First, I'll tell about the robbery our parents committed. Then about the murders, which happened later.
-- Dell (chapter 1)

Importance: This line is the dramatic opening to the novel that really sparks an interest in reading the book.

Nothing can be sole or whole that has not been rent.
-- Dell (chapter 5)

Importance: Dell quotes this line from the poem "Crazy Jane Talks to the Bishop" by William Butler Yeats and it exemplifies the way he perceives his flawed parents.

...I've seen the remnants of who they almost succeeded in being but failed to be, before becoming themselves. It's a theory of destiny and character I don't like or want to believe in.
-- Dell (chapter 11)

Importance: This description of homeless men by Dell typifies what he thinks about his father, which is both touching and pathetic given how much he admired him.

You’re life’s going to be a lot of exciting ways before you’re dead. So just pay...
-- Mildred (chapter 44)