You're not a kid anymore. You're a Strong...
-- Granddad (chapter 1)

Importance: This quote captures the pressure Tristan feels from his dad and granddad to be a boxer and paragon of masculinity. Tristan wants to uphold the family name and make his family proud. He wants to prove to them that he is a Strong after all. At this point in the novel, Tristan still thinks that being a Strong is proving that you're a man and he feels like a failure. He has not yet learned what his particular strengths are, and that they are unique to him, and no one else.

Strongs keep punching
-- Tristan (chapter 19)

Importance: Tristan recites his family's motto to give himself courage before the fight with the fetterlings in the Thicket. This is important because it shows that Tristan is not going to ignore his family just because he disagrees with some of the things they say. He knows that he...