How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Ten days after telling the story of the white pigeon, my sister, Agatha, ran off. The date was Thursday, May 25. If the pigeons left with a great clapping sound, my sister slipped off with no sound at all. (3.71)
Why is it important for Georgie to know how much time passed between the story of the white pigeon and Agatha's disappearance? Why does she relate the pigeons' disappearance to her sister's?
Quote #2
On the sixth day—Tuesday, May 30—Sheriff McCabe pursued those pigeoners. He ended up in Dog Hollow, Wisconsin. One week later, on Tuesday, June 6, Sheriff McCabe returned to Placid with a body. (3.81)
Georgie seems to be obsessed with getting the dates of events exactly right. One way of understanding this is as part of her general desire to maintain control—she likes to pin things down, be they dates or her sister's future.
Quote #3
In 1871, I experienced the pigeons on three distinct occasions. The first time was in February, when I saw a small, easily frightened group. I spotted them once. Then they were gone. In March, I saw pigeons a second time. This time they were the mighty cloud that Agatha spun underneath. These pigeons also left. And then there was the third time: in April, the pigeons returned and nested in our woods, not five miles west of Placid, Wisconsin. (6.4)
Okay, so Georgie is pretty on top of things to be able to recall so specifically when she saw pigeons in 1871. Time, then, is also an indicator of what close attention she pays to the world around her.