How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
I was sad: my bedroom had a tiny little yellow washbasin they had put in for me, just my size; the room was above the kitchen, and immediately up the stairs from the television room, so at night I could hear the comforting buzz of conversation coming from below, through my half-open door, and I did not feel alone. (2.3)
Being able to hear the conversation downstairs when you're trying to sleep can vacillate between comforting and extremely irritating. It's only comforting, though, for this kid who just needs the consolation of knowing that he's not alone, that while he's sleeping there's someone awake who cares about him.
Quote #5
I didn't want to talk about it to anybody. I had found a special place, and made a new friend, and lost my comic, and I was holding an old-fashioned silver sixpence tightly in my hand. (2.103)
Maybe one of the reasons the kid is so isolated is that when something good happens he doesn't want to share it with anyone. Most seven-year-olds would run home clutching that coin and burst into the kitchen to tell their mom about all the exciting things they've discovered that day. His instinct, however, is to keep it all to himself and revel in it.
Quote #6
I wanted to tell someone about the shilling, but I did not know who to tell. I knew enough about adults to know that if I did tell them what had happened, I would not be believed. Adults rarely seemed to believe me when I told the truth anyway. Why would they believe me about something so unlikely? (3.29)
This explains a lot about his reticence to share things with his parents. Why tell them anything if you always just get a suspicious side-eye reaction? However, we think waking up choking on a coin of mysterious origins seems pretty worth mentioning.