Authors Note-This quote was on page 60 and it set the tone about how people felt about Clarisse and her family.
"Uncle had a mixed record; antisocial. The girl? She was a time bomb. The family had been feeding her subconscious." The metaphor "She was a time bomb" is referring to Clara. They were calling her a time bomb because she asked the question everyone hated "why". The purpose of this quote is to inform the reader that everyone thinks Clara's family is bad because they are different. It's telling us that in the book everyone is expected to be dumb and everyone should be the same. The main meaning of this quote is that the family was just different and being different was wrong. Clara knew things the average person shouldn't know. Her family took time to enjoy life and notice the little things and why they happened. Even though the tone was funny it was making fun of the family and actually being serious. This quote was important to the book and showed how bad America had gotten in this time period.
