Important Quotes #2

Here are some quotes that I think are important from the reading described in the previous post.

"Matt was so startled, he stopped crying. He realized something momentous had just happened. 'I can talk,' he murmured...'My name is Matteo Alacran," Matt said, testing his newly regained voice. 'I'm a good boy.' He felt dizzy with happiness. Celia was going to be so proud of him now! HE would read and color and count until he became the best student in the whole world, and the children would like him and they wouldn't run away." (pgs 73-74) This quote is important not only because it is when Matt discovers his speech again, but also because it shows that Matt strives to be normal. He is fed up, even at an early age, of being a clone, something inferior to the other children. What little respect he gets is because of El Patron. He wants to use his superior smarts to excel and become normal.

"The scene on the other side was completely unexpected. Creosote bushes and paloverde trees framed a small, narrow valley, and in the center of this was a pool of water. At the far end Matt saw an enormous grapevine sprawled over a man-made trellis." (pg 79) This is a description of the oasis as Matt sees it for the first time. It is an important even in the book because the oasis becomes a refuge for Matt, and it is one of the only places he feels at home and safe, the other place being Celia's apartment.

"He was in a rage to learn. He would excel, and then everyone would love him and forget he was a clone." (pg 91) This is more proof that education and knowledge is the only way Matt sees himself being loved. Without his smarts, he would have no hope that he would someday be accepted.