Why do poets think/ They can change the world?/ The only life I can save/ Is my own.
-- Narrator (The Limited)

Importance: When Alexie’s collection of poems and stories begins, he leads off with a disturbing confrontation with a man who tries to hit a stray dog with his car. The narrator backs down, and returns home to question why all poets think they can change the world. Instead, the narrator contends, they can only change their own lives. This is a statement of irony, as Alexie himself–a poet–calls on the reader to change their own lives through understanding his work, else he would not write at all.

Skip the door.
-- Mr. Baron (Breaking and Entering)

Importance: The narrator reveals this piece of advice, given to him by his film professor from college, Mr, Baron, early in the story. Skipping the door means to omit any unnecessary information. The narrator uses this advice through life, including in...