Today she could not muster pity, so as penance she compelled herself to imagine being crushed and suffocated, holding the thought in her mind’s eye for several seconds before exhaling and turning back to the map.
-- Narrator (Part 1)

Importance: Mira highlights her extreme self-doubt and low self-esteem in this quotation. In line with one of themes of the book, identity, Mira cannot separate her sense of self from her political beliefs. After seeing multiple deaths and failing to manifest empathy for the deceased (something that she views as a feature of left-wing values), Mira chastises herself by imagining her own death. She imagines herself dying in a similar manner to the victims of the landslide in Korowai Pass. Mira does this frequently throughout the book. If she does not think that she is working to her truest potential, she punishes herself to push herself to “be better.” However, Mira never lets the...