How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
And certainly perdition sucked at the feet of the people who walked there; and cried in the lights, in the gigantic towers; the marks of Satan could be found in the faces of the people who waited at the doors of the movie houses; his words were printed on the great movie posters that invited people to sin. (1.1.118)
The city is made out to be a sin-house in this description. The ground sucks at people's feet, almost drawing them into hell, it cries in the cityscape, and the movies, sad to say, are the worst offenders. The movies are an invitation to sin, perhaps because of the sinful stories they show on the screen, or the dark, secret space they offer to sinners.
Quote #5
His father, with the air of one forcing the sinner to look down into the pit that is to be his portion, moved away slightly so that John could see Roy's wound. (1.1.163)
This scene harkens back to a super-famous Puritan sermon called "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", which compares sinners going to hell to a nasty spider being thrown into the fire. Gabriel is using Roy as an example of what could happen if John doesn't behave; if he sins, he will end up like his brother, who is, in this metaphor, in hell. Way harsh, Tai.
Quote #6
"You got to remember," Elisha said, turning now to look at him, "that you think about it with a carnal mind. You still got Adam's mind, boy, and you keep thinking about your friends, you want to do what they do, and you want to go to the movies, and I bet you think about girls, don't you, Johnny? Sure you do," he said, half smiling, finding the answer in John's face, "and you don't want to give up all that." (1.1.238)
The "carnal mind" that Elisha is talking about is the flesh; just as Father James sees the flesh as holding temptation to sin, Elisha is warning John that his body will betray him, causing him to sin. He has "Adam's mind", referring to Adam from Genesis, who sinned by doing what a woman told him to. Elisha is warning John to ignore his body's desires, because they are sinful.