Do you feel bad? Are you sorry? You are never quite sure what this means. You feel bad, sure. More accurately, you wish you were not here. You don’t see how guilt helps anyone, but it has been the question for years now, all through your trial and your many fruitless appeals. Are you capable? they ask. Are you physically capable of feeling empathy?
-- Narration (Ansel Packer) (Section 1)

Importance: This quote is written in the second-person, present tense style that characterizes all the sections of text focusing on the lived experiences of protagonist and serial killer Ansel Packer. The "you" refers to Packer himself, reflecting the way he seems to think of his attitudes and behavior as something separate from his identity. This idea is reinforced by the content of this quote, in which he is reflecting upon, and asking himself questions based upon, the choices he has made in his life and the...