A body becoming a burden."
-- Eddy (An Encounter)

Importance: Eddy thinks this quotation to himself while being beaten. It reflects the way that Eddy's sexuality forces him to think of his body as a "burden" or a liability. This thought will later be echoes in Eddy's attempts to force himself to be straight, and to therefore lighten the burden of his body.

I elicited a kind of amused fascination that set me apart, protected me somewhat, like Jordan, my Martinican neighbor, the only black person around for miles, to whom people would say It's true I don't like blacks...but not you, Jordan, you're all right..."
-- Eddy (Mannerisms)

Importance: Eddy's recognition of the fact that another boy in the community is in a similar position to him also recognizes the way both gay and black people in Eddy's small, rural village are accepted and tolerated only as exceptions to the general rule that both groups are to...