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"Despite initial instances of awkwardness, or rather of disguised shyness, they found it mostly easy to talk to one another, which always comes as something of a relief on a first proper date." (25)
This quote is significant since it is the first proper date they had which led to many more memories in the future. They felt a connection right away and it felt somewhat comfortable to them being able to talk to each other easily like they had known each other their whole life. We do not know how the relationship will end up in the future but the beginning of the relationship starts off very easy for them.

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"Neither of them has been to the other's office, so they didn't know where to reach one another during the day, and without their mobile phones and access to the internet, there was no ready way for them to re-establish contact. It was as if they were bats that had lost the use of their ears, and hence their ability to find things as they flew in the dark. The day after their phone signals died Saeed went to their usual burger joint at lunchtime, but Nadia did not show, and the day after that, when he went again, the restaurant was shuttered, its owner perhaps having fled, or simply disappeared." (61).
This passage is significant because of the simile that is used to compare not having contact with someone to how bats use their senses to see in the dark. Saeed's world is turning upside down and the place they would meet at closes down and he has no contact with Nadia. He feels like he's lost and doesn't have nowhere to turn like a bat not knowing where to go without their senses.

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"... for one moment we are pottering about our errands as usual and the next we are dying and our eternally impending ending does not put a stop to our transient beginnings and middles until the instant when it does."

This sentence is significant because it shows the undependability of life. It shows that one minute you could be enjoying your life and the next you lose it. It shows that people don't enjoy and appreciate what they have until it's gone. When this is said we are reminded of the amazing gift of life that we should use and live to the fullest.

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"But Saeed's father was thinking also of the furture even though he did not say this to Saeed, for he feared that if he said this to his son that his son might not go, and he knew above all else that his son must go, and what he did not say was that he had come to that point in a parents life when, if a flood arrives, one knows one must let go of ones child" (96)
This quote is important because during this time is when the father has gotten to old and weak to go any further. He knows that he has to let his son go in order for his son to accomplish what he wants. This shows some of the sacrifices parents make when it comes to their children. He knew Saeed wouldnt leave his own father but in order for Saeed to accomplish what he wants he knew he had to let him go.

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"So men leave me alone"(17)

This quote is very important and the sentence stuck with me because Saeed thinks Nadia wears a black robe for her religion and that isn't entirely true at all. Nadia tells us that she wears a black robe just to hide her body from men and to let only the one she loves see. This is what I find very admirable about her, but this is not the only reason why she also wears it. Nadia told us she also wears the black robe for safety which I feel is sad because she shouldn't have to hide her body just to feel safe. She was wearing a black robe covering her whole body and she still got assaulted at the bank by a man. Men and women should be able to respect each other. This should not have happened to her at all but when I was reading about the incident it brought me back to the quote. So that is why I felt it was a very important quote that should be heard because it is important in this book.

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"The end of the world can be cozy at times" (83).
Saeed says this odd quote as he and Nadia huddle under a blanket to keep warm since there is no running water or electricity.  Nadia and Saeed's human needs are barely being met, yet they find comfort in each other. This quote shows the importance of having someone by your side during a troubled time no matter the relationship. Nadia and Saeed give each other hope. Even though they have seen and felt the horrors of war, they have each other, which makes the biggest difference.

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"...and what he did not say was that he had come to the point in a parent's life when, if a flood arrives, one knows one must let go of one's child, contrary to all the instincts one had when one was younger, because holding on can no longer offer the child protection, it can only pull the child down, and threaten them with drowning, for the child is stronger than the parent..." (96).
This passage is important because it signifies the heartbreaking sacrifice one parent does for their child. Saeed's father believes that if he continues on with both him and Nadia, he would only be weighing them down. Their chances of survival would be low with an "old man hampering them", Saeed's father believes. His father knows Saeed would not want to leave him behind even when he knwos that he must go. Even in times of despair and confusion, Saeed's father did not hesitate to think about Saeed and his own future. He would sacrifice his own life so that his son would be able to live out his.

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"Nadia was herself coming to acknowledge that this was no longer a city where the risks facing a young woman living independently could be thought of as manageable, and equally importantly she worried for Saeed each time he drove over to see her and back again." (74)
This passage is significant because it is showing the severity of the issue going on in their city. Before the conflict occurred, Nadia was able to live independently as a woman. Although it was not ideal, it was manageable. Now, she can no longer live independently and had to start living with Saeed and his father. However, it isn't any safer for them either. The passage shows that despite gender, nobody is safe anymore.

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"...echoes of a better era, and so in these several ways these three people sharing this one apartment splashed and intersected with each other across varied and multiple streams of time." (81)
The significance this passage holds is immense. The three people are Nadia, Saeed, and "Father". Father has just experienced losing his wife of thirty years, but not only was she that, but she was his best friend. He was ridiculously alone, but he was living in the past with her and love they shared. Nadia was in some ways the outside observer of it all. She was seeing the way Saeed grew up and how Father is coping. But through all of this, Saeed is experiencing the passing of his mother, the way Father is coping, and having his romantic interest move in all at the same time. It's like three roommates living the same daily actions, but mentally in completely different mindsets.

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"It was a sort of view that might command a slight premium during gentler, more prosperous times, but would be undesirable in times of conflict, when it would be squarely in the path of heavy machine-gun and rocket fire as fighters advanced into this part of town..." (11).
This quotation is significant because it depicts the turmoil in Nadia and Saeed's homeland, as well as the effects it had on people's lives. Saeed's balcony is meant to be a calm haven with a beautiful view, but the sky, like the rest of the city, is tragically loaded with military hardware. Not only is war ruining their town, but it is also killing the jobs of individuals like Saeed's parents. They have great professions, but due to the war, they are unable to perform their job. Nadia and Saeed were also compelled to flee their country to London due to the severity of the war. This demonstrates how swiftly violence can shatter lives and force individuals to evacuate their loved ones and memories.

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"In times of violence, there is always that first acquaintance or intimate of ours, who when they are touched, makes what had seemed like a bad dream suddenly, evisceratingly real." (31)
This quote relates to when Nadia's cousin is killed when a bomb goes off. While Nadia was aware of the war going on around her, this incident made it very personal because her relative was now gone. This quote is also significant because, even though Nadia didn't hear the news in time to attend his funeral, she had decided that she couldn't have gone because of her strained relationship with her parents and sister. They are no longer speaking and she had to consider that she didn't want to take away from her cousin at his funeral.

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"What she was doing, what she had just done, was not for her frivolity, it was about the essential, about being human, living as a human being, reminding oneself of what one was, and so it mattered, and if necessary, was worth a fight."(126)

This quote shows that no matter the person, rich or poor, being a human comes first. Before getting in the shower, she looks at her body. Her body looks like "an animal." Afterward she realizes that to be a human you must live as a human. Being able to clean oneself is a basic necessity to living as a human--a necessity that Saeed and herself had not carried out in the past two months. To me, this scene demonstrates something similar to what immigrants face today. They can be treated sort of like animals and live like them. In reality, we are all human beings and should live as human beings.

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“...Everyone was foreign, and so, in a sense, no one was.” (106)

This quote relates to the idea that when people have similarities they have a sense of belonging and can relate to one another even with complete strangers. The common factor between everyone coming through the doors, is the fact that they are all from different places. They are all foreign and that makes them similar. At the camp, in Mykonos there are all leaving from something or someone. The sense of leaving with no insurance of what could happen through the doors is what everyone can relate to.

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"In times of violence, there is always that first acquaintance or intimate of ours, who, when they are touched , makes what had seemed like a bad dream suddenly, evisceratingly real." (31)
This is telling us readers that when a tragedy occurs to someone close to us or affects someone close to us it can feel like bad dream coming true.This happened to Nadia when her cousin was blown by a truck bomb to bits. Nadia didn't hear about her cousin's death until his funeral. Nadia avoided her family because did not want to deal with the sadness and unpleasantness.

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"Nadia worried about the promise she had made Saeed's father, whom she too had called father, to stay with Saeed until he was safe." (140)
Recently, Nadia and Saeed have been very distant and separated from each other. To both of them, it's very relieving. Saeed wonders if this issue will conflict with their relationship. However, Nadia is worried about breaking the promise with Saeed's father. In the previous chapter, Saeed's father asked her to stay on his side until he was out of danger. Then Nadia promised him that she would stay with him until he is safe. If she leaves Saeed's side she would be breaking her promise to his father.

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"Saeed watched them with his parents from their balcony. Nadia watched them from her rooftop, alone." (35)

This quote shows the difference between Nadia and Saeed's life. Saeed is very close with his parents and Nadia is not. Saeed is always looking out others and he treats Nadia very well. I believe this is a reflection of how he was raised. Nadia seems to be indifferent about she feels toward Saeed. She is not familiar with this type of love. This causes Nadia to be somewhat closed off, but with time she learns to open up. Exit West would not be the same without this dynamic between Nadia and Saeed, and this quote exemplifies their upbringing which shows how different their two lives were.

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"...Saeed's mother's mental map of the place she had spent her entire life now resembled an old quilt, with patches of government land and patches of militant land." (69)
This quote depicts the pain and suffering caused by war, emphasizing the alienation of places that were once home to many people. Throughout this novel, we witness many of the horrors that accompany war, the most prominent in this plot being separation. The severity of war causes both land and people to be separated. We see this in this quote, as Saeed's mother cannot recognize a place she is so familiar with. This passage perfectly conveys the struggle of being caught involuntarily between two conflicting sides.

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"For when we migrate, we murder from our lives those we leave behind." (98)

This quote exemplifies the difficulty migrants have leaving their home and families. When Saeed's dad refuses to migrate with Saeed and Nadia, it is extremely difficult for both Saeed and his dad, as they do not know if or when they will ever see eachother again. Not only does Saeed leave his dad, he also leaves his deceased mother and his homeland where he grew up. This must be extremely hard for Saeed because when he does find a new permanent home, its almost like he is starting a completely new life, and his old life is dead.

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“…She was struck by its darkness, its opacity, the way that it did not reveal what was on the other side, and also did not reflect what was on this side, and so felt equally like a beginning and an end…” (103).

When the agent opens the door, Nadia is struck by its darkness. When we think of darkness, we usually think about the color black which often means mystery, power, and fear. This door is one of the main elements that build up this novel, as it symbolizes the theme of migration: never being quite sure what to expect next. The author uses the door as a synecdoche to describe several possibilities such as work opportunities, a better education, or escape from death and destruction. In Nadia and Saeed’s case, it is the latter one. When Nadia walks toward the door, she feels a sense of fear because she knows that once she goes through it, she will be unable to control the outcome. This scene is also a minor climax to the novel because it is “like a beginning and an end”. This paradox explains that when people migrate to start a new life, they are abandoning their previous lives, friends, and relatives. Overall, the author is attempting to show how Nadia and Saeed are filled with both optimism and fear; the door could be the candle in the darkness, or it could be the fire that destroys their existence.

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"It feels natural to have you here...The end of the world can be cozy at times" (83)
This quote brings to light that with everything changing and going on in their lives, Nadia and Saeed can still be comfortable with each other. Although it may get difficult, they don't turn away from each other. They trust one another and feel safe. It is challenging for people to feel safe in any place exposed to war. This theme is important to the book because it follows Nadia and Saeed's changes and journey. Having each other makes it all a little easier throughout every transformation.

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"Location, location, location, the realtors say. Geography is destiny..." (11)
This quotation indicates one of the main themes of the book- migrations. No one has the ability to control where they could be born, your location decides your destiny. Especially for people who are born in places that suffer from wars. They have no choice but move to another country just to save their lives. Hamid uses the black door to stress how migrants often move to numerous places to find hope and possibilities while they also have to sacrifice their most important ones in their life.

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"It was said in those days that the passage was both like dying and like being born..." (104)
This sentence relates to Nadia and Saeed throughout the whole novel. When we think about our world and the real challenges people all around the world face each day, one of the topics we think about is migration. Migrants traveling from anywhere are in danger every day and are constantly moving around. Each time they move, they start a new life and leave the one they had behind. When Nadia and Saeed travel through the first door, they are "migrating" to a new place in the world for safety. There is no doubt that they are happy about leaving to acquire safety, but a they are leaving the place they have lived and made memories their whole life. As they are being pushed out of the door into a new place, they are being reborn and starting a new life. At the same time they are dying, and leaving a place that made them the person they are.