How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
HALLY. The old Jubilee Boarding House. Sixteen rooms with board and lodging, rent in advance and one week's notice. I haven't thought about it for donkey's years….and I don't think that's an accident. God, was I glad when we sold it and moved out. Those years are not remembered as the happiest ones of an unhappy childhood. (674-680)
Donkey's years? What the heck? That's rhyming slang for a long, long time, apparently because donkeys live for a long, long time. Who knew? The point is that Hally hasn't thought about his childhood home for a long, long time, because he hated it there. Sad.
Quote #2
HALLY. [. . .] I think I spent more time in there with you chaps than anywhere else in that dump. And do you blame me? Nothing but bloody misery wherever you went. (699-702)
"In there with you chaps" refers to Sam and Willie's room. The servants' quarters, where the two men lived, was a refuge for little Hally, who could escape from the household with them. The strong language he uses--"that dump" and "bloody misery"—isn't exactly what you'd associate with the ideal family home.
Quote #3
HALLY. [. . .] No joking, if it wasn't for your room, I would have been the first certified ten-year-old in medical history. (710-711)
"Certified," in this particular case, is not a positive adjective. Hally isn't talking about a certificate of completion, participation, or cuteness. In this case, he's referring to the idea that a person could be certified as mentally ill and locked away. Hally's family is looking worse by the minute.