How we cite our quotes:
Quote #4
"Well, this fellow here lost his game, too. He was winning for ten million years or so, but found himself in a different league. He hung in there as well as he could. He scored his points, but he kept falling farther and farther behind. The opposition was better, quicker, keener. In the championship game, our boy got annihilated. Not only didn't he show up for class the next day, he never showed up, period. They never saw him again" (15.13).
What might Archie be trying to tell his students here? Like all things Archie, this nugget of wisdom is a bit vague, and a bit confusing. He holds up the skull of a (long extinct) animal and compares the species to a team. Even though the animal species existed successfully for many years, eventually it was wiped out by another. He may be talking about the inevitability of losing. All things lose in the end, so it is not the end result that should matter. There will always be someone who is better than you, smarter than you, quicker than you. Eventually, you will lose. It's not good or bad. It's just the cold, hard truth.
Quote #5
"Did you know there's a country with officially designated 'enchanted places'?" […] I think it would be neat if we had that here. You'd be walking or riding along, and there would be this stone marker with a brass plate: 'Enchanted Site: U.S. Department of Interior.'"
"We'd litter it up," I said (17.58-63)
Would marking places as "enchanted" help people connect to and respect their surroundings more as Stargirl hopes, or would we just litter it up, like Leo thinks? He's being a bit cynical, but the dude has a point.
Quote #6
"The earth is speaking to us, but we can't hear because of all the racket our senses are making. Sometimes we need to erase them, erase our senses. Then—maybe—the earth will touch us. The universe will speak. The stars will whisper" (17.85).
Stargirl believes that to connect, you must forget about your physical body and set your mind free to hear without your physical ears. It is then that you may be able to hear the wisdom of the universe. Hey, in a way, doesn't Leo do this already? It is in the quiet of the night when his senses are limited, meaning it is dark and quiet, and he is aware of the moonlight that he gets some insights, right?