How we cite our quotes: Chapter, Paragraph
Quote #1
I don't know what Harry Potter or The Help are, but Josh gave me Tuck Everlasting for my eleventh birthday. The boat gets stuck in a tangle of roots and Tuck explains how the water rushing by is like time flowing on without them. Reading those words made me feel deep and philosophical. (3.21)
Emma is describing why she loves Tuck Everlasting, one of her favorite books. She remembers a certain scene that she felt was very moving and powerful—and this feeling makes her identity herself as "deep and philosophical."
Quote #2
Nothing about me feels sexy right now. Maybe I'm just tired from last night. Or maybe it's because I can't stop thinking about Emma Nelson Jones, and whether I really become an unhappy person with a husband who doesn't come home. (11.19)
Emma is waging an inner war here. There's nothing that she feels inside that matches the attention that she's getting from her boyfriend right now, and it irritates her. She's also bothered because she's found out that her future identity is anything but what she would have expected. Or wanted.
Quote #3
I'll have a fancy graphic-design job, and I'll probably drive a nice car, too. A BMW or, since we'll be out in the country, a Chevy Tahoe. Or both! In fifteen years, maybe I'll drive something so insane I can't even imagine it now. (28.4)
Here we see what Josh looks for in his future identity: fancy things. And though he doesn't have any of this yet, it still tells us something about who Josh is, and how he hopes to be in the world.
Quote #4
David's page says he now lives in Bellingham, Washington, and works as a computer engineer.
Then I notice something else.In a relationship with: Philip Conner
Okay, that's… um… I don't… (31.11-13)
On Facebook, Josh stumbles across the fact that his brother is gay. Oops—as far as he knows in 1996, his brother isn't gay. But in the future, this is one of the things that define him. So perhaps one of the things that changes about identity is what we share, in addition to who we are.
Quote #5
The sunshine is magnetic, too. All morning, guys who've never said more than What's up? Have stopped to talk to me. And the girls! Between my morning classes, three girls have walked with me, keeping my pace… and I have long legs. (33.4)
Josh is in heaven: Not only is his future totally stacked, but he starts making all these friends at school. Suddenly everyone wants to be around him… and he likes it. Who wouldn't? Josh's identity changes from being the shy guy to being Sydney Mills's arm candy. And everybody wants some.
Quote #6
The other times I've been married to Kevin, and even to Jordan, I kept my Nelson as part of my name. What ripple occurred in the past twenty minutes to make me give up my maiden name? (42.24)
We know that Emma has a bit of an issue with identity since she keeps trying to change futures she doesn't like. Here, she's upset because Facebook shows that she gives up her maiden name, a part of her identity that she wants to keep. She thinks that something must have happened to give up that important part of her identity.
Quote #7
With her sunglasses on and her hair spilling around her shoulders, Sydney looks content with whatever life tosses her way. It's the exact opposite of how I feel. (47.48)
Sydney has got the cool girl persona down, and in Josh's eyes, she has the identity of having everything figured out and being totally comfortable. This may not be true, but it is totally the way her peers identify her.
Quote #8
I've always protected myself when it comes to love. And maybe that's the problem. In the future, maybe I never let my husbands see the real me either, so I never give them the chance to learn what makes me happy. Either that or I marry a conceited jerk like Cody, and then there's definitely not going to be much love. (56.50)
Emma hides her identity a lot, and in this moment, she realizes that doing so pushes people away. In her fear of letting people actually get to know her, she's accidentally setting herself up for unhappiness. And being unhappy is an identity she'd really like to avoid cultivating.
Quote #9
"You're a go-with-the-flow-guy," he says. "You've always been that way. And that can feel great because it means you don't have to make any hard decisions. But sometimes you need to figure out what you want, Josh. If that means you need to swim against the tide to get it, at least you're aiming for something that could make you very happy." (55.53)
David's brother points out that Josh is super passive—he doesn't fight for an identity, but instead just works with whatever comes his way. This is often a good thing, but occasionally there are times where he needs to fight for himself, and sometimes this involves "swimming against the tide."
Quote #10
Sydney holds out her hand and I give her the cup. She takes a small sip. "That was sweet of you to give Emma your sweatshirt. I always knew you were one of the nice guys." (61.9)
Sydney identifies Josh as "one of the nice guys." It's not the most glamorous identity, but if there's one quality about Josh that probably won't change too much, this is it. It's a good identity to have and it makes people want to be around him. Including Sydney.