At the time of his death, my father remained a myth to me, both more and less than a man.
-- Barack Obama II (chapter 1 paragraph 5)

Importance: This quote reflects Obama's perception of his father as one that was rooted in the stories others told about his larger-than-life stature rather than the reality. The quote emphasizes the importance of dreams versus reality and the importance of the relationships between fathers and sons in the memoir.

[F]or the first six years of my life, even as that spell was broken and the worlds that they thought they’d left behind reclaimed each of them, I occupied the place where their dreams had been."
-- Barack Obama II (chapter 1 paragraph 1)

Importance: Obama introduces dreams as a major motif with this quote. His inscription of his identity as a product of his parents' failed dreams also reflects his anxiety about crafting an identity of his own, one that exceeds what his parents imagined for themselves and...