“Everybody deserves to have something good in their life. At least once.”
This quote epitomizes Barney's life philosophy, the life philosophy of the man and dentist who saved Felix and Zelda from death by the Nazis. It is also the thesis of Once. No matter who the person is, Barney believes they have the right to have something good and positive in their lives at least once, especially in a world plagued with violence and genocide. Barney directs his comments toward Zelda and Felix, who are young and haven't experienced many good things. Barney argues they deserve something good because life isn't complete without experiencing something good.
“Suddenly I want him to stick one of the syringes into me so I can go into a deep sleep and never wake up and never feel this bad ever again.”
This quote reflects the grave situation many Jewish people under Nazi German control found themselves in. Most Jewish people were placed by the Nazis first into ghettos in their respective towns where food was scarce, and they were treated like prisoners. If they didn't obey German commands, they were humiliated or murdered. Then, they were placed into concentration camps, where they were forced to work and were ultimately killed. No matter where they went, the Jewish people were treated horribly, which caused them not to have hope. To help them deal with the hardships, people turned to drugs or, more often, asked to be injected with a substance to kill them so their suffering would end.
"Once I was living in an orphanage in the mountains and I shouldn’t have been and I almost caused a riot. It was because of the carrot."
Food in Poland during World War II was incredibly scarce. For much of his life, Felix hasn't had enough to eat. One day, however, he gets something scarce: a carrot. Fresh food was so rare for people in the orphanage (and Poland at large) who fought tooth and nail to try and get Felix's carrot. People wanted the carrot so much that they nearly started a riot, reflecting the desperation many felt.
