“Self-pity is like chocolate; as you get older, you can only afford a little bit.”

“Self pity was a drug. I must not become addicted. Self pity is like chocolate, as you get older, you can only afford a little bit.”

“Are you sure self-pity is a luxury you can afford, Jack?”

“Compromise, eh?..You start off thinking you can kill all the baddies and save the world. Then you get a little bit older..and you realize that some of the world's badness is inside you..And then you get a little bit older.., and a bit more comfortable, and you start wondering whether that badness you've seen in yourself is really all that bad at all. You start talking about ten percent.”

“Isn't it sad, growing up? You start off like my Charlie. You start off thinking you can kill all the baddies and save the world. Then you get a little bit older, maybe Little Bee's age, and you realize that some of the world's badness is inside you, that maybe you're a part of it. And then you get a bit older still, and a bit more comfortable, and you start wondering whether that badness you've seen in yourself is really all that bad at all. You start talking about ten per cent."Maybe that's just developing as a person, Sarah."I sighed and looked out at Little Bee Well," I said, "maybe this is a developing world.”

“Only a teaspoon of self-pity, girl. Every day give yourself a teaspoonful, but only a teaspoonful. Fill it up full, but only once! Don’t let yourself have more. You can’t live off it. But just a bit of it is like a tonic.”