How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
I continued to stare at the traffic light, which glowed red. Suddenly a green arrow popped on, pointing left, and the row of cars like obedient animals all went left. I laughed out loud. (5.3.19)
Adah is amused by the rules of urban American life. (It's all fun and games until someone doesn't follow the traffic laws.) Are the people following these urban laws civilized people or merely blindly obedient—and is being blindly obedient the best way to stay safe in countries like the U.S.?
Quote #8
When I go with them to the grocery, [Anatole and Leah] are boggled and frightened and secretly scornful. [...] It is as if our Rachel had been left suddenly in charge of everything. (5.7.6)
The grocery store, a foreign concept to anyone living in the jungles of Congo, can seem like a bright symbol of American excess (and a horrible place to hide from zombies). So much food that will never be eaten, and so many things we don't really need.
Quote #9
I've heard foreign visitors complain that the Congolese are greedy, naive, and inefficient. They have no idea. The Congolese are skilled at survival and perceptive beyond belief or else dead at an early age. (5.8.42)
The "foreign visitors" Leah mentions are likely other white people who are unaccustomed to the ways of life in the Congo. The Congolese aren't trying to take advantage of other people; they're merely trying to survive.