How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
As Estha stirred the thick jam he thought Two Thoughts, and the Two Thoughts he thought were these:
(a) Anything can happen to anyone.
and
(b) It's best to be prepared.
Having thought these thoughts, Estha Alone was happy with his bit of wisdom. (10.27-31)
Estha thinks his Two Thoughts in response to the fear that the Orangedrink Lemondrink Man, who molested him earlier that day, will come find him in Ayemenem. Estha's experience of sexual abuse jumpstarts his loss of innocence. We see him taking on a new view of the world in this scene: he goes from being naïve to taking responsibility for his own survival.
Quote #8
"If you're happy in a dream, Ammu, does that count?" Estha asked.
"Does what count?"
"The happiness-does it count?"
She knew exactly what he meant, her son with his spoiled puff.
Because the truth is, that only what counts counts.
The simple, unswerving wisdom of children. (11.46-51)
Estha shows Ammu (and us) that kids might be simple in a lot of ways, and maybe sometimes they sound a little silly, but sometimes their simplicity is profound. This moment stays with Ammu and resurfaces later in the book.
Quote #9
Dead fish floated up in Estha. One of the policemen prodded Velutha with his foot. There was no response. Inspector Thomas Mathew squatted on his haunches and raked his jeep key across the sole of Velutha's foot. Swollen eyes opened. Wandered. Then focused through a film of blood on a beloved child. Estha imagined that something in him smiled. Not his mouth, but some other unhurt part of him. His elbow perhaps. Or shoulder.
The inspector asked his question. Estha's mouth said Yes.
Childhood tiptoed out.
Silence slid in like a bolt. (19.80-83)
This is a moment that will stay with Estha for the rest of his life. (We learn about it all the way back in Chapter 1 when we meet Estha as an adult.) The thing that grabs you by the shoulders and shakes you is the way it so quickly and jarringly changes Estha's experience of the world. The second he condemns Velutha, he ceases to be a child. This moment signifies the end of Estha's innocence and introduces us to the Estha we know as an adult: guilt-ridden, silent, and traumatized.