Understand that not so long ago, this was nowhere. The land had no owner, and it had not yet been named.
-- the choral narrator ("The Thousands")

Importance: This quotation points to the arbitrariness of any human claim to land -- and thus of anti-immigration sentiment. Because nearly every human settlement is a product of immigration, the quote suggests, any new migration to a piece of land is a natural human event, even if that land has already been claimed by another group of people.

This is a story of three terrible crimes. The first is your childhood.
-- Rocky Rontal ("The Ballad of Rocky Rontal")

Importance: This quotation demonstrates that the circumstances in which Rocky is born, rather than his personal choices, primarily determine the direction of his life. Had he not been born into a poor and abusive family, the quote suggests, Rocky may have never entered a life of crime culminating in a murder.

Your generation isn't lucky. This never would have happened...
-- The Narrator's father ("The King Is Always Above the People")