51 pages • 1 hour read
And Then, Boom!
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Important Quotes
Content Warning: This section of the guide contains descriptions of child abuse, starvation, and extreme poverty.
“I flew like Superman. Once.”
(Page 17)
This quote from the beginning of the novel alludes to the climactic moment when Joey flies through the air during the tornado. Framing this experience as a superhero action allows him to reframe this helpless moment as one of power and freedom, recontextualizing a highly chaotic, dangerous experience as something freeing and triumphant.
“It’s almost impossible to live with an itch.”
(Page 21)
In this quote, Joey tries to relate to “the itch” that his mother feels to run away from her life and family. However, he qualifies his statement with the word “almost” to hint that others—like him—are resilient enough to face their troubles even if his mother is not.
“All I wanted was to hold the butterfly, but every time I got close to it, it took off.”
(Page 23)
Joey recounts this anecdote and uses it to symbolize his relationship with his mother, who wears a butterfly-themed scarf and thinks of herself as being free like a butterfly. In this scene, Joey attempts to catch a literal butterfly but cannot get close to the fragile creature. This dynamic symbolizes the ineffectual dance of his relationship with his mother, who refuses to engage in any form of emotional closeness with him and eventually abandons him altogether.
