I was embarrassed to be the brunt of his routine, but he had a point. I was in prison and I had nothing to show for it.”
-- Neil (chapter 7)

Importance: Neil had just met Link, who immediately assessed Neil and decided he was a stupid criminal.

Nothing much had prevented me from getting what I wanted, and I made sure my children knew it. Now I stood at the edge of a knee-high fence, embarrassed to be so helpless.”
-- Neil (chapter 15)

Importance: Neil's children had lost their ball over the small picket fence that surrounded the area where inmates visited with their families. They fully expected Neil to cross the fence to retrieve the ball, but Neil knew he could be punished if he did. This demonstrates that Neil saw the risks as higher now that he was in prison than he had when he was breaking rules on the outside.

Prisoners and leprosy patients might...
-- Neil (chapter 19)