How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
He coughed, tore his voice clear and blurted, "My goddamn life didn't turn out like I wanted it to." (7.71)
Roy opens up with Iris, really for the first time in the novel, and confesses his disappointment to her. Look at how difficult it is for him to do so: he has to rip his voice out of his throat. Roy has a lifetime of regrets that's almost too much for him to bear, even with his success with the Knights.
Quote #8
He said this was the shame in his life, that his fate, somehow had always been the same (on the train going nowhere)—defeat in sight of his goal. (7.101)
Roy finally reveals to Iris that he was shot by Harriet fifteen years ago. It's the story Max Mercy is trying so hard to dig up, and the secret that Roy's running from. But look at the way that Roy talks about it: it's his shame and his fate. Is Malamud suggesting that it's humanity's fate to always fail? Is it just something about Roy? Carrying this secret around has been keeping Roy from any kind of real satisfaction in his life.
Quote #9
"I can't go on with my life as it is." Memo dropped into the armchair and began to weep. In a minute everything around her was wet. (9.38)
Talk about drama! Poor Memo just can't go on with her life without furs and cars and a sugar daddy to provide it. She's so dissatisfied with her current situation that she'll do anything to change it. This was the "bad news" that Pop told Roy about. She's about to convince Roy that there are things he could do to make her happy.