How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
But he was so cut off from them that even if they were standing beside his bed they would be as distant as if they were ten thousand miles away. (9.21)
Joe has his own special brand of suffering in which every possible avenue for happiness seems to be irrevocably cut off. But that means that even the smallest things are really, really big deals. If Joe had any easy way of reentering society, we wouldn't absorb the gravity of the situation as much.
Quote #8
He was all alone with his medal. (13.15)
This sentence has fantastic irony. After all, a medal's no good when no one knows who you even are, much less when you're as messed up as much as Joe is. Does Joe's medal make him happy? Was it worth the price for him? Why is he given it in the first place?
Quote #9
All life dead all life wasted and becoming nothing less than nothing only the germ of nothing. A kind of sickness that comes from shame. A weakness like dying weakness and faintness and a prayer. (14.33)
That's one depressing orgasm. Even sexual gratification has become a kind of suffering for Joe, as it reminds him that he will never experience fulfilling sexual gratification again. Also, what do you think he means when he says: "All life dead"—and why is he thinking it at this particular moment?