How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
He said the truth was less important, in this case, than the impact the truth would have on people. (2.8)
Torey doesn't necessarily believe the Reverend here, but he wants to understand. But what about the fact that a lie to cover up the truth can also do damage? Is the truth always the best way to go?
Quote #2
Truth, I was getting as worried about her as I was about him. There seemed to be so much stuff she would lay hints about but not say. (4.63)
Here Torey admits to himself that he is interested in Ali's life and cares about her. This is an important admission since it helps him accept his move away from his popular friends and toward Ali and Bo.
Quote #3
"Parents can be vicious, don't kid yourself." (4.82)
This is a truth Ali discovered the hard way, and she is sharing it with Torey, but he doesn't have any experience with this truth because his parents aren't vicious. Does he get it then? He begins to believe it once he sees Mrs. Creed scouring Chris's room. Some truths you have to see for yourself.
Quote #4
There were times when he crossed his own line into complete sadness. […]He was seeing himself at that point the way other people did—as a social 'tard, an obnoxious reject. (6.58)
Ouch. The truth can really hurt. Chris Creed fought hard every day to ignore the truth about who he was in the eyes of other kids his age. When it hit him, though, it hit him hard. Ugh.
Quote #5
If Creed had written that note, we would have to point the finger at ourselves […]. (6.60)
People would rather push the truth away so they don't have to do the hard work of reflecting and taking stock of their faults. Torey is super insightful when he thinks about this one.
Quote #6
"I ain't been with Ali. Not even one time." He must have noticed my look of total disbelief, because he laughed.
"Truth. I ain't playing with you." (9.44-45)
What is it so hard for Torey to believe that Ali could have a relationship that doesn't involve sex? For someone who's becoming so critical of gossipers, you'd think he might be a little more discerning when it comes to the gossip they circulate. Alas, it seems to be a bit of a process for him.
Quote #7
"As long as kids could make a joke out of it, then it meant that nothing serious had happened." (11.42)
Oh so sad, but true. Torey notices the ways in which people deal with hard things and the ways that they play games with themselves to avoid actually addressing them.
Quote #8
There's something peaceful about what you know to be the truth. I had it, so much so that I'd rather be in jail with the truth than living a lie in the historic Towne of Steepleton. (21.17)
Wow, just wow. Torey has attained enlightenment or something; certainly, he has gained an understanding of honest living. That is powerful.
Quote #9
It's not cultural, it's universal. This picking of truths, like you're picking melons at Superfresh. (22.68)
Truth bomb: what Torey learns about truth and lies in Steepleton totally applies to the rest of the world, too. Boom.
Quote #10
I wished I could have talked to Digger Haines, at least once. I would have liked to ask him what he hoped to find when he left Steepleton. I'm sure it was some sort of search for truth […]. (23.45)
Why is Torey so sure Digger, and thus Chris Creed, left Steepleton to search for truth? Is he just projecting his own journey onto theirs? And, if you think he is, then what does this mean in terms of his relationship to truth?