How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
If you touch me I will bruise; if I shift, to ease my weight, blood rivers from my nose. I am saintly, poetic; I am demise, otherworld. But when Finnigan runs, I run with him. (3.2)
In this cryptic opener, Gabriel shares with us the first time he met his alter ego. We'd like to point out how Gabriel describes himself is contradictory: both good (saintly) and evil (demise). In these moments, he is at his most honest with us since he is both perfect angel (Gabriel) and devil (Finnigan).
Quote #2
He glanced at me with his predator's eyes. "Sometimes you get a thrashing even when you try to be good."
I caught a breath—until I heard him speak those words, I'd never known that other boys also suffered in this way, that every boy feels he has some mischief owed to him, restitution for the times he's been punished without fair cause. (5.18-19)
Can you really call hanging onto your friend's stolen money a good deed? We're not sure the label quite applies, but the boys' logic is interesting nonetheless. Gabriel feels he deserves certain things out of life, and one of those things is revenge. We hate to be the bearers of bad news, but that's not good either.
Quote #3
"You will only be good things—you'll never get angry or fight. And I will only be bad things—I will always get angry and fight. We'll be like opposites—like pictures in the water." (5.37)
Try as they might, Gabriel and Finnigan quickly learn that one person can't just be pure good or evil. We all have a mix of emotions and characteristics that create both of these outcomes.
Quote #4
Men fought the fire through the days and nights, although there was no night—the midnight sky was luminescent, incandescent, spangling pink, green, yellow and orange as if the Devil had swallowed us down. The bushfire screamed an unholy hymn, its cavernous voice riding the heat waves. (7.3)
Gabriel thinks about the arsonist as the devil here, even though he knows his friend (ahem, who is really Gabriel) is responsible for all the fires. We can tell that Finnigan takes his end of the bargain seriously, and certainly delivers, time and again.
Quote #5
My point, I felt, had been made. I didn't want to be associated with any devil whose doings were clouded by morality. There was no point to our pact—no point to my goodness, no point to him—unless his wickedness was a wholehearted, ungovernable thing. To make things right and proper, both of us had to be pure. (9.54)
As time goes on, Gabriel realizes that the pact is meaningless unless they are both wholeheartedly committed to it. It turns out Gabriel isn't quite as ready to jump on the good bandwagon as Finnigan is to hitch a ride on the bad. So the pact doesn't make sense for them anymore… but that doesn't stop Finnigan from keeping it.
Quote #6
McIllwraith shifts, nervously. Now, I admire treachery as much as anyone. But I can't let it go unpunished. The angel might forgive you—that's his job. Not mine. So here I am: here we both are. (12.19)
Finnigan doesn't care whether Gabriel wants to forgive people or move past their pact; he's going to keep it no matter what. Here, he pays the constable a visit after betraying Gabriel's trust. In reality, we see that Gabriel's dark side (Finnigan) is taking over.
Quote #7
Some things about him are the same as ever. He still looks painfully angelic. His lips still have a sore, swollen look to them, as if they've been hit with a bottle. (16.10)
Even on his deathbed, Gabriel manages to look angelic. It's important for us to know how Finnigan sees Gabriel, and we learn that he views his buddy as an angel—even after all these years. Why do you think we get this description here?
Quote #8
I feel no regret. Why would I? Angels are remorseless. We have one-track minds. (21.3)
Here's the thing: Gabriel isn't just an angel. He's also the devil. So while he might claim he has a one-track mind, we know it's much more complicated than that. He doesn't just think about peace and love and sunshine; he also has a dark side that he rarely allows people to see.
Quote #9
"You always underestimated me. You thought you made me harmless when you gave angelhood to me. You forgot that some angels are warriors. Where there's warriors, there's war. I will fight to the death. It's my duty. I am not afraid." (21.13)
The stand off between Gabriel and Finnigan shows us the ultimate battle between good and evil. Finnigan thinks Gabriel is a weakling, but Gabriel has more strength than his buddy gives him credit for. So the only question is: Does good or evil win?
Quote #10
I made my way through the swamp-heat of the afternoon to arrive at Evangeline's house and told her to flee before the devil descended from the hills and came looking, remorseless, his ears pinned back to his sleek skull, his pitch sights set on her. (21.66)
Here, it seems like Gabriel is doing good by warning Evangeline of Finnigan's evil plans. But once we know that Gabriel is Finnigan, we're not sure if this really counts. One of the complex ways the novel approaches the battle between good and evil is by asking us to tell the difference between what Gabriel says and does—especially as Finnigan.