Quote 1
Here was an ugly little girl asking for beauty. . . A little black girl who wanted to rise up out of the pit of her blackness and see the world with blue eyes. His outrage grew and felt like power. For the first time he honestly wished he could work miracles. (3.9.21)
Soaphead takes pity on Pecola when he sees the extent of her self-loathing.
Quote 2
Here was an ugly little girl asking for beauty....A little black girl who wanted to rise up out of the pit of her blackness and see the world with blue eyes. His outrage grew and felt like power. For the first time he honestly wished he could work miracles. (3.9.21)
This passage fleshes out Soaphead's character a bit and suggests that he has a great capacity for empathy. It also reminds us of Soaphead's own racial self-hatred, so we can see why he would be inclined to try to help Pecola battle her feelings of ugliness.
Quote 3
Once there was an old man who loved things, for the slightest contact with people produced in him a faint but persistent nausea. (3.9.1)
Soaphead Church believes that his "nature" is to love objects and not people. This misanthropy leads him to become attracted to young girls.