How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"You […] are a middle-road liberal, and you haven't the slightest idea what you want. I, being a revolutionist, know exactly what I want—and what I want now is a drink." (7.5.10)
In a heated conversation, a man tells Seneca Doane that he is ultimately not a strong enough liberal. Which is saying something, because the conservative characters in this book practically consider Doane a terrorist. Even in this heated political discussion, though, everything boils down to one man's desire to have a drink.
Quote #5
"Nup. Twelve. This is the real stuff, smuggled from Canada. This is none o' your neutral spirits with a drop of juniper extract." (8.2.37)
Babbitt visits an alcohol bootlegger named Hanson in hopes of getting some booze for his party that night. And of course he'll pay whatever price Hanson wants, since Hanson is the only game in town.
Quote #6
He did not possess a cocktail-shaker. A shaker was proof of dissipation, the symbol of a Drinker, and Babbitt disliked being known as a Drinker even more than he liked a Drink. (8.2.49)
It's kind of funny how much Babbitt's view of himself is not backed up by reality. For example, the guy thinks that even though he constantly drinks alcohol, that doesn't make him a capital-d Drinker… because he doesn't own an alcohol-related utensil. This is like someone saying, "I'm not a chocoholic (even though I eat a supersized bag of M&Ms every day) because I don't own a Mexican cocoa-whisk."