Find quotes from this novel, with commentary from Shmoop. Pick a theme below to begin.
Appearances Quotes
His large, sprawling body, his slow blues eyes and sloppy grin made him seem completely without talent, almost doltish in fact. (1.7)
Disappointment Quotes
When their stare was returned, their eyes filled with hatred. At this time Tod knew very little about them except that they had come to California to die. (1.10)
Identity Quotes
Yet, despite his appearance, he was really a very complicated young man with a whole set of personalities, one inside the other like a nest of Chinese boxes. (1.8)
Art and Culture Quotes
They were the people he felt he must paint. He would never again do a fat red barn, old stone wall or sturdy Nantucket fisherman. (1.11)
Visions of Hollywood Quotes
On the corner of La Huerta Road was a miniature Rhine castle. [...] Next to it was a highly colored shack [...] out of the Arabian Nights. (1.17)
Lust Quotes
He [...] fixed his collar and tie, but his eyes kept straying to the photograph that was pushed into the upper corner of the frame. (3.1)
Ambition Quotes
On stage he was a complete failure and knew it. Yet he claimed to have once come very close to success. (6.7)
Passivity Quotes
It was only the second house the real estate agent showed him, but he took it because he was tired and because the agent was a bully. (7.3)