poor Victor. He doesn't have a ton of friends in his life (that darn stutter complicates things), so when Rat goes away for a month it's hard on him. He wants to be hanging out with his best friend again.
Quote #6
Mr. Spiro was smiling with his big arms folded across his chest. He looked at me for a while without saying anything and then stood.
My bias against poetry has been properly challenged. A wonderful poem. I'm grateful to you for sharing, my Stuttering Poet. (8.168-169)
As soon as Victor meets Mr. Spiro, he recognizes that this is someone that he can trust with his deepest darkest secrets. He even trusts him enough to share a poem with him—something he wouldn't do with anyone else.
Quote #7
Mam laughed at my joke and straightened the big hat on my head. Mam hadn't been laughing much since she came back from what she called her Accident. I liked to hear Mam laugh more than anything.
We sat down on an iron bench to have an ice cream cone while we waited on the photograph. (12.43-44)
It's clear to see that Mam isn't just a family employee to Victor; she's also one of his very best friends. They have fun whenever they're together, no matter what their plans are for the day.
Quote #8
On the Crosstown bus headed back home I pulled from my back pocket the picture of the two of us and put it in Mam's hand. I smiled at her. She smiled back and soon enough we were laughing up a storm at the picture. Me with that stupid cowboy hat coming down over my ears and Mam in her hat with the black and green feathers sticking out. I kidded Mam that she looked like a peacock. (12.60)
Even though it required a few white lies, Victor is still pleased that he and Mam were able to get a photo taken together. After all, they're friends and should have some memento of the fun times they've had together.
Quote #9
I decided TV Boy would make a good friend. He wouldn't have to hear my bad talking and he could teach me how to say things with my hands instead of my mouth. I was pretty sure I would be good at that kind of talking because my baseball coach always said I had good hands. (14.34)
When Victor learns that TV Boy is deaf, he decides right then and there that they're going to be friends. He just knows that they will understand each other because they both have a hard time communicating.
Quote #10
I stuttered about the same as always with all the gigantic pauses and funny sounds coming out around the words but I didn't pay any attention to how my classmates looked at me and didn't try to figure out what they were thinking. And I said exactly what I wanted to.
I sat down. Art was looking back at me and smiling from his desk in the front of the room. (20.42-43)
Even when Victor is stuttering at school, Rat doesn't give up on his friend. He remains as supportive as ever instead of being embarrassed to hang around with Victor or making fun of him. That Rat's a good egg.