How we cite our quotes:
Quote #7
Kevin jumped in. "So… you change your name whenever you get tired of it?"
"Whenever it doesn't fit anymore. I'm not my name. My name is something I wear, like a shirt. It gets worn, I outgrow it, I change it" (13.23-24)
In an attempt to explain her name during her "Hot Seat" interview, Stargirl clearly shows that she thinks that your identity is not something that is created by any outside sources, not even a name. She believes that we are much more than our names, and our names should reflect who we are. Who we are changes, so names should, too.
Quote #8
When someone turned and nodded, I felt grateful. If someone spoke to me, especially if I had not spoken first, I wanted to cry. I had never realized how much I needed the attention of others to confirm my own presence (23.3).
Leo really starts to feel isolated by the fact that so few people are talking to him lately. He is very insightful when he realizes that the reason this affects him so much is because his identity is based on his involvement in the groups around him. If no one notices you, are you anyone at all?
Quote #9
"Beautiful"
"Unusual"
"Interesting"
"Different"
"Regal"
These words will come later from the parents lining the walk. For now, there are only stares as she makes her way from the entrance to the ball (31.15-20).
These are the words that parents use to describe Stargirl and her entrance to the ball. What's so perfect is that these words are the closest anyone in the novel has come to actually defining her, if a definition is even possible.