What if we just keep going and never come back?
-- Pop (Prologue)

Importance: Diamond has an innate longing for exploration, independence, and freedom. In part, these longings are inspired by Pop's similar desires to be free. Diamond often remembers the drives that she and her family would take when she was young and the ways in which being in the car liberated her and Pop. Pop's words therefore encapsulate his and Diamond's shared longing for autonomy over their lives, bodies, and futures.

We don't have friends as much as people who do us favors.
-- Narrator (chapter 1)

Importance: Diamond's life in Swift River is defined by loneliness and alienation. Although she has lived here for her entire life, she has no connection with her community. Her remarks about her and Ma's relationships convey the displacement Diamond has felt and will always feel in this setting.

Do you know the story of what happened to our people there...
-- Lena (chapter 2)