How we cite our quotes: (line number)
Quote #4
The day I tried to kill the dog I bought only one hamburger and what I thought was a murderous portion of rat poison…. AND IT CAME TO PASS THAT THE BEAST WAS DEATHLY ILL. (159)
Jerry is using semi-Biblical language to talk about his encounter with the dog. Remember, God also pops up at the end of the play, as Jerry is dying. God is used ironically; the play does not seem to take place in a well-ordered universe where God is watching over all. (Dog is God backwards; is Jerry trying to poison God? No wonder it doesn't work, if so.)
Quote #5
You are mad! You're stark raving mad! YOU'RE GOING TO KILL ME! (262)
In some plays, folks face death with stoicism, bravery, and heroism. Peter is more of a meet-mortality-with-panic-and-all-caps kind of guy. So are we.
Quote #6
(Then he, too, screams, and it must be the sounds of an infuriated and fatally wounded animal. With the knife in him, he stumbles back to the bench that PETER had vacated.) (270)
Jerry has tried to reach an understanding with animals. Mortally wounded he becomes an animal himself—or is supposed to try to act like one, according to the stage instructions.