Goodbye, Columbus Language and Communication Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Part.Paragraph)

Quote #4

Actually we did not have the feelings we said we had until we spoke them. […] To phrase them was to invent them and own them. (2.53)

Neil suggests that language can both discover and create feelings. He and Brenda are experiencing a heightened level of communication at the country club that second day of their romance.

Quote #5

"She still thinks we live in Newark" (2.153)

Neil, being from Newark, is stung by this remark, and Brenda doesn't realize it, even though he's told her that he's from Newark. He hates Brenda at this moment for being spoiled and insensitive, and this is only day two.

Quote #6

"Shmutz he lives in and I shouldn't worry." (6.13)

Aunt Gladys gets some of the best lines in the book. She's talking about Neil washing his underwear by hand at the Patimkins' house instead of Gladys doing it in the machine. Shmutz is a Yiddish word that means dirt. Gladys's concern for Neil is her way of expressing love, and Neil knows it.