How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
It is a story of how these three became one thing, so that in Tortilla Flat if you speak of Danny's house you do not mean a structure of wood flaked with old whitewash, overgrown with an ancient untrimmed rose of Castile. No, when you speak of Danny's house you are understood to mean a unit of which the parts are men, from which came sweetness and joy, philanthropy and, in the end, a mystic sorrow. (Preface.1)
The "three" the first sentence refers to includes Danny, Danny's friends, and Danny's house. This shows the way that the physical house can also represent the relationships that it contains, rolling everyone and everything into one collective whole. The adjectives used to describe the actual house—"flaked," "old," "overgrown," "ancient," and "untrimmed"—show the difference between the run-down physical house and the living, growing friendships inside of it.
Quote #2
Danny and Pilon stood in front of the paintless picket fence and looked with admiration at the property, a low house streaked with old whitewash, uncurtained windows blank and blind. But a great pink rose of Castile was on the porch, and grandfather geraniums grew among the weeds in the front yard. (2.2)
The house has an uninviting feel in this description. It lacks paint and curtains, both elements that show that a house is inhabited and that someone cares about it. What Danny's house does have are natural, wild signs of life, like plants. This gives us the idea that his house isn't going to be of the cutesy, white-picket-fence variety; it's going to be a wild and overgrown but (depending on how you look it) maybe a kind of beautiful home.
Quote #3
No more would Danny break windows now that he had windows of his own to break. (2.7)
Here's a short sentence that packs a punch. Before Danny inherits the house, he's a vagabond, a rambler, a wanderer… you get the idea. But the minute he becomes a homeowner, even though it's against his will, he's immediately filled with a sense of responsibility. He'll never again be an adolescent who can act with no consequences.
Quote #4
He had walked down earlier in the morning and viewed the square black ashes and twisted plumbing which had been his other house. (6.1)
We can only imagine what Danny must be thinking as he gazes upon the ruin of the house his friends had been living in. This second house was what gave Danny special status in the community: not only did he have his own house, but he could also collect rent on the second one—quite the luxury during the Great Depression. When the second house burns down, Danny is freed from one responsibility, so what we might imagine is a tragedy turns out to be a relief to him.
Quote #5
And he spoke disparagingly of his home, as a host should. "It is too small," he said. "It is not a fit place for one's friends to come. But it is warm and snug, especially for the dogs." (7.61)
The Pirate's home is probably not a place you would want to have a sleepover. He sleeps in a chicken house, which is bad enough, but he also shares it with five dogs. The funny thing is, this sentence shows that the Pirate considers the chicken house to be a totally normal place to live: it's "his home," and he's "a host" there. This is an example of irony, because when the Pirate criticizes his home, he's completely oblivious to the fact that it's not a home at all.
Quote #6
"The house where I live is owned by my friend Danny, and there is a good man, Señor Caporál. There is one to appeal to when trouble is upon one. Look, we will go there, and that Danny will give us shelter." (10.21)
Jesus Maria is painted as the hero in this passage because he helps out the poor corporal, but we also see that Danny is using his position as homeowner to help other people out. Danny's friends really appreciate this: Danny could collecting rent and trying to make money off these guys, but he lets his friends live with him more or less for free.
Quote #7
"To think," she said, "you might be out in this storm, shivering in a shed or lying in the cold sand under a boat. But no; you are sitting in a good chair, drinking good wine, in the company of a lady who is your friend." (11.28)
Tia Ignacia has the hots for Big Joe, and he doesn't even seem to notice. Here, she's trying to show him what she wants, and what she says reveals how homeless men in Tortilla Flat would normally have to get through a storm: by hiding out underneath whatever shelter they could find. Ignacia, on the other hand, offers a home, which includes comfort, wine, and, ahem, "company."
Quote #8
The friends slept on the floor, and their bedding was unusual. Pablo had three sheepskins stitched together. Jesus Maria retired by putting his arms through the sleeves of one old overcoat and his legs through the sleeves of another. Pilon wrapped himself in a big strip of carpet. Most of the time Big Joe simply curled up like a dog and slept in his clothes. (14.4)
Not exactly luxury living, is it? The scene is sort of comical, but it also shows us how impoverished these guys must be to accept these conditions and consider them to be great.
Quote #9
Thus must it be, O wise friends of Danny. The cord that bound you together is cut. The magnet that drew you has lost its virtue. Some stranger will own the house, some joyless relative of Danny's. Better that this symbol of holy friendship, this good house of parties and fights, of love and comfort, should die as Danny died, in one last glorious, hopeless assault on the gods. (17.39)
We get that heavy language again, with its "O wise friends of Danny" directly addressing the group in a weird, old-fashioned way that makes us feel like we're witnessing the end of an important legend. The house is compared to a cord and a magnet binding and drawing the friends together. Both a cord and a magnet are strong forces that keep things in place; when they stop working, everything falls apart, just as Danny's group of friends does when Danny dies and the house burns down.