How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"I'm here to tell you that my intentions toward your daughter are entirely honorable."
Mr. Lisbon's eyebrows rose, but his expression was used up, as though six or seven boys had made the same declaration that very morning.
"And what might those intentions be?"
Trip brought his boots together, "I want to ask Lux to Homecoming." (3.92-95)
Whether you realize it or not, lots of high school rituals are really just part of making sure everyone comes of age in a timely fashion. Dances, and the pain of asking for permission and for a date, are part of growing up. It's a public declaration of adulthood, and Trip handles this one like a champ.
Quote #5
In the background, Mrs. Lisbon said, "Why don't you let the boys pin them on?"
At that, the girls stepped forward, shyly presenting the fronts of their dresses. The boys fumbled with the corsages, taking them out of their cases and avoiding the decorative stickpins. They could sense Mrs. Lisbon watching them, and even though they were close enough to feel the Lisbon girls' breath and to smell the first perfume they had ever been allowed to wear, the boys tried not to stick the girls or even to touch them. (3.139-3.140)
This is a pretty touching scene. The girls really don't know what to do with the corsages, and for the first time we see their mother helping them along in this small coming-of-age ritual. They each step forward as though it were rehearsed, and the boys must show that they will treat their dates carefully even while doing something slightly dangerous, like pinning a flower to a dress.
Quote #6
Each of us had said he was sleeping over at a friend's house, so we had all night to sit and drink, unmolested by adults. (4.160)
The boys have to escape the adults in order to feel like adults. They drink and stay up all night, and also make radical decisions for themselves, attempting to rescue the girls and take them to Florida. But they are still kids under their parents' control, and they have to lie in order to get the freedom to carry out their plan.