How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Finally, when Great-Grandmother Murphy died, everyone learned she had been a petty thief. Her bedroom chest was stuffed with piecegoods: ladies' kid gloves, ribbons, lengths of silk and spools of lace. In all her years of stealing she had never been stopped. (1.317)
Every time David's great-grandmother stole something from the dry-goods store (that's what they had in the olden days before Target), the shop owner would call her husband, who would come pay the bill. Not only did nobody else know she was stealing, she herself didn't know her husband was subsidizing it.
Quote #2
Also on those enchanted bridge club evenings, something happened to my mother. (2.19)
When David's mom looks at Mrs. Dillon, her face breaks into a smile, and we see her eyes behind her glasses again. They have a secret—David's not the only one with a crush on Mrs. Dillon.
Quote #3
"Mmm! Tasty meatloaf, Mama!" (3.109)
David's dad says this in a panel in which the family sits around the table scowling down at their plates, eating a meal that looks like dry pellets. He's trying to fool his family—or maybe himself—into thinking everything's okay.
Quote #5
"Well, the fact is, you did have cancer […] but you didn't need to know anything then […] and you don't need to know about it now. That's FINAL!" (3.283-285)
David's dad, who says these words, is also the one who gave him cancer. Lies and deceit often come from guilt and shame.
Quote #6
"A boy who has had cancer […] a boy whose parents and doctors did not tell him he had cancer…a boy who had to find out the truth on his own […] is this crazy?" (4.34)
There's a saying that mental instability is a sane response to an insane environment. Of course, if you have schizophrenia and are hallucinating, that may not be true, but in David's case it is. Basically, he goes to therapy because his mom won't.
Quote #7
"You've been living in a world full of nonsense, David. No one had been telling you the truth about anything. But I'm going to tell you the truth." (4.32-33)
Becoming an artist is how David ultimately finds the truth in a world full of nonsense. It works.
Quote #8
(4.48)
David, having crawled across the floor after the White Rabbit therapist tells him his mother doesn't love him, clings to the rabbit's ankles. It's an act of sorrow, but also of gratitude—finally, someone has told him the truth.
Quote #9
(4.90)
David comes home from therapy, walks into his mom's bedroom, and learns that she's been deceiving the whole family simply by being married to his dad. She's gay, and she's sleeping with Mrs. Dillon. That'll make you turn right around and go back to the therapist from whence you came.