How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
I dreamt of roast beef, sliced pink and dripping with juice. A roast beef bigger than a horse, set on a giant platter that took up the entire front room, surrounded by steaming potatoes and parsnips, and loaves of fresh bread. I had a bowl of butter all to myself, and my very own pitcher of cold apple cider. The smell of mincemeat pie floated in from the kitchen. (19.1)
We can see a change in Mattie's actual needs and desires. Because of the epidemic, food is scarce. No more does Mattie project into the future. Instead, she simply focuses on survival – and dreams about food.
Quote #8
Nell let me unwind her from my neck when she realized a bowl of soup was for her. She sat on my lap and stared at Robert and William. They slurped up their soup and stared back. I thought they might be close to the same age. A plan began forming in my mind, but I quickly shushed the thought. I didn't have time to dream or plan. I would deal with each hour as it came, one step at a time. (22.36)
Mattie has begun to consider her daydreams to be frivolous. Instead of dreaming and planning, Mattie takes up the role of caregiver and is thinking of something and someone besides herself. Her head is definitely down out of the clouds by now.
Quote #9
I shook my head to clear it of the visions rolling across my mind. Where was the little girl who planted the bean seeds? Where were Mother and Grandfather and the dead mouse that flew out the window a hundred – a thousand – years ago? And Blanchard's yellow silk balloon that tugged against its ropes, hungry to escape the confines of the prison yard. What become of it all? (25.52)
So much has been lost, and here Mattie registers that. Her dreams are not looking to the future here, but the past.