How we cite our quotes: (Page)
Quote #7
"My poor little orphan," she said. "An orphan's father is twice as important. Orphans are the only ones who get to choose their fathers, and they love them twice as much." (298)
Mongnan is the first character to treat Jun Do in a really motherly way, and this has the effect of disarming Jun Do: it's the first time he quits denying the fact that he is an orphan. Mongnan points out that the Captain, whom Jun Do has just killed with a stone to spare him further pain, was a father figure to Jun Do. She is right about this: the Captain may have used Jun Do, but he also took a genuine interest in the young man's development. The horrendous Orphan Master aside, the Captain is the best version of a dad that Jun Do had.
Quote #8
... and Ga watched how the candlelight played on their faces, how Sun Moon's eyes lowered with delight, how the children relished their mother's attention, and how they kept trying to outdo one another for it, and how, as a family, they turned that melon to rind, saving the seeds in a small wooden bowl... (369)
This is a true Kodak moment for Jun Do/Imposter Ga and Sun Moon, a glimpse into what family might be like in less hostile circumstances. But it is a fleeting glimpse, since some serious stuff is about to go down and ruin their chances for a lifetime of familial happiness. This moment later makes Jun Do realize that if things had been different—had he and Sun Moon not been born into a dictatorial state—he might have enjoyed such happiness every day of his life.
Quote #9
... I realized that I wasn't composing for posterity or the Dear Leader or for the good of the citizenry. No, the people who needed to hear my story were the people I loved, the people right in front of me who'd started to think of me as a stranger, who were scared of me because they no longer knew the real me. (405)
The Interrogator is having a serious identity crisis, partly because he can't find a way to tell his life's story, and partly because he feels that his parents know him only as an agent of the state and not as a person. No matter how hard he tries to break through his parents' official patter, the Interrogator can't have a "real" conversation—a true heart-to-heart—with his mom and dad. It's terrifying for him to think that his life story will not matter to anyone else and will die with him.