And I think you miss out, depending on community for your sense of self.
-- Matt (Pages 1 - 49)

Importance: Several years before the narrative present, Matt and Norm have an intimate conversation. When Norm tells Matt that he needs a better sense of community, Matt responds with the above line. Though Matt is criticizing his father's reliance on other people for self-definition, Matt's words also address Penny's dependency issues throughout the novel. After her father's death, Penny loses who she is. She begins clinging to others in order to understand her identity. In this passage, therefore, the author introduces her thematic interest in the simultaneous importance and dangers of companionship.

Norm's death is a runaway train.
-- Narrator (Pages 1 - 49)

Importance: In the wake of her father's passing, Penny struggles to make sense of her emotions. She feels especially restless when she is alone. Though the narrator is describing the way Norm's death makes Penny feel, the line also addresses...