How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Vanity, tempered with self-suspicion if not self-knowledge, a sense of people as automatons to his will, a desire to "pass" as many boys as possible and get to a vague top of the world… with this background did Amory drift into adolescence. (1.1.142)
Amory is such an egomaniac during adolescence that he thinks the people around him are a bunch of robots or "automatons." In other words, he thinks only he is a full human being and everyone else is just an obstacle standing between him and greatness.
Quote #2
"I want to pull strings, even for somebody else, or be Princetonian chairman or Triangle president. I want to be admired, Kerry." (1.2.109)
Amory makes his case clear to his buddy Kerry when he says he wants people to admire him. He wants to be a big shot, but the problem is that he doesn't really want to work hard along the way. He basically wishes he had the talent necessary to become famous without having to try.
Quote #3
He asked her if she thought he was conceited. She said there was a difference between conceit and self-confidence. She adored self-confidence in men. (1.2.237)
Isabelle Borgé says that she likes Amory's pride. But that's only in the beginning. Once they've known each other for a while, Isabelle changes her mind and decides that Amory's pride is actually really annoying.