How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
This does it; they throw back their heads and roar. In a way it's so easy, all he has to do is say what they want to hear and they're happy, they love him, everybody gets along. Sometimes he has to remind himself there's no dishonor in it. He hasn't told any lies, he doesn't exaggerate, yet so often he comes away from these encounters with the sleazy, gamey aftertaste of having lied. (Everything.48)
It'd be a whole lot easier if Billy could just be himself…whoever that is. But is anyone really him- or herself in the world of this novel? Why or why not? What's the deal?
Quote #8
In a moment of—weakness? Delirium?—Billy sought him out after the rally for an emergency counseling session. Something in the invocation had struck Billy as real, and while the rest of the Bravos signed autographs and posed for pictures, Pastor Rick and Billy sat down backstage and talked through Shroom's death.
[…] He felt better for a couple of hours, but as day turned into evening and the hurt seeped in he found there was nothing for his mind to hold on to. What exactly had the pastor said? Billy remembered only the sound of it, a gauzy pambling and tinkling like easy-listening jazz. (Walk.6,8)
Do you think Billy would have been able to remember the advice from someone a little more authentic than Pastor Rick, a guy he later compares to a used-car salesman? Like, was what Pastor Rick told Billy total bull-honky? Or was this a case of Billy needing to unload some emotional baggage, and it was the release rather than the counseling that he found so cathartic?
Quote #9
"Everybody supports the troops," Dime woofs, "support the troops, support the troops, hell yeah we're so f***ing PROUD of our troops, but when it comes to actual money? Like somebody might have to come out of pocket for the troops? Then all the sudden we're on everybody's tight-ass budget. Talk is cheap, I got that, but gimme a break. Talk is cheap but money screams, this is our country, guys. And I fear for it. I think we should all fear for it." (Money.178)
We have a feeling this is something Dime has kept bottled up for a little while. Sure, he's mad about the movie deal falling through, but this blow-up is about more than that. The Bravos have been spending two weeks traveling across the country to be praised and glad-handed, which is kind of sickening as it is. Then, to have someone talk about how important their story is but put such a paltry price tag on it, is nothing less than insulting. If these people really wanted to support the troops, they'd put their money where their mouths are, instead of just issuing all those empty words.