The Persistence Of Desire- quote response

• Page 562
o “And either she had grown slimmer or he had grown more tolerable of fat. Her thick ankles and the general obstinacy of her flesh used to goad him into being cruel.”
*This seems to be what the stereotypical human male predator finds attractive. Skinny girls with nice curves are the only things that appeal to them. When a man like this says he must have grown more tolerable of fat or that a woman must have slimmed down, this shows that the male is a shallow and arrogant creature. Today, the demand to be skinnier is even more pressured upon young, adolescent woman in the sense that skinny is sexy. A healthy weight woman might be considered chubby, or fat even. This quote shows the standards that men set for women in order to be loved.

• Page 565
o “Clyde was vain of his lashes, which in his boyhood had been exceptionally long, giving his face the alert and tender look of a girl’s.”
*Again, with this quote the reader sees that Clyde, the main character, is s selfish man who only thinks of his personal wants and needs. He had made a trip to his doctor because he had been noticing dust in his lashes, felt a tic, and had a twittering eyelid. After his diagnosis, he finds that he could potentially lose all of his lashes in his left eye. This worries Clyde, which in turn leads to the quote proving how conceded he really is

The Death Of Justina- quote response

• Page 542:
o “On Saturday the doctor told me to stop smoking and drinking and I did.”
• This shows that the speaker liked to have his fun and have things taken off of his mind, but that in order to save his health he takes orders from the doctor to stop. The speaker thinks that smoking and drinking are fine and plenty of people do it and celebrate all the time, however he also thinks that since it will better him he should quit until he absolutely feels the need to feed his addictions, (such as a time of chaos like Justina’s untimely death.


• Page 543:
o “… Pierson had to leave early and I want you to write the last Elixircol commercial.” “… I can’t… Cousin Justina is dead.” “You write that commercial.”
• This is a shortened version of a conversation between the speaker and his boss. They are slightly arguing about a commercial that needs to be written but the speaking man has no time and is needed at home for a family emergency. The boss man says that the speaker may not leave until he has written the commercial and written it well. This infuriates the speaker but he sits down and writes the commercial in order to turn it in and go home immediately to his wife.


• Page 546:
o “… It seems that you can’t have a funeral home in zone B – you can’t bury anything there and you can’t die there.”
• The speaker had called the doctor about Cousin Justina and her cadaver. What the doctor told the speaking man was not good news and also illogically absurd. He sums it up by saying that there are different zones people live in and in that particular zone, (B), you are simply not allowed to die or get buried because that is what the law says. There are other laws and rules in the other zones as well but since Justina died illegally in zone B there was nothing that he could do except give advice about calling the mayor and asking for

The Swimmer: quote response

page 1:
"I drank too much last night."
*This quote helps leads into the story because as you keep reading, you learn that nobody stops drinking. Everyone parties all day long on Sundays and then seems to enjoy bragging and/or complaining about it. This quote alsoin some ways shows similarities to the teenage world today. Underage drinking promotes health problems in most teens and after a night of hardcore partying, the teenager might say the exact same thing: "I drank too much last night". They say this because of the fact that they were too smashed to function properly or because they have a severe hang over, in which they do not wish their parents to find out about. In essence, this quote clarifies and understood statement that drinking is a re-occurring problem in many societies.

page 9:
"...then looking in at the windows, saw that the place was empty."
*Neddy mentions several times to the readers that he doesn't remember things very well and he can't seem to keep his memories straight. This is why he keeps needign a drink here and there in order to keep him awake and energized so he can remeber things. On his way home he hears a few things that make him question his memory and notices things that make him curious as to why they happened. When he finally reaches the designated house, he finds that it is completely empty and then the story ends. This makes the reader wonder if Ned finally remembers how long ago it really was that he cheated on his wife and got a divorce, losing the house and his family.

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