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Wallace Mercy
Turk and Brit's baby. He dies at three days old after his circumcision and Ruth is blamed for his death. Over the course of the ensuing trial, it comes out that Davis had a disorder called MCADD, which put him at risk of experiencing respiratory failure if his blood sugar dropped—which it did due to fasting before his circumcision. Because of this, it's likely he would've died no matter what a nurse did or didn't do. Doctors also point out that he might've lived had he been born earlier in the week, as his disorder would've been identified in time to intervene and save his life. In the final days of the trial, Turk learns that Davis has African-American ancestry thanks to Adele, Davis's black grandmother. Despite hating black people, Turk realizes that he still loved his son and wishes he were still alive.
Davis Bauer Quotes in Small Great Things
The Small Great Things quotes below are all either spoken by Davis Bauer or refer to Davis Bauer. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 4, Ruth
Quotes
Babies are such blank slates. They don't come into the world with the assumptions their parents have made, or the promises their church will give, or the ability to sort people into groups they like and don't like.
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Chapter 23, Turk
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I have been thinking about what Odette Lawton said: if I hadn't spoken out against the black nurse, would this have ended differently? Would she have tried to save Davis the minute she realized he wasn't breathing? Would she have treated him like any other critical patient, instead of wanting to hurt me like I'd hurt her?
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Chapter 24, Kennedy
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"You think you're a respected member of a community—the hospital where you work, the town where you live. I had a wonderful job. I had colleagues who were friends. I lived in a home I was proud of. But it was just an optical illusion. I was never a member of any of those communities. I was tolerated, but not welcomed. I was, and will always be, different from them."
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Davis Bauer Quotes in Small Great Things
The Small Great Things quotes below are all either spoken by Davis Bauer or refer to Davis Bauer. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 4, Ruth
Quotes
Babies are such blank slates. They don't come into the world with the assumptions their parents have made, or the promises their church will give, or the ability to sort people into groups they like and don't like.
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Chapter 23, Turk
Quotes
I have been thinking about what Odette Lawton said: if I hadn't spoken out against the black nurse, would this have ended differently? Would she have tried to save Davis the minute she realized he wasn't breathing? Would she have treated him like any other critical patient, instead of wanting to hurt me like I'd hurt her?
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 24, Kennedy
Quotes
"You think you're a respected member of a community—the hospital where you work, the town where you live. I had a wonderful job. I had colleagues who were friends. I lived in a home I was proud of. But it was just an optical illusion. I was never a member of any of those communities. I was tolerated, but not welcomed. I was, and will always be, different from them."
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