How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
The tenements glowed like furnaces and the tenants had no water to drink. The sink at the bottom of the stairs was dry. Fathers raced through the streets looking for ice. [...] Horses exploded in the heat. Their exposed intestines heaved with rats. (3.7)
In comparison to the beautiful palaces of the rich, Doctorow shows a version of living hell in the tenements, where the conditions are inhumane, and where the wealthy don't care to go.
Quote #2
Thaw was not really fond of the jail fare so they brought in his meals from Delmonico's. He liked to feel clean so they passed along a change of clothes delivered each morning to the jail doors by his valet. He disliked Negroes so they made sure no Negro prisoner was lodged near his cell. (4.4)
This is the prison experience of Harry K. Thaw. You can bet the experience for the black prisoners he doesn't like being near is far, far worse. This is a perfect demonstration of how much life differed between those with money and those without.
Quote #3
One Hundred Negroes a year were lynched. One hundred miners were burned alive. One hundred children were mutilated. There seemed to be quotas for these things. There seemed to be quotas for death by starvation. (6.3)
To be a worker or an African American—or a poor child—was horrible during these times. Life expectancies are short, and it's no wonder, given the fact that their lives are not valued by wealthy society and companies regularly mistreat their workers.