How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
Extramarital sex wasn't the terrible family secret, neither the screwing around nor the evidence thereof, the surfacing after his stroke of the alleged teenage daughter and the lawsuit for acknowledgement of paternity and child support. A sorry business to be sure, but no secret, no tiptoeing around the smirch to family honor. But that other shame they never spoke of, thrilling though it was. You felt bad about feeling good, was what the shame amounted to. Ray wouldn't—couldn't?—talk: ! The famous silver tongue was finally stilled, and what a relief and secret joy that was for everyone. (Bully.11)
Don't you wish that his family could bond over their shared joy, instead of harboring shameful secrets? Billy's family could really use something to connect over to overcome their feelings of isolation, and their common relief about Ray's silence could be just the thing.
Quote #8
Here at home everyone is so sure about the war. They talk in certainties, imperatives, absolutes, views that seem quite reasonable in the context. A kind of abyss separates the war over here from the war over there, and the trick, as Billy perceives it, is not to stumble when jumping from one to the other. (Everything.69)
Here in America, "the war" is a vague concept that the American public can talk about in absolutes—because in this situation, ignorance is bliss. Billy, on the other hand, knows the war and its gruesome reality, and he feels like he has to be careful not to pop the safe little bubble of those back home.
Quote #9
America has never made so much sense to him as at this moment. It is an exceptional country, no doubt. As with the successful launch of a NASA space probe, he can take pleasure in the achievement, even feel some measure of participatory pride, all the while understanding that the mission has absolutely nothing to do with him. (Everything.236)
Wait, why doesn't it have to do with him? Billy is American. He lives in America. He's fighting for his country. Why does he think that America's success has nothing to do with him? Maybe it's because he realizes at this point that a lot of these wonderful achievements have been paid for in questionable ways—like by going to war, for example—and as someone who can sort of see through all of that, Billy no longer feels like he is a part of it.