Think about it! The tiniest insect contains infinity on its back: each life contains as much meaning as all of history.
-- Janie's father (chapter 1)

Importance: Janie's father says these words to Janie in the opening chapter of the novel, as the father and daughter discuss math. More than any other topic, Janie's interest in math will lead the father and daughter to their warmest moments of bonding together. Janie will later expand on a similar thought by considering the infinite different possibilities of how the biggest moments in her family's history could have changed.

In our family [...] a sister always dies.
-- Janie's maternal grandmother (chapter 3)

Importance: Janie's maternal grandmother says these ominous words to Janie when she is still young, when it is revealed that her younger sibling is in fact another daughter, Hannah. As is the case throughout the novel, Janie's maternal grandmother will expose Janie to dramatic and violent parts of the family's history when she is...