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“That had been the main selling point of the Postman—justice. But was it really delivered?”

Dee is one of the few to question the morality of the Postman app and the public executions on Alcatraz 2.0. Dee’s questioning leads to her own understanding of justice in her pursuit of the truth, a major theme in the novel.

“So, best-case scenario: T-shirts depicting her mangled corpse, a smart-phone case sporting her skewered Cinderella silhouette and the hashtag “#ADeathIsAWishYourHeartMakes, a shot glass shaped like a cracked glass slipper. The world was so messed up.”

Dee cynically contemplates the merchandise that her death on Alcatraz 2.0 might generate on the Postman’s e-store, an early illustration of the novel’s themes of desensitization and the dangers of monetizing the penal system. This quote also features one of the novel’s many allusions, to the song “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” from the animated film Cinderella (1950).

“Personally, I abhor violence, but after a while you get callous.”

Nyles’s comment matches his actions as he steps nonchalantly around Slycer’s body. Nyles is a sensitive, compassionate character—studying to be a doctor, a helping profession—but his time spent on Alcatraz 2.0, witnessing deaths and having televisions everywhere replaying deaths, has numbed his emotional response to them. This quote reflects the theme of desensitization toward violence.

“The Postman likes to arrange relationships…He also controls our wardrobes, our jobs, where we live. Scripted. Which makes perfect sense, since we’re the ultimate reality show.”

Nyles explains how the inmates on Alcatraz are assigned roles to fulfill for the entertainment of viewers. Role-playing is an important motif in the novel. Seeing the inmates as characters in a show allows viewers to distance themselves from them emotionally and relish their gruesome deaths.

“A guy had just been eaten alive by sharks, and within moments, millions of people would be cheering it on. Dee swore if she ever met the Postman, she’d kick him in the nuts.”

Dee is appalled at the heartlessness of the Postman app users and the Postman for creating a following that trivializes death. Dee also shows her sense of justice and her fighting spirit in her desire to attack the Postman.

“Bad enough she’d lost her sister, then been wrongly convicted of the murder; now she was going to be humiliated, forced to prance around the island in these stupid clothes while millions of people gawked and laughed and placed bets on how many days she’d survive until her blood was spilled in the name of entertainment.”

Dee again wrestles with the morality of capital punishment, and though she later agrees that an “eye for an eye” is acceptable, the Postman’s over-the-top, demeaning public executions repulse her (267). Dee seeks true justice for her stepsister’s murder and herself—not the Postman’s corrupt “justice.”

“Was subjecting a killer to a taste of his or her own medicine morally acceptable? On paper, sure.”

Musing about the ethics of capital punishment, Dee notes that having a law in place is not a guarantee of moral correctness.

“It’s more entertaining to watch us attempt to defend ourselves and then fail utterly.”

The inmates’ little town on Alcatraz 2.0 has a gym, which surprises Dee until Nyles points out that it is part of the Postman’s “script” to make their deaths more amusing for viewers. The Postman sets the inmates up to fail. They may think they can survive or escape, but the Postman controls the show.

“She had no idea how good Dee was at keeping secrets. No idea at all.”

Trust is a two-way street. Dee has difficulty trusting others because of her experience with Kimmi and Monica’s death, which she thinks was recrimination for trusting Monica with Kimmi’s secrets. Dee keeps her past a secret from Nyles and Griselda for most of the novel, until she realizes that she cannot succeed in her pursuit of truth and justice unless she is truthful with them.

“You’re pure and innocent while the rest of us are assholes for killing our friends and families.”

Snarky Griselda gets upset with what she sees as Dee’s “moral superiority” in her continued professions of innocence. Griselda does not initially trust Dee and senses that Dee does not trust them. This comment also reflects Griselda’s sarcastic, scornful attitude, which helps her cope with the death and stress of Alcatraz 2.0.

“A little bit of money went a long way when you already controlled part of the criminal-justice system.”

The Postman uses his power and money to bribe officials to return false convictions on young defendants to populate and popularize Alcatraz 2.0. The Postman’s comment reveals how far corruption has spread in the government and illustrates the theme of the dangers of privatizing and monetizing the penal system.

“But apparently, facts didn’t matter under this presidency.”

Dee criticizes the US president for abandoning truth and morality in favor of ratings, fame, and profit. Her comment is likely an indirect reference to former US president Donald Trump, who, like the president in the novel, was a former reality-TV star.

“One of her hands grazed Ethan’s cheek before smacking into the wall—a final assault, even in death. All that was left of her was a bloody charred blob on the floor, a few severed limb fragments, and a splatter of tissue on the lilac-covered walls.”

The grisly description of the “detonated” Hardy Girl shows McNeil’s prowess at blending wince-worthy horror with humor. McNeil’s visual imagery creates a vivid mental picture of the gore contrasting with the delicacy of the pale wallpaper and creates a darkly funny picture of the flying severed hand striking Ethan.

“Enough with the action-movie bullshit. This is not a movie. There’s no script.”

Griselda gets fed up with Ethan’s eager attitude expressed by his action-movie quotes. Her comment is ironic because the Postman does have a script for them. The Postman controls the Painiacs, and Cecil B. DeViolent scripts Ethan’s death in an adaptation of a film. The layers of scripting reflect the motif of role-playing.

“We’re trapped on an island full of bloating corpses and you’re worried about lunch?”

Griselda’s comment illustrates the novel’s dark humor and Ethan’s character. Cheerfully practical Ethan is more worried about his protein intake than immediate danger. Griselda’s juxtaposition of eating and rotting bodies creates a gross, comical mental image.

“Didn’t they deserve to know why?”

Dee has been lying to the others, keeping her knowledge that Kimmi is involved with the Postman and responsible for their troubles on Alcatraz 2.0, partly to protect them. Dee’s decision to trust her friends with the information, despite the pain it may cause her, shows her growing trust in them and her desire to expose the truth.

“Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker.”

Ethan’s final comment before he is killed is an allusion to the film Die Hard (1988). The fictional hero John McClane defiantly tells the movie’s bad guy, “Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker.” “Yippie-ki-yay” is an old American cowboy phrase popularized by Roy Rogers in The Roy Rogers Show in the 1950s. John McClane added the expletive, and it has become a famous contemporary catchphrase. The quote exemplifies Ethan’s defiance and McNeil’s use of pop-culture allusions.

“If the Postman wants Cinderella Survivor…then I’m going to give her to him.”

Dee’s comment reflects the novel’s motif of role-playing. For the first time, Dee embraces the role the Postman assigned her, wearing a coordinated princess outfit and putting on the sparkly makeup she had rejected to attract the Postman’s cameras and find the Painiacs. Ironically, she acts the part of a princess to subvert the Postman’s control.

“There’s no justice here, no eye for an eye. The only one guilty of murder is the Postman.”

Dee’s comment implies that she believes “an eye for an eye” is a valid form of justice, whereas the Postman’s corruption of justice in the name of profit and murder of innocents is criminal. Her declaration illustrates the novel’s theme of Perseverance in the Pursuit of Truth and Justice.

“It’s as if I scripted this myself.”

The Postman’s comment is ironic. The Postman admits to scripting the lives of the inmates on Alcatraz 2.0 to add drama and excitement for the app users, but here, the Postman falls for the fiction that Dee, Nyles, and Griselda are scripting. The friends use the Postman’s own formula to gain the upper hand.

“Had Dee, in some way become a Painiac?”

Dee worries that killing the Painiacs, even though “they were deranged serial killers, and the world was better off without them” makes her guilty of murder, and no different from one of the killers themselves (291). Dee decides that her killings are just since they are motivated by self-defense and not revenge or “bloodlust,” like those of the Painiacs (291).

“Best friends. Sisters. Forever.”

Kimmi’s dark vision for Dee would have forced Dee into another role: that of Kimmi’s “sister.” Kimmi’s concept of sisterhood, however, is disturbed. Unlike the happy, equal, giving relationship Dee had with Monica, in her time with Kimmi, Dee was the unhappy, powerless victim of torture. Kimmi’s comment shows her obsession and her mental illness. Kimmi does not understand what being a true sister means.

“But Dee felt no compassion toward her tormentor. Kimmi didn’t deserve any.”

Although Dee has felt bad about causing the painful deaths of some of the Painiacs, like Molly Mauler and Hannah Ball, she does not have empathy for Kimmi. Dee’s lack of pity shows the depth of the emotional wounds caused by Kimmi and reveals Dee’s sense of true justice: Kimmi got what she deserved.