How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #7
On the morning of that day, good Dr. Hagen made a desperate visit to Blorenge's office and revealed to him, and to him alone, the whole situation. When he told Blorenge that Falternfels was a strong anti-Pninist, Blorenge drily rejoined that so was he; in fact, after meeting Pnin socially, he "definitely felt" (it is truly a wonder how prone these practical people are to feel rather than to think) that Pnin was not fit even to loiter in the vicinity of an American college. (6.3.1)
In case you didn't get the extent to which the other professors have an issue with Pnin, this might give you a clue. Of course, Blorenge might be a little bit more extreme than the majority of the other characters. But definitely feeling? Not fit to loiter? Dude, that's pretty harsh.
Quote #8
But there was nothing extraordinary, nothing original, about this combination of people, and old Pnin recalled those birthday parties in his boyhood—the half a dozen children invited who were somehow always the same, and the pinching shoes, and the aching temples, and the kind of heavy, unhappy, constraining dullness that would settle on him after all the games had been played and a rowdy cousin had started putting nice new toys to vulgar and stupid uses; and he also recalled the lone buzz in his ears when, in the course of a protracted hide-and-seek routine, after an hour of uncomfortable concealment, he emerged from a dark and stuffy wardrobe in the maid's chamber, only to find that all his playmates had already gone home. (6.4.5)
Pnin's isolation isn't new, at least according to the narrator. Since he's been a little boy, he just hasn't been able to fit in like the other kids. Sucks to be Pnin.
Quote #9
He groped under the bubbles, around the goblets, and under the melodious bowl, for any piece of forgotten silver—and retrieved a nutcracker. Fastidious Pnin rinsed it, and was wiping it, when the leggy thing somehow slipped out of the towel and fell like a man from a roof. He almost caught it—his fingertips actually came into contact with it in mid-air, but this only helped to propel it into the treasure-concealing foam of the sink, where an excruciating crack of broken glass followed upon the plunge. Pnin hurled the towel into a corner and, turning away, stood for a moment staring at the blackness beyond the threshold of the open back door. A quiet, lacy-winged little green insect circled in the glare of a strong naked lamp above Pnin's glossy bald head. He looked very old, with his toothless mouth half open and a film of tears dimming his blank, unblinking eyes. (6.12.3)
This scene is filled with many strong images and emotions—stronger than we've pretty much ever experienced in following Pnin through this book. He actually gets angry, and we see him with his eyes brimming with tears. And what is the reason for all of this emotion? He thinks that he has broken Victor's bowl. Why is that so important to him?