How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Whatever it was, whatever that thing is Mr. James took us in the woods that day to find, whether it's abandon, or passion, whether it's innovation, or simply courage, Joe has it.
His ass is in the wind. Mine is in second chair. (5.22-23)
Joe just did a trumpet solo in band, and in addition to being cute and French, he's a virtuoso musician. (Yeah, we know—some people have all the luck.) Lennie's making a distinction between the talent he has and herself, implying that she doesn't have his kind of talent. At this point in the book, we don't know why Lennie didn't make first chair.
Quote #2
He starts to laugh. "God, I feel like I'm pressuring you to have sex or something." Every ounce of blood in a ten mile radius rushes to my cheeks. "C'mon. I know you want to…" he jokes, raising his eyebrows like a total dork. (9.68)
Sure, Joe's being adorkable, but is his sex analogy so far off? Soloing for just one other person is intimate, and the possibility of messing up can be totally vulnerability inducing. Plus, by now we know that music is something Lennie used to be passionate about, so there's even passion. No wonder Lennie reacts so strongly to people asking her to play.
Quote #3
"I hate soloing, not that you'd understand that. It's just so…" I'm waving my arm around, unable to find the words. But then I point my hand in the direction of Flying Man's. "So like jumping from rock to rock in the river, but in this kind of thick fog, and you're all alone, and every single step is…" (9.88)
This is the first time Lennie tries to explain not wanting to play music—with an analogy almost as intense as Joe's. Her image of jumping from rock to rock over a river in a fog implies danger, and the very real possibility of falling in the water. What do you think the water symbolizes in Lennie's mind?