- The school Vladimir attends is democratic, especially compared to his home life. Students are from all sorts of backgrounds, and the administration is worried he's not making an attempt to fit in.
- "They accused me of not conforming to my surroundings; of "showing off" (mainly by peppering my Russian papers with English and French terms, which came naturally to me); of refusing to touch the filthy wet towels in the washroom; of fighting with my knuckles instead of using the slaplike swing with the underside of the fist adopted by Russian scrappers." (9.4.2)
- The limo, of course, does not help Vladimir fit in, and they ask him to be dropped off a few blocks from campus, so as not to arouse observation.
- While Vladimir stubbornly refuses to take part in any kind of after-school activities, his father is active in all sort of different things. He attends a lot of meetings, Vladimir thinks, and in his head it has more to do with obligation than pleasure.
- Often meetings would take place in the Nabokov household, and Ustin the doorman would be sharpening pencils for the participants.
- Ustin would later aid the Soviets in revealing the whereabouts of the Nabokovs and their riches.
- Participants would appear and fill the meeting room, and Vladimir and his cousin Yuri would hide beneath the stairs and listen.