"The problem with half-broken horses like these was that no one took the time to train them. Cowboys who could ride anything caught them and ran them on fear, spurring and quirting them too hard, taking pride in staying on no matter how desperately they bucked and fishtailed. Not properly broken, they were always scared and hated humans.”
This statement is quoted by Lily inferring that the half-broke horses are wild and do not like being confined or restricted. Similarly, she implies that such horses are sometimes untamable because they live by their rules. Unlike the tamable horses, the half-broke horses scare humans. For instance, people might not ride them if they do not feel like doing so. Lily says that in their family ranch, even cowboys find a rough time when trying to ride the half-broke horses. According to Lily, the half-broke horses represent those individuals who do not live within the confines of societal rules but go the extra mile to prove their potential.
"As I listened to Dad, I could feel myself pulling away from him. All my life I'd been hearing Dad reminiscing and railing against the future. I decided not to tell him about the red airplane. It would only get him more worked up. What Dad didn't understand was that no matter how much he hated or feared the future, it was coming, and there was only one way to deal with it: by climbing aboard.”
Lily says these words to show the extent to which her father dislikes the modern evolution of technology. Lily's Dad is a typical ancient man who believes that the primary goal of technology is to disrupt the societal order. He does not believe in modernity because he sees it as a curse. When Lily sees the red airplane, she knows that telling her Dad about it would be a great mistake because he will start thinking that a curse is coming. Therefore, she decides to keep silent but she knows that a time shall come when even her Dad and other critics of technology shall accept technology as part of life.
“Most of the other girls came from rich ranch families. Whereas I was used to hollering like a horse trainer, they had whispery voices and ladylike manners and matching luggage. Some of the girls complained about the gray uniforms we had to wear, but I liked the way they leveled out the differences between those who could afford fancy store-bought clothes and those of us, like me, who had only home-dyed beechnut brown dresses.”
Lily comes from a humble background where her parents are not able to provide her with luxuries of life as compared to other rich families. She says these words to acknowledge her humble background but being from a poor family does not discourage her from working hard to achieve her goals. Her friends from rich families gossip about her because she does not have expensive clothes as them but that does not discourage her from working hard.
