How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
Harry’s boy is being fed, this home is happier than his, he glides a pace backwards over the cement and rewalks the silent strip of grass.
His acts take on decisive haste. In darkness he goes down another block of Jackson. He cuts up Joseph Street, runs a block, strides another, and comes within sight of his car, its grid grinning at him, parked the wrong way on this side of the street. (1.20)
One compelling aspect here requires us to go back several pages and examine Rabbit’s memories of growing up in this burrow. It’s different from his life with Janice for sure – there is no indication (let us know if we missed something!) that either of Rabbit’s parents were alcoholics. On the other hand, that same sense of fear, of pettiness, of cramped (though not disorganized) angst ridden living is palpable in his memories. His childhood home mirrors and contrasts his adult "home" – it strengthens his resolve to run from both it and his life with Janice and Nelson.
Quote #5
He doesn’t drive five miles before this road begins to feel like a part of the same trap. The first right offered him he turns right on. A keystone marker in the headlights says 23. A good number. The first varsity game he played in he scored 23 points. (1.77)
Isn’t this something we all do? We do it both when we decide what to buy and when we decide who to be with. Is this mediocrity or worse? Would the next road or the one after that have been better? Ahh…the signs look good – we must have decided correctly.
Rabbit’s thought process could be considered superstitious, but again, isn’t this part of living in a technologically advanced society, learning to read the variety of information presented to us, and then to cull it for applicability to our own lives? Is the information Rabbit "reads" on the road sign actually relative to his life in the way he thinks it is?
Quote #6
"You were never in Texas," she says.
He remembers the house on that strange treeless residential street. The green night growing up from the prairie, the flowers in the window, and says, "Absolutely I was." (2.133-2.140)
Rabbit’s mind is transient, too. His mind travels to Texas rather frequently, particularly this house, where he contracted prostitutes when he was in the Army. He does seem comfy here with Ruth though, and funny, as they match one another’s tough talk. His mind may be traveling back to Texas but his body is all here.