Decisions, decisions

The two stories I am looking at to analyse are "A Relative Stranger," by Charles Baxter and "This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona," by Sherman Alexie. I was really intrigued by both of these stories in part because I didn't fully understand them. They hold a bit of a mystery to me and I look forward to unpacking them.
"This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona."

• "It was a fair trade, and that was all Victor had ever wanted from his whole life." I really like that quote, I think there is a lot of information in that small phrase. For one thing, that scene doesn't include a fair trade, at least in my book. Thomas goes to all this trouble to help Victor get his fathers body back to the Indian Reserve and, in payment, Victor has to listen to a story, just one story. That isn't fair. Also, it brings up the common phrase, 'life isn't fair.'
• "Nothing stops, cousin," Thomas said. "Nothing Stops." I like this quote because it encompasses so much. Also it isn't a happy saying. Thomas isn't really happy and energetic when he says it but worn out and resigned. It also seems rather nostalgic for easy times. I can picture this scene very clearly in my head, that is one of the things I like about it.

"A Relative Stranger."

• "Even though I live here, now, no matter where I ever was, I was always homesick for the rest of the world." I think this quote is sad but beautiful. I love the way he considers himself incomplete without the ocean. I compare it to missing family, the ocean had become family to him. I think this quote can be taken in different ways and it would be interesting to expand on it.
• "You can live with them. You can become familiar with a note." I think this quote is such a bazaar way to describe music and I think it has a deeper meaning that I'm missing. I think the first sentence is especially important.
• "I don't like people watching me when they think they're going to get a skeleton key to my character. I'm not a door and I won't be opened that easily." I wonder why he chose skeleton key. I also think this quote is relatable because no one wants to feel like an open book. We all have secrets that we keep and we don't open our souls to every stranger we meet.