How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
It wasn't until the ship had cleared the harbor and was heading across the Atlantic that [Elya] remembered his promise to carry Madame Zeroni up the mountain. He felt terrible.
He wasn't afraid of the curse. He thought that was a lot of nonsense. He felt bad because he knew Madame Zeroni had wanted to drink from the stream before she died. (7.119-120)
Like so many others characters in the book, Elya Yelnats doesn't exactly believe in the curse. He sees himself as responsible for his own actions and what happens to him, and the only thing he's worried about is Madame Zeroni's disappointment. Hmmm… do you think the book is setting us up for something here?
Quote #5
[L]ife was not easy. Elya worked hard, but bad luck seemed to follow him everywhere. He always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
He remembered Madame Zeroni telling him that she had a son in America. Elya was forever looking for him. He'd walk up to complete strangers and ask if they knew someone named Zeroni, or had ever heard of anyone named Zeroni.
No one did. Elya wasn't sure what he'd do if he ever found Madame Zeroni's son anyway. Carry him up a mountain and sing the pig lullaby to him? (7.132-34)
This one made us chuckle. Imagine Elya finding some random American guy and asking if he could carry him up a mountain and sing a pig lullaby to him. Also, don't you think Mr. Yelnats is going to a lot of trouble to try to do something about this curse he doesn't even believe in? What's up with that?
Quote #6
After [Elya's] barn was struck by lightning for the third time, he told Sarah about his broken promise to Madame Zeroni. "I'm worse than a pig thief," he said. "You should leave me and find someone who isn't cursed." (7.135)
Okay, now Elya's really having it both ways: he doesn't believe in the curse, but when bad things happen to him, he blames it on the curse. Remind you of anyone else in the book?