How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)
Quote #4
The room smelled of Pine Sol and vomit and Abuelita had defecated the remains of her cancerous stomach. (14)
Well, this story goes from a beautiful sunset of rebirth to realness in no time flat. The strong scent imagery acknowledges the dirty, physical process of death. It ain't all sunshine and beauty.
Quote #5
She had turned to the window and tried to speak, but her mouth remained open and speechless. I heard you, Abuelita, I said, stroking her cheek, I heard you. (14)
Abuelita dies with her eyes open, trying to speak. She was alone in the moment of her death, though, so who was she talking to? The narrator tries to comfort her after the fact, as you might comfort a scared child—but she didn't actually hear her grandmother. Does this mean that death is really lonely, that no one hears us? Maybe so.
Quote #6
With the sacredness of a priest preparing his vestments, I unfolded the towels one by one on my shoulders. (14)
The narrator hates going to mass, but when it's time to prepare her grandmother's body she slips into religion mode without any problem. Humans almost always deal with death through ritual. It helps us know what to do in the face of the unknown.