How we cite our quotes: (Part.Paragraph)
Quote #1
None of us ate together: my Aunt Gladys ate at five o'clock, my cousin Susan at five-thirty, me at six, and my uncle at six-thirty. (1.13)
At Aunt Gladys's, the "family table" means each family member gets individual attention and an individual dinner to please him or her. It's her way of caring for the people she loves. Yet, it's different from the image of the "ideal" American dinnertime popularized in the late 1950s in shows like Leave it to Beaver.
Quote #2
Inside my glove compartment it was as though the map of The City Streets of Newark had metamorphosed into crickets […]. (1.67)
The city versus the suburbs motif is a vision of America. Neil is constantly comparing the two. It's hot in the city, but so cool up here the suburbs. He desires the green, nature-filled expanse of the suburbs, but can't justify living there. He's a young philosophy major. What do you expect?
Quote #3
We did not eat in the kitchen; rather, the six of us […] sat around the dining room table, while the maid Carlota, a Navaho-faced Negro […] served us the meal. (2.74)
This is a contrast to both Aunt Gladys's family table and Leave it to Beaver's. Having a maid and a dining room table is the way the Patimkins show love for their family. How does Neil feel about it? How do you feel about it? Explain your answer.