He passed the through town and then left the reservation. On this stretch of highway he was afflicted. It felt as if his heart was being pierced by long sharp needles...But an even sharper sensation dogged him. It made him want to stop the car, get out, and then what? He glanced over at his briefcase, which held the papers Moses had given him. For days, he’d tried to make sense of the papers, to absorb their meaning. To define their unbelievable intent. Unbelievable because the unthinkable was couched in such innocuous dry language.
-- Narrator / Thomas (The Iron)

Importance: This passage is a perfect example of the novel’s theme that racism and poverty take a toll on the body. Thomas’s fear of losing his family and his worry about the termination bill coalesce into physical pain, “long sharp needles” going through his heart. Later in the novel, this motif of Thomas...